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George Street, Hove

George Street

Photograghed by Bill Maskell 24-03-2003

A good community spirit

By Tom, student living in Hove for 5 months

My favourite place in Hove is George Street, the main high street in Hove. It has a great range of shops and it has a very small town feel. I work in Coffee Republic on the corner and you get a whole load of locals in every single day, so you see the people that work around in the shops and businesses around there. It's just got a good strong community spirit.

Interviewed for the website on 10-02-2003

This page was added on 22/03/2006.

Comments:

I enjoyed reading about George Street. I haven't been there for years as I no longer live in the area, but it was certainly one of my favourite places as a child in the 1950s. When I was old enough to be allowed 'down the town' on my own on a Saturday, a bus ride from the Grenadier (a 5 or a 5B) to the top of George Street would soon bring me to my idea of heaven - the 'Wickham, Kimber and Oakley' record shop, quite near the bottom of George Street on the left-hand side. I bet it's long gone. They always displayed the Top Twenty or Hit Parade chart in the window and this information held endless fascination for me. It was some time before I had enough money or courage actually to go into the shop, and it was the place where I bought my very first single: a 78 version of 'Tom Dooley' by Lonnie Donegan, which, as we all remember, cost 6s 8d. From a somewhat earlier phase, and on a slightly different tack, I remember a shop on the other side of the road nearer the top, which sold just biscuits. They were loose in big tins and the assistants would weigh out what you wanted. I remember going there with my parents frequently and them buying a pound of broken biscuits!

By Carol deRose (27/02/2003)

Do you remember the shop that roasted coffee beans to order? Smoke billowed out and wafted that delicious aroma throughout the area. I'm sure that was where I got my love of the demon brew as the only coffee we had at home was that disgusting stuff called 'Camp'.

By Vic Stevens (29/02/2004)

Does anyone remember the ice-cream parlor on George St? It was closed for the sale of the frozen stuff during the war, although I seem to recall it remaining open. I believe it had an Italian name, and a couple of little tables inside. Could it have beem Dimarco's? The great day came after the war, when food restrictions were easing and ice-cream could be made again. On that auspicious afternoon, I queued for several hours with my aunt and cousins to purchase the first ice cream I recall eating! Soon after that it was possible to buy the little round Lyons slices wrapped in paper, as if cut from a roll, and inserted in a cone. Strawberry and vanilla were the choices. We always thought the former were the tastiest, and called the others 'Plain'.

By Patricia Overs (19/08/2004)

I saw your comment on Wickham and Kimber's record shop. As a small girl, I had saved my pocket money for weeks to buy Bing Crosby's 'Galway Bay'. The great day came and, along with a visiting cousin from London and his family, the long awaited purchase was made. Going from there to the beach to sit on the shingle for a while, all was well until a wasp came buzzing in on the scene. Up leapt my cousin to escape it landing square on my long dreamed of record! Oh the tears and upset, quietened only by its speedy replacement. That was nearly 60 yrs ago but we were laughing over it just a few weeks ago during a transatlantic phone call. Some things one never forgets! Also used to love the smell of the coffee roaster, and the taste of 'Camp' - yuk! It was usually reserved for adults, wonder if it is still around with the turbanned Indian on the label.

By Patricia Overs (19/08/2004)

I love going to George Street. It is brilliant doing Saturday's shopping with my mates there. I mostly do it with my friend Laura. We always go down there every Saturday to do girlie shopping.

By Nicolle (10/12/2005)

I was born in George Street over the shop which is now the Carphone Warehouse. I remember many shops and knew Ken Whicham of the record shop. He was Brighton Parks' tennis champion in spite of a withered leg. The shop where I was born was my father's: Harold Porter jeweller and optician. The business dated back to his father in 1888.

By Syd Porter (22/12/2005)

As a child in the 50s, my mum used to take me to George Street on a Saturday afternoon. I remember her getting me a three wheeler Noddy bike from Currys and me riding it back up Clarendon Villas, pleased as punch .

