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Taken on 24 January 1988,this photograph shows numbers 110/113 London Road, between Marshall’s Row and Francis Street, before their removal in the following February.
Originally the building at the left was two separate private houses, one of which was occupied by W. Dawkins, the blacksmith whose smithy was in Marshall’s Row. The Elephant and Castle Inn had only recently been extended.
Do you remember the shop – it looks as if it has already closed down. And what about the pub next door – did you ever go in there for a drink?
If you can share your memories with us, please leave a comment below.
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Went in both the record shop and the pub, in the early 1970s when I was at Brighton Tech! The record shop had an upstairs as I recall, and the pub next door was the Elephant and Castle!
Looks like Ina’s which used to sell records, cards, stationery. I did also have the occasional drink at the Elephant and Castle but there were better pubs not far away in the North Laine so it was only a pit stop.
I remember Diplomat in the mid 80s. If I recall correctly the record department was upstairs. I used to go here with my friends on a Saturday when we would shop from one record store to another. Starting here and working our way through the North Laine to Rounder Records in the Lanes then up to HMV and then Virgin in Queens Road. There was a record shop at the top of West Street for a while (was it called Subway?). I recall the Elephant and Castle being there but we never went in as we were too young at the time.
I used to buy records here every Friday (payday) from INA’s.
Oh how I remember Ina’s. Many years ago, one Christmas, my late mother went in there and chose six Christmas cards. She wrote them in the shop and then took them to the post office in Oxford Street to post them. Nothing wrong with that, I hear you say! However she forgot to pay for them and made me go back that same evening to put the money through their letter box. I used to buy records from Ina’s, it was a lovely shop. I remember ‘The Elephant and Castle’. I went in it a few times. It served nice meals in baskets if I remember correctly.
I remember the ‘Diplomat’ shop when it was ‘Ina’s’ in the 60s. It was a favourite of my Nans for greeting cards and we used to go in there a lot. It was still ‘Ina’s’ when I worked at ‘Woolworths’ in 1973. The record department was upstairs when it became ‘Diplomat’ but it usually only stocked the chart records. I only ever went in the ‘Elephant and Castle’ in 1973 when I was 16. I had just left school and I used to play darts there one night a week with a friend. We used to buy a pint of mild for about 15p and top it up with bottles of brown ale. We thought we were right ‘Jack the lads’! I’m sure the staff knew we were under age but you could get away with it then but I can’t think why we drank brown and mild. It wasn’t really a young persons drink but my Dad drank it. I do remember the first time we went in there and I must have said the first drink I could think of. Great times!
Small world. I also remember the record shop and the Elephant and Castle pub in the 70s. After a while I got to know a few of the local guys who used the pub and the landlord asked us if we would start up a darts team which we did. I am going back before the pub was given a make-over. After the darts, we formed a bar billiards team so one night we were playing other darts teams and on another night, bar billiards. My tipple was brown & mild around 12/15p today’s money. Great times.
Went into the Elephant and Castle for a drink on many occasions in the seventies, particularly Saturdays, when many of the Open Market boys would be in there. Also used by my late cousin Michael. Seem to remember various pub signage: Watneys, Fremlins etc.
I used to play darts for the Hollingbury in the Preston Circus and District Sportsman’s league. One of our opposing teams was the Elephant and Castle. It was a good pub and always busy.
I have yet to find out why it was demolished and who made money out of that. If it were there today it would still popular.
James Mussell, my great grandfather moved from Downton, Wilstshire and settled in Brighton as early as 1841. The census for that year shows him lodging at the Elephant & Castle Inn at 113, London Road, his occupation was not recorded. However by the 1871 census it shows that James Mussell and his wife Susannah had moved to 24-25 New Dorset Street, Brighton, where they managed The Prince Alfred Beer shop. James Mussell died on the 14th May 1892 aged 69 years from chronic bronchitis. The National Probate Records record that James Mussell left £51 and 16 shillings to his wife.
Hello Doug I am very interested in your post as I have extensively researched the Mussell family. An aunt of mine was Florence Annie Mussell and the aforementioned James Mussell was her grandfather. Contact me on dianneandpeter@yahoo.co.uk
In 1985, I bought one of my first vinyl LPs from Diplomat… it was Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” LP. I still have it today and still play records, way before it became trendy again. As you went into the shop, there were racks and racks of greeting cards… and then to the right, past the payment counter, a wide stair case leading up and then around to the second floor where there were boxes of LPs.
My name is Mandi and I worked at Diplomat – my first job! I was 15/16 at the time. Remember getting the new records on a Friday and putting them out in chart order. Fond memories.
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