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Mitchell & Son: 114 London Road

Richard Mitchell, who was my great uncle, was a builder in Brighton. He built many houses at Portslade, and at one time had a shop in London Road. His first premises were at 114 London Road; it comprised of a purpose built shop with a flat overhead for his family.

Later they moved premises to 77 London Road, and when Richard Mitchell died his son Gerald took over the shop, which in turn was passed to his son David.

I would be interested in anyone who remembers these shops and have more information regarding the builders.

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Mitchell’s, 114 London Road

Mitchell’s, 77 London Road

Mitchell’s float for the (possibly) 1927 Brighton Carnival

Comments about this page

  • I remember Mitchell’s in London Road in the late 40s and 50s. I often had to go there for paint and wallpaper for my dad. London Road played a big part in my childhood as my dad had a stall in the Open Market. If I remember rightly, Mitchell’s was just south of Preston Circus. 

    By Mick Peirson (19/11/2011)
  • Remember it well. My father had a trade account there and I remember leafing through vast books of wallpaper samples. Ashplants the toy shop was opposite, so it was always fun going down to Mitchells.

    By Martin Scrace (21/11/2011)
  • In the 1950s and until 1982, I lived in Dyke Rd Drive and a neighbour up the street worked at Mitchells. I do not recall his name but he was incredibly dapper and always looked immaculate, grey wavy hair and small moustache. I asked him one day why his house was the only one in the street unpainted when he worked at Mitchells? Brilliant reply-once you paint a house it needs doing every three years, unpainted-never.

    By Geoffrey Mead (01/12/2011)
  • Mitchell’s, squatters and Provident Cheques. I lived in the flat above Mitchell’s from 1945-1951 when we moved out to the wide open spaces of Coldean. I remember the torture chamber next door (Mr Nelson the dentist) and Ogden’s bakery on the opposite corner of Rose Hill Terrace. From our front room window we could see the big clock on Cobb’s furniture store. Trips to Roslings were always enjoyable – watching the vacuum tube and overhead cable cash system would keep me busy for ages. I seem to remember that, apart from its proximity, my Mother shopped there because they took Provident Cheques, a popular payment method in the 1950s before the introduction of credit cards. When Mitchell’s moved on the shop was divided and one side was taken up by The Heart Foundation but recently changed again and is now a barbers shop. The main part became a mobile phone then a lighting store and is currently in use as a charity shop. The flat was in the news earlier this year when it was taken over by squatters and sadly, now looks in a rather sorry state with broken and boarded up windows. Although I was very young when we moved I have happy memories of life in London Road with Preston Park as our back garden. I have a photograph of me sitting on a carved stone seat at the southern entrance to the park in about 1948 and a couple of my children on the same seat taken in the early 1970s, does anyone know when the seat was taken away I wonder as it is not there now?

    By Elaine (28/08/2013)
  • I am also related to Richard Mitchell. His father John was my great great great grandfather. I am descended from Alfred his son by his first wife Ellen. Richard was his son by his second wife Ellen. Before moving to Brighton, Richard and the family lived in the Six Bells in Billingshurst where they ran the pub, a funeral directors and the building firm. I have only just found out about this relative and find the comments above fascinating. I would love to know more.

    By Teresa Lorimer (27/02/2017)
  • I left school in the summer of 1966 at age 15 And started work with Mitchell’s almost immediately. I left approximately 1975 to try another field of work, but I can honestly say looking back after 53 years and several jobs later this was the best time of my working life and I have always regretted leaving, the one thing that I do regret also is not keeping in touch with the other staff members and have always wondered how they were over the years, I do remember my manager there ( Bill Burton ) had a daughter ( Louise Burton ) four years younger than me who went on to become an actress appearing in episodes of Are you being served and some of the later Carry on films, fond memories.

    By Richard Woods (12/09/2019)

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