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. 

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.

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.