Helping out in the sweet shop
I lived in Totland Road in the sixties; I can remember Homewood’s on one corner of Sandown Road and Trenchard’s on the other corner. Further down was Mr. Smith the greengrocer and Sylvia his daughter; then there was the sweet shop owned by the Kempshalls and later Mr and Mrs Knightley; I used to help out in the shop for a bit of pocket money. Further down Elm Grove was the chip shop owned by Mr Greenfield, then there was ‘Old Nicks’ the junk shop owned by Mrs Boniface; Mr. Moon the barber was next door, then Mr. Devreaux the newsagent. Further down on the corner of Brading Road was the pet shop owned by Mr. and Mrs Jarman; on the opposite corner was Tobias’s sweet shop.
Coal and ice cream from the garage
Across the road was Clarke’s the bakers then there was another other green grocers but I do not remember the name. I remember the Labour Club and the launderette; the post office was on the next corner. Continuing down the road there was Ceaplen’s chimney sweep, and on the corner of Luther Street was a hardware store which sold paraffin. Baker’s garage was in Brading Road and on the corner of Bernard Place was the Reed’s corner shop. At the bottom of Totland Road there was also a grocery shop run by a lady whose name I can’t remember. On the corner of Hallett Road Mr and Mrs Sullivan used to sell coal and ice cream from their garage.
Lots happening at St Wilfrid’s
Further up Elm Grove by the hospital, was a centre for the down and out people which used to open at 4 o’clock; Bob Shepherd from Totland Road used to work there. In Whippingham Road was The Hartington pub which was run by Mr and Mrs Noakes who had a daughter called Jane. I can also remember Father Gimblett was the vicar of St. Wilfrid’s Church. St Wilfrid’s Hall always had something going on there; Brownies with Mrs Mitchell and Mrs Collinghamm; the Youth Club with Laurie Wellard and Shirley. Well, how time has changed Elm Grove, its side streets are now full of cars. Oh to be young again.
Do you remember?
Do you remember any of these shops? If you can share your memories of this time, please leave a comment below.
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Janet, my memories are a little later than yours. Devereux’s shop on the corner of Bernard Road was Clifford’s newsagents when I was little. It’s still owned by him to this day, I believe, as I saw him in there last year sometime. I remember Moon’s the hairdressers and love the fact that his name is still on the door. Old Nick’s second-hand shop was my Mum’s second home. Then the corner of Totland Road was Vivo’s where my Mum cleaned at lunchtime when they closed. Closed for lunch! Amazing! I am struggling to remember the man who owned Vivo’s but I remember sitting on the stairs out the back of the shop watching him carve meat downstairs. I also remember getting my head stuck in the railings on the staircase many times. A shop that really hasn’t changed that much since I was a child in the early ’70s. Then the other corner of Totland Road – I remember it sold scooped ice cream and the shop was painted orange. Hence why I called it the ‘Orange Shop’ as a child. Homewood’s I remember right up until the end in the early 2000s. We did find out that we were distantly related. The top of Brading Road with Jarman’s petshop remember the amazing Polly parrot? Tobias’s on the other corner was the most amazing sweetshop and he was such a lovely man. Down Bernard Road on the right corner with the junction of Bernard Place was Sugar and Spice. Vague memories of that as a child. I’d love a photo of that shop. On the other corner apparently was a dairy but that was way before my time. At the bottom of Bernard Road was the hairdressers, now converted into a house. Going back to Elm Grove, I remember the chemist being much further up than it is now. I can’t remember exactly which corner it was on but guessing it must have been the corner of Cromwell Street. Betty’s on the corner of Baxter Street. I loved that lady! The Launderette on the corner of Lynton; many hours spent in there as a child pre-washing machine days! But they did a mean hot chocolate from the machine. I have a vague memory of a Bakers on the corner of Bentham Road before it became a hairdressers. So many memories and sadly, very little photographic evidence of these great shops. So if anyone out there has any of the ones mentioned, we would so love to see them on here.
Carol; I too remember some of those shops as I grew up in Hartington Rd between Brading and Bernard Rd in the ’60s & ’70s. If memory serves right, Moon’s was the Barber’s about 3 or 4 doors up Elm Grove from Bernard Rd – that was where my Dad always went and, of course, took me for hair cuts. I can still remember the first time I sat in the ‘proper’ chair and not on the high chair for a cut. Speaking of the hairdressers at the bottom of Bernard Rd, there was a post box outside it; I remember going to post a letter in it one evening (about 4.30 ish?) for my mum and seeing smoke coming out of it. I told Mum and she checked and called the Fire Brigade – someone had dropped a firework into the box! At the bottom of Brading Rd, there were 2 shops (one on each corner) – one was a newsagents where I did my paper round, and the other was originally a general grocers – loose potatoes by the pound and tins of veg, and later it too became a hairdressers.
Moon’s was right next door to the newsagents which is on the corner of Bernard Road. I remember the red and white barber’s pole outside. I can also visualise Mr Moon busy at work. Later the shop became a clothes alteration place. Now it has been converted back into a house.
I remember most of the above! We lived in the “steel houses” late 60’s till they were demolished and we moved to Freshfield Road. My sister lived at 350 QPR with her husband and 4 small children and we lived next door at 352 QPR. The sweet shop on the corner of Totland Road was called Craghill’s when we first moved to the area – it was run by a mother (who was an invalid) and her bachelor son, a rather large middle-aged man with black rim glasses. I was only about 12 or 13 at the time but used to help out in the sweet shop after school and at the weekends. It was one of my tasks to make a cup of afternoon tea for the old lady who remained upstairs in her room most of the time. The tea and biscuits was also a treat for me as I was allowed the same! I remember Betty’s – my brother used to help out in her shop and do little delivery jobs for her. My brother and I did paper rounds for Cliffords/Devreaux’s and I remember the Vivo stores where a very pretty young lady called Tina was always very kind to us kids. Living at the junction afforded us the pleasure of sitting in the bay windows watching all the events of the day. Race days were so busy that people stood outside the pub on the pavements as it was full inside. And the hoards of people going up and down the road from the racehill was quite a site! When it snowed, the buses (41s and 42s) struggled to negotiate the junction turning and entertained us kids no end. I knew the Sullivans (coal merchants) as I was at one point engaged to their son for a while and attended many dinner parties at their house where the MP Dennis Hobden often attended. Dennis went on to become Mayor of Brighton in 1979! A very nice gentle man. We were sad to leave the junction moving to the much quieter Freshfield Road and missed the hustle and bustle of watching the world go by as our view from our new front room was that of the sea towards the Marina – which was about to be built. A very different outlook and took some getting used to. But the memories of our days at the Junction have lasted me a lifetime and I can close my eyes and go back to those happy days! We did not have much in those days – but we did have a community!
Hi, Vivo shop was named Kendalls grocery shop. He had a saying after every item was ordered ”much obliged thank you”, every time.
I lived at 207 Elm Grove above the shop which when we first moved in was a cafe (1965). We emigrated to Australia in 1973. I went to Elm Grove Girls High School from 1965 to 1971-72. I returned to Brighton in 2014 for a holiday to the UK. What a change, not at all like my happy memories so much busier. I now live in a lovely seaside village in Tasmania called Penguin, reminds me so much of the UK. Susan Quigley née Culley.
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