Discussion everything Bermondsey

Hi Bermondseywaller

I see that you lived on Harold Estate, can you remember the number.
As i lived there for many years, i would be interested to see if it was anywhere near me?
Number 57.
Did you know many people there, any names?
Perhaps our paths may have crossed at some point.

Bermondseyboy

Found something on the internet. BFI on the Southbank are showing that film Boy and the Bridge.
I have a phone number for you to contact the Southbank its 0207928 3232. I think its showing soon so dont leave it. What a coincidence. Presume BFI stands for British Film Industries. Best of luck.

-bermondseygirl

The BFI is The British Film Institute

http://www.bfi.org.uk/

Hi Bermondsey Boy
I am so pleased you started this site. You see there is nothing to go back and remember anymore.
Last Saturday my son drove me from Kent to London to see the Jersey Boys show in London for my birthday. As we drove through the Old Kent Road there was nothing I could point out to my family anymore. Nothing at all. My son laughed when he saw that the Dun Cow was now a Drs surgery.
My house is now Tescos!  The Beckett no longer a pub. Times the nice furnitute shop and Wells furniture shop all gone and replaced by new immigrants to the area. I expect they too will remember the area when they get old as something special but there is nothing there for us to go back to look at. Thats why this site is nice we can remember by our memories as looking at the area will give us nothing. Keep the site going I love it and once again thank you.

hi bermondseyboy
what a good find this site is. i was born in guys (1973) and grew up on the arnold est, jamaica rd. what im trying to find out is any history on my old est (when it was built, what was there before it). i would be greatful for any help with this, i've been searching for years and have found nothing!
 thank you
kevin

hi bermondseyboy
... the arnold est, jamaica rd. what im trying to find out is any history on my old est (when it was built, what was there before it).

kevin

-kleverkev73

Hi Kevin,
I'm sure that will be several people on this site who will be able to help you, but for my two penn'th:

The OS map for 1872 shows the area as mainly a cooperage and terrace housing.  This remains so for the 1894 & 1914 maps. Obviously (as shown in photo's on other threads on this site) the area sustained heavy damage during the blitz (1940) and was dramatically altered with the routing of the (new) Jamaica Road from Dockhead to the 'Greg' in the late sixties.

Regards,
freddie

hello freddie
loved your old jamaica rd fact, i grew up in the flats opposite that, and was a army cadets at the drill hall there in the early 80's.
so "the arnold" was built on what was once terraces, distroyed in the blitz, i thought along them lines, the thing i cant get my head around is all the blocks have bomb shelters! but you can see the blocks cant be pre 40's,
thank you for taking the time to reply, you've been very helpful

kev

Hi Kevin,

Think you may have misread my post slightly. I don't know when the Arnold Estate was built, but probably same time as Kirby and other estates of similar style. I've always assumed this was during the thirties but I suppose they could have been built immediately after the WW2. Kirby also had (has?) shelter markings painted on the walls and I remember the trees along side in Southwark Park Road having white rings painted around them to help be seen in the blackout. So for me between the wars is still favourite.

Regards
freddie

Hi Freddie,

I was born in Arnold's Estate in 1948, so I'm fairly certain it was built before WWII.

I remember having a street part under one of the arches of Arnolds for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953.

Hi Jimmika
Reading your blog about Times Furniture Shop and Welles has brought back memories of the Old Kent Road. My mum used to buy her furniture there on the weekly. I can remember going in a paying the money. It was written on a card each week what you paid. I remember her buying a formica table and chairs and something called a Kitchenette (larder come cupboard with a drop down table top) which was all the fashion.Think the only thing in it was the bowl of dripping! Can never understand why Welles used to have such posh furniture for the area. I remember Woolworths there and used to work in there on a Saturday when I was at school. Next door was a bakery and when you used to come home late you could smell the bread being baked. It was wonderful. There was a hairdressers called Barrys. Mens and ladies. You could go in there without an appointment and get your hair done not like today when you have to book up in advance and they turn you away if you just walk in off the street. There was a shop called Housemans.
They sold stockings and I used to be mesmorised by all the boxes of Polly Peck stockings. The assistant would get down the box of your size and colour and then put her hand through the stocking to show that there were no ladders. There was Rushtons on the corner by the Dun Cow which was a shoemender.The shop that sold stamps. A boots the chemist. Cant think of the coop furniture you talk of but used to do my mums shopping in the coop. She loved 99 tea. Used to go into David Greggs and they would cut the slices of ham for you fresh. Clarkes shoe shop that sold shoes cheaply that had been used on the models. Good if you took a size 5. A bookmakers was next to the Dun Cow and looked the hive of activity. A newspaper man was outside the Dun Cown selling the Evening Standard. I loved watching the van throw out the newspapers to the seller. There was a florist by the Becket called Welles. A butcher shop called something like Bridgers or Bridgemans. I always had to go in and say half a shoulder of best lamb its for my mum. I dont suppose they cared who it was for. I think the lino shop was Dourofs who were also at Peckham High Street. I can remember my mum buying me on the weekly a typewriter from Times Furnishing shop as she wanted me to work in an office. She thought that posh as she had worked in a factory. Another hairdressers called Exclusive and a posh dress shop called Foremans. Also a lovely dress shop called Dorothys. You would go all over the west end and then down Peckham and end up getting something better from Dorothys. Also lots of cafes.More memories there but dont want to bore you all. As I have said on a previous block all now has gone and it would break your heart going down the Old Kent Road.

