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Marks and Spensers and other shops in Victoria Road/Brighton

kosenrufuisgoal's picture

kosenrufuisgoal
20 years ago...

This shop, now occupied by the above, was first of all the National Savings Bank maybe. That is a guess, as I am too young, but there were carved stones at the top of the building 'NSB' Please correct me if I have that wrong. What I can remember is that we had two branches of the National Westminster Bank in Surbiton and this was the one
that went. The other one across the road still going strong as NatWest. After that it became the Halifax Building Society which moved down the same side of the road while a newer shop was being built. Now called the Halifax plc.

Now where the sandwich shop is, Greggs, must be approx the site of the old Boots the Chemist (still had a library in the early 1950s) which is now over the other side of the road on the site of the Bull & Son establishment.* That closed in the mid fifties (apart from the small shop next to the narrow passage which takes you through to the rear car park and roads beyond.) Mackfisheries was the supermarket that today is Somerfields. Bull and Son still trades and may be the oldest name in Victoria Road. First opened in 1895.

I worked there for a year just a part time casual so if you shoped there on a Thursday up to April this year it was I that served you!

Mind you the public house, The Vicoria, must be the oldest business come to think of it as it is an original building and as was once a hotel. It was listed in the telephone book as such to only a few years ago! I remember there was a bakery in Brighton Road on the site of the YMCA Four Season restuarant, as I was sent there to buy sticky things when I worked in the metal fabricating business on a Saturday morning. That is now where the ramp is up to the car park that serves Sainsburys.

Can anyone else remember shops in our High Street? What about the tailors John Carr. He had an establishment where the gift shop is now and there is a path next to it that ran down to the mill - his works until about a year or so. Its empty now. All this area is due to redevelopement subject to final plans being approved so I understand.
The Royal Mail Centre, earlier called Mechanised Letter Office, and prior to 1986 was just the delvery and sorting office was built in 1961. Can anyone remember what was there before? This office in due to close mid October and is moving to a brand new huge site called The Jubilee Centre in Feltham next to Hounslow Heath. The town will miss the trade that the Postman and womans brought.

There are 84 shops in the 'high street' or Victoria Road. I'd love it if between us we could get a small booklet of past, present and future planned details ready for sale asap and perhaps next year we could have a stall at the Surbiton Festival. Anyone interested?

Well if you have got to the bottom of this well done. Have a byte of something else now lol.

All this is from memory so please tell me if I have made any errors.

Peter

* There was a ladies hairdressers too near Traders and closed recently and I wonder if this is where Greggs the sandwhich shop is now?

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