Cardwell's hardware store
Originally grandfather’s shop
My mum and dad used to run Cardwell’s, the ironmongery and hardware store at 35 Prestonville Road. This was originally my grandfather’s shop: he was Charles Cardwell. When he died 1959, it was passed on to my mum and dad, Dulcie Morley, and Bob Morley. It was quite a thriving shop back in the 1950s employing another full time assistant, Albert Burrell, and three tradesmen; an electrician, a plumber and a carpenter. My dad also used to do deliveries of mostly paraffin; those were the days of paraffin oil heaters. Initially deliveries were done by bike until he got a car in the early 1960s – a Hillman Husky.
Do you remember Cardwell’s? If you can share your memories, please leave a comment below
Slow decline in business
With the slow rise in supermarkets, trade dropped during the 1970s and eventually there was only my mum an dad in the shop; they could not afford to employ anyone else. They sold the shop in 1981 when my dad was 65 and I believe it may still be there although much updated and changed although I haven’t been down Prestonville Road for many years now. My mum died in 1996 and my dad in 1999 both aged 83.
Comments about this page
Oh how the memories came flooding back! This was a wonderful Aladdin’s cave and whatever you wanted they seemed have. I can remember buying tin tacks and I think they weighed them and put them in a little paper bag. And struggling back with a can of pink paraffin. I grew up in York Villas just off Prestonvile Road when the houses were proper houses – nowadays they are all flats. Wonderful shops, butchers, sweet shop and newsagents, library, and greengrocer, and in the middle was a grocer, but it all changed when Tescos arrived on the corner of Dyke Road. Wonderful days!
I remember this shop in the 60’s, my dad John Pickup ran a sweet shop next door. He hired a girl called Lilly to run it for him. She was Polish. Then he rented out the shop to Home Brew. Does anyone remember John or Lilly?
Add a comment about this page