By Wendy Carpenter (12/03/2006)

Back to Wickham, Kimber and Oakley record shop: Are there any survivors of the small elite group who were allowed into the tiny upstairs room on Saturdays to listen to the latest jazz recordings? It was ruled over by the original and much loved Grumpy Old Man, Derrick Stewart-Baxter. As a teenager I was a regular attendee, often turning up on a Friday to open the magic boxes from EMI and Decca. What was new then - Miles 'Kind of Blue', first Ray Charles etc. Still have my batch of Brunswick 'Origins of Jazz' ten inch albums bought from Derry. The incredibly lazy, cricket loving DSB also took me many times to the 100 club in London's Oxford Street to meet and hear the great old blues musicians who John Morton brought over. This was around 1957, 1958? The only name I recall from that room was Jeff Rigby, with whom I lost touch in the 1960s or early 70s. Oh happy days!

By Tim Sharman (18/06/2006)

Re the shop that only sold biscuits: it was called Kent's and my wife worked there in the late 40s early 50s. Out of interest, it was number 78 George Street. In 1934 it was known as Betta Biscuit Specialist. In 1927 the shop was occupied by T W Barnes + Co General Merchants. It is also the street where I met my wife for the first time.

By David King (23/06/2006)

It made my day to read the comments about George Street and remembering the memories of the stores, I went to George Street school for 2years from 1957, certainly remember Mr Jones, I visited the street 2 years ago, although the street is lovely and modern, it was sad to miss the school. But I walked through into the car park to help me with the lovely memories and I certainly could feel them�as I stood in what I felt would have been the playground. I feel it would have been coming up to a hundred years old now as I remember being there and celebrating its 50th birthday, I loved DeMarcos coffee shop, and the store that ground the coffee beans, always remember the smell, I bought my first record of Elvis Presleys at the record store, my mother worked at the greengrocers that was halfway up the streeton the right hand side going up. I remember George street being painted and done up for the Queen's visit. As I now live in Australia, I often jump on the net to look up Hove to reminisce. It was certainly lovely to read the comments and reminisce about George Street. Keep it up.

By Barbara Strotten (nee Spencer) (31/12/2006)

It is delightful to read these comments about old George Street. When I first moved to Hove in 1991 I found it neglected with a lot of closed shops and wall-to-wall traffic. Now it's a pedestrian paradise. The street has been reclaimed by local residents and shoppers as an attractive place to walk, shop, eat, drink - or whatever! Many of the newer shops like Coffee Republic, the Sausage Shop, Puccino's, etc have added to the existing mix of interesting independent shops. I was a ward councillor here from 1996 to 2003 and our vision of pedestrianisation was not one shared by everyone at the time but now I think everyone agrees the street looks great. Two friends of mine got engaged in George Street, which they insist couldn't have happened without the kind of caf� culture that's been created there!

By Simon Battle (23/01/2007)

I replied to Tim Sharman direct yesterday via his Yahoo! mailbox (like probably many of you, he's also a subscriber to the My Brighton and Hove email group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mybrightonandhove) about his comments here on 18 June. Today I decided there's no reason not to share my thoughts with the rest of you!

I told Tim that I too had been a guest of Derrick Stewart-Baxter in the upstairs room at Wickham, Kimber & Oakley but that I'd found him to be a bit too much of a purist for my tastes given that I, like most of my friends at the time, knew nothing of rhythm 'n' blues other than what we'd been exposed to on Radio Luxembourg - that is people like Little Richard, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and Bill Doggett! A slightly more tolerant and realistic mentor to those of us who wanted to delve deeper into the idiom was the great Don Sollash at Dobell's, who would gradually feed us snippets from people like Red Prysock. Derrick on the other hand rather preferred that we concentrate on the likes of Lightnin' Hopkins!

By Jeremy Pender, York (http://profiles.yahoo.com/jeremy7788) (26/01/2007)

Oh yes! Wickham, Kimber and Oakley, with Derry Stewart-Baxter, the man who introduced me to the magic of Billy Holiday and Jimmy Rushing. DeMarcos ice cream parlour. The coffee shop and, was it Cobleys, where my parents bought my Hove Grammar school uniform?� George Street was a vibrant and exciting place back in the 1950s. A group of us young jazz fans would meet at the record shop and would also frequent Dobells in Western Road, where the inimitable Don Sollash reigned. We also spent many happy hours in the local jazz clubs: The Chalet Club, with the Ted Ambrose band, The Coneyhill, with Les Wood producing carbon copies of the great George Lewis, The Chinese Jazz Club over the Aquarium, where I listened to Tubby Hayes, Phil Seaman and other British jazz greats and�The Vanguard in New Road, with the Les Jowett band. We also used to trek to Crawley to hear Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Acker Bilk. How about the concerts at the Dome? Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Dave Brubeck and Gerry Mulligan plus, of course, the Chris Barber Band with Ottilie Patterson. I remember the Modern Jazz Quartet at the old Essoldo in North Street. Great days !