me an my girl always went to the pictures at the elephant on sunday night an walking back to jamaica rd we always looked in wells bro's shop they had these fantastic italian beds all suede ,lights, an radios, we used to dream of having one. they were probably £199 a fortune. would'nt even fit in our pokey rooms. we did that walk an did'nt fink about it .would'nt do it now, (get mugged) if u look on google earth u can still see there logo on the gable end.  bought furniture from times in rye lane an paid weekly u could park outside go in pay maybe in there 10 minutes come out no ticket no problem now u would be towed away before u got in the door

Hi Jimmika
Reading your blog about Times Furniture Shop and Welles has brought back memories of the Old Kent Road. My mum used to buy her furniture there on the weekly. I can remember going in a paying the money. It was written on a card each week what you paid. I remember her buying a formica table and chairs and something called a Kitchenette (larder come cupboard with a drop down table top) which was all the fashion.Think the only thing in it was the bowl of dripping! Can never understand why Welles used to have such posh furniture for the area. I remember Woolworths there and used to work in there on a Saturday when I was at school. Next door was a bakery and when you used to come home late you could smell the bread being baked. It was wonderful. There was a hairdressers called Barrys. Mens and ladies. You could go in there without an appointment and get your hair done not like today when you have to book up in advance and they turn you away if you just walk in off the street. There was a shop called Housemans.
They sold stockings and I used to be mesmorised by all the boxes of Polly Peck stockings. The assistant would get down the box of your size and colour and then put her hand through the stocking to show that there were no ladders. There was Rushtons on the corner by the Dun Cow which was a shoemender.The shop that sold stamps. A boots the chemist. Cant think of the coop furniture you talk of but used to do my mums shopping in the coop. She loved 99 tea. Used to go into David Greggs and they would cut the slices of ham for you fresh. Clarkes shoe shop that sold shoes cheaply that had been used on the models. Good if you took a size 5. A bookmakers was next to the Dun Cow and looked the hive of activity. A newspaper man was outside the Dun Cown selling the Evening Standard. I loved watching the van throw out the newspapers to the seller. There was a florist by the Becket called Welles. A butcher shop called something like Bridgers or Bridgemans. I always had to go in and say half a shoulder of best lamb its for my mum. I dont suppose they cared who it was for. I think the lino shop was Dourofs who were also at Peckham High Street. I can remember my mum buying me on the weekly a typewriter from Times Furnishing shop as she wanted me to work in an office. She thought that posh as she had worked in a factory. Another hairdressers called Exclusive and a posh dress shop called Foremans. Also a lovely dress shop called Dorothys. You would go all over the west end and then down Peckham and end up getting something better from Dorothys. Also lots of cafes.More memories there but dont want to bore you all. As I have said on a previous block all now has gone and it would break your heart going down the Old Kent Road.

-bermondseygirl

Hi Bermondsey Girl I remember a lot of those shops in the old kent Road, particularly Barry's The Hair dresser, used to go there in the early sixties to have my hair cut in the Collage Boy Style, This involved cutting and washing when it came to the drying they used to put an Hair net over the hair to keep it flat, as the chair was in the window you used to sink down in case anybody saw you. Rick

My memory is being jogged by all the snippets I am reading, in the early 50's my Dad Frank Dowsett was head barman at the Bricklayers Arms pub next door to the picturehouse, my Mum Maude was the cook, I remember some of the shops a hairdressers a cafe & a Bank all next door to the picture house, my brother in law Terry Crawley worked as a upholsterer in Searles furniture store, I remember the toilets in the middle of the road at the brick, the brass work gleamed and fish were in the glass tanks & when the urinals flushed the fish finnished on their side intill it filled up again, Joyces in Tower Bridge Road was the best for pie and mash sawdust on the floor as well, health and safety to-day would have closed it down but we are still going strong after eating in these places. will write more as I remember more.

Hi Bermondsey Girl,
Can you remember what number you lived at in Earl Road?  My dad gave no.33 Earl Road as his residence on my birth certificate (1938).  However, we don't know of any relatives/friends who may have lived at that address!
Webbie

Hi Webbie
I lived No 30 Earl Road. No 33 would have been on the other side of the road. I was born 1942 and moved to Earl Road when I was about 3 years of age. Lived there until I got married at 22 years of age and like most people on this site moved to Orpington. I presume your fathers surname was Webb.What was his first name?
Bermondseygirl.

Hi Bermondseygirl,
Thanks for your message.
My dad's name was Bill Webb.  We know he was living at 33 Earl Road in June 1938, as that is the address on my birth certificate.  However, when he married my mum in February 1938 (yes, we've already done the maths and I don't think I was that premature!!) their address was shown as 100 Westmoreland Road.  I know of Westmoreland Road as being where some of our family lived, but do not know of anyone who lived in Earl Road.
At some stage my parents moved to 14 Hendre Road. as that is where I and my twin brother were brought up until we moved out of London in 1952/53.
I'm presuming (for some reason) my dad was lodging with someone in Earl Road at the time.  
I appreciate it was a long time ago and you were only 3 when you moved in at no.30, but it would be a great help if you could remember the name of whoever lived at 33 Earl Road. I would think whoever it was probably still lived there for some time after my dad moved out.
Best regards.
Charlie

Bermondseygirl,
You've jogged my memory too! My mum and dad had one of those old 'Kitchenettes,' when we lived on the top floor of a four-storey Victorian tenement  just off Manor Place, back in the early fifties. It was my first 'home' but it was a ghastly place that had neither electricity nor hot water. It still gives me the creeps to think about it. I remember the stamp shop in the Old Kent Road. It had a miniature railway in the window and you could put a penny in the slot and watch it go round. The shop was run a by a German-Jewish family. They had a sign in the window: 'Hier spricht mann Deutsch,' or something like that, meaning, 'German spoken here.' The betting shop by the 'Dun Cow' brings back memories. I was an avid greyhound racing fan back in the 1960's, and one day there was a betting coup involving an open race at, I think, Walthamstow. One of the dogs involved was called, 'Lambert's Cross,' a regular top-grade runner at New Cross Stadium. One of my mates had the forecast, but the bookies witheld payment due to very 'irregular' betting on the result. Bassically, the two most fancied dogs in the race finished first and second, but at the stadium some wide-boys were manipulating the tote betting and preventing anyone from betting the forecast on those two dogs. The forecast dividend should have been somewhere in the region of two quid, but it returned at some rediculous price that I can't remember, but running in to hundreds.
Sadly, you're right about the Old Kent Road these days. I've been back there for one or two 'sentimental journey's' and each time came away shaking my head.
'They can take away our arms and legs, but they can't take away our memories.'
Keep 'em coming.

How lovely to find this forum.  I was born in Rouel Road in 1950.  My family names are Dixon, Horstead, Cheal and Hanson. I have spent some years researching my family history.

I was given this link by a wonderful chap who has sent me a number of then and now photos of the buildings/houses where my family and ancestors lived in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe.  I cant wait to come back here later (up to my eyes in VAT return at mo) and read every word :)

Oh, the photo of that pie and mash had me drooling when I saw it :)  Mum used to drop us off at the pie and mash shop to be looked after by her mate Jean who worked there.  She would give my elder sister 4d to buy us a bowl of mash and liquor for our dinner whilst she met dad off the dock at Fishers or Butlers Wharf or did a bit of shopping at the market.

  I can still see those white bowls covered in crazing :), the mash scraped on the side and soaked in vinegar just how we liked it - I never used the Chilli vinegar, my sister told me the chillis were maggots - lol.  Wooden benches, marble table and wooden floors.

Wonderful days, cherished forever.

Must get on, back later to read everyones posts and look at the photos.

Oh, Bermondseygirl,  did your lot move out to St Pauls Cray/St Marys Cray too?

Hi Hethmar,my friend joan is a Dixon her dads name was Leonard,sadly he has past away though,she live Lynton road with her mum Rita not sure if they are related to you but hey you never know....sheila

Hi Hethmar
When we got married in 1964 we moved to St Pauls Cray. The name of the road was St Justin Close and it was at the top of a big hill. Used to walk into Oprington with the children in the pram. Orpington was a very quiet place when we lived there. I used to also walk up to Cotmandene to the library for something to do. Missed London so much. We stayed there for five years and then moved to Swanley. Now we live in Tunbridge Wells. I had a friend who lived in Rouell Road her name was Gwen Hedger. We went to Walworth School together. I remember Berts in East Street off Old Kent Road. Can remember going in one day and my mum asked where Bert was and his daughter said "He's gone", mum said where and she said he died. Was quite a shock. After that it didnt seem the same there. Mum used to always get her eels in a pie and mash shop in Peckham. We used to come out of the Astoria in the Old Kent Road and she would pop in and have some eels. I used to hate them. