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Old Shoreham Road

Growing up in the 50s

By Mick Wren

I grew up living on the Old Shoreham Road. We moved there in 1959 when I was 18 months old , and I was there until the age of 18 years. If it hadn`t been for that bunch of fascists - the Anti Brighton Bypass Association - ABBA (very apt), the north side of the road would never have had to be demolished, so obliterating a community!

The local shops
I would like to see pictures of the area as it was: the sweetshop at the corner of Trafalgar Road and the Old Shoreham Road, the Southern Cross pub (run by my friend's grandmother), Coughtrey's the cycle shop (I bought my first ever set of derailleur gears there!), the bakery, the fish`n`chip shop (which had a couple of fires), the greengrocer, and then up the hill a little, the hairdresser on the corner of Wolseley Road and the little garden shop just in Wolseley Road where I used to buy bamboo for making bows and plant sticks for arrows, and finally on that side, the sweetshop run by the crippled man that had a choc-ice machine outside.

Shops are now Tates Garage
The other side of the road had another greengrocer, run latterly by the Pickett family, which was almost opposite Wolseley Road. The shop on the corner of the access to the old allotments was a heating / installation company at some time, then up the hill to the parade of shops which now, of course, are all part of Tates garage. In those days, there was a wool shop, another hairdressers (I think) and the newsagent/sweetshop. Garage on the corner as now.

Text sent to website on 16-07-03

This page was added on 22/03/2006.

Comments:

I lived here during the time I spent in Brighton and I liked it. I like the houses, the small gardens, the smell of the sea nearby. But it's a pity that some people do not care about their houses. Some are really in bad condition.

By Sylvie L. (03/10/2004)

It is a pity about the state of some houses! I have a friend who is moving there and that is one thing that was noticed, but it is still a nice place.

By Bert (24/03/2005)

I lived in Old Shoreham Road in Brighton for about 2 weeks in a host family. I think it's the most pretty street in Brighton and Hove. I really loved it there. The street was busy but everywhere were these beautiful old English houses. I found it a great place to live and I'm sure I will come back one time.

By Sayuri (04/10/2005)

I used to spend my 3d in the choc ice machine on the way back from Portslade County School For Boys in the summer - Mr Coleman I think his name was. We lived in Old Shoreham Road opposite the golf links. I was back in the UK in 2002 and was surprised to see the golf club was gone - a road now running down the middle of it. Now I'm in Brisbane its all memories for me - great site.

By Chris Edwards (10/07/2007)

I used to live in Old Shoreham Road, just up from the New England Road railway bridge, with my parents (my parents still live there today). When I was much younger I remember a small grocery shop on the corner of Old Shoreham Road. The bottom of Old Shoreham Road has not changed that much, with the exception of the bollards on the left hand side of the road (going up from bottom of road to the corner) - this was done to prevent vehicles from mounting the pavement.

By Darren Crawford (02/08/2007)

In responce to Mick Wren who would like to see photo's of the Old Shoreham Road Portslade. Put Portslade into search site. Ray Hamblett has a wonderful site full of his photo's of that and other areas. I remember this area more in 1960s/70s and I had a lot of memories revived after visiting his site.

By Marie B (31/10/2007)

I lived at 80 Old Shoreham Road up until 1954, my mother ran a School of Elocution and Dramatic Art - Gladys Weston - from there. Can anyone tell me what happened to that house?

By Pam Denne (nee Weston-Davies) (21/02/2008)

I was born on the Old Shoreham Road opposite what is now Speedy Spares. In the early 50s the parade of shops was very popular and had everything you needed except, as my mother lamented, a post office and a chemist. For those we had to travel to Trafalgar Road. The shops were as I remember running east to west: Harringtons the bakers, Winnie Bray ran the greengocers, there was a wool shop called Rays and a butchers called Elsies. On the other side of the waste ground was the shoe menders which was run by the Greens until it was taken over by Bob Roffey, next to that was Sear and Tongue which was a very successful grocery. Mr Tongue was in some way connected to the introduction of Danish Bacon. The newsagents / sweetshop was called Browns and was managed by Mr Heasman and assisted by Mr Pitt who went on to marry Winnie Bray the greengrocer. At the end of the block was Findlaters the off licence which never seemed to have customers. There were other shops to the east dominated by Pembrokes grocery and the sweet shop run by his wife later taken over by Mr Parker who installed the choc ice machine. On the corner of Wolesley Road was Patchings the ironmongers which became the hairdressers. Like most places it was quite a stable little community based around the shops and Wolesley Road. The characters I remember in the 50s and early 60s were Fred Steele the mobile greengrocer, Charlie Todd in Melrose Avenue, Mr Dale the taxi driver Harry Wakeham who had a mismatched glass eye, the Finchs and the Greens who ran the laundry and Bert Brundle who lived in Abinger Road. This site has stirred so many memories.

By Peter Wrapson (23/06/2008)