By Phil Lovell (08/05/2007)

Mum and�I went shopping every Saturday up George Street. We started at the top in Woolworths on Blatchington Road and then over to George Street for the�butchers and fish shop (Macs). And after shopping a lovely ice cream or Horlicks in the cafe.

By Sandie Waller (11/06/2007)

Surely the fish shop was Coe's! I don't remember a MacFisheries in George St, but I could be wrong. I remember the roast coffee aroma from "Importers" I think it was (and may still be).

By Paul Robinson (21/06/2007)

I Attended George Street school 1946-1949 .The fish shop was Coes and my friend's dad drove the mobile Fish and Chip shop
that serviced the Hangleton council estate where I lived. I rememeber well the George Street shops especially De Marcos
ice cream .and the Bike Shop where I got my bike repaired .At the top was a Sainsbury's where my sister worked. Does anyone
remember Cowells Hardware shop ? My granny used to send me there to buy Paraffin (what a Stink!).

By Pete Wilson (06/07/2007)

I remember so many things about George Street - yes, the smelly coffee shop, the smelly delicatessen (I was a little girl at that time), the little Sainsbury's, and the lovely smell of fish and chips. A trip to Broadley's every summer holiday to buy a blazer eight sizes too big to last until you left school! De Marco's �-I always longed for an ice cream coated in the crumbs from the Flakes used in the "99s", but for some reason mum would never let me (maybe Paul will remember). It was always a plain ice cream, but sometimes with a flake. I still love George Street nowadays, it has moved well with the times I think.

By Sara Robinson (28/08/2007)

Yes you are right it was called Coes fish shop, there was a funeral parlour there too, I went there with an uncle once too book his funeral which I thought very strange at the time, but it was 40 odd years ago and I was only about 8 at the time. I went back 2 years ago what a change!

By Sandie Waller (21/11/2007)

Was the funeral parlour "Bungard and Son"?

By Paul Robinson (03/01/2008)

My mum and I used to shop in George Steet when I was tiny, about 1960. There was sawdust on the floor and blue tiles with animals on the walls in Sainsbury's , and our very own pocket supermarket -Victor Value. I bought my first record "She loves you" in Wickham Kimber and Oakleys, but I'd forgotten the name!

By Val Stockley (08/02/2008)

I used to love George Street. Ice cream from DeMarcos, my first 45 record from Wickham Kimber & Oakley, wool from Bellmans. Does anyone remember buying broken biscuits (not pre-packed!) from a shop half way up the street. I remember Woolworths opposite the top of George Street and a little shop near it which sold china and glass etc. Those were the days!

By Ann Sellers (n�e Ritchie) (01/05/2008)

I am another survivor of Wickham, Kimber and Oakley's small upstairs room mentioned by Tim Sharman. I worked in Shoreham in the 1950s but attended the old Brighton Tech on day release. So every Wednesday lunchtime I got myself to Church Street as quickly as I could and spent a happy forty five minutes with wonderfully informative Derrick Stewart-Baxter. I was already biting so he sold me my first EPs and really turned me on to the joyous delights of New Orleans music. I have never looked back and have managed to visit New Orleans three times in my life. Thank you Derrick.

All power to Hove, Church Street, WK&O and that splendid old character DBS

By Peter Milner (28/05/2008)

Just a footnote re Wickham Kimber etc record shop:
A lady called Hazel worked there under DSB for years before retiring to Steyning. She was a huge fan of Fats Waller and followed him round much of the UK during his one tour, even becoming a good friend - she had a little album of autographs and photos to prove it. She had a brief moment of fame a few years ago when 'The Oldie' magazine interviewed her about Waller for the 'I Once Met' column. Sadly she died some time ago. Her interviewer, Campbell Burnap the trombonist and broadcaster, died last week too.
DSB in his lair upstairs could be intimidating but with a heart of gold. I once got a lift with a minibus he had hired to travel to an Alex Welsh session at the Fox in Haywards Heath. He was complaining about his Mynah bird. It refused to say 'Lady Day', a reference to Billie Holliday. All it was capable of was defecating, even on the roof of its cage FROM THE INSIDE!

Great days

By George Walker (01/06/2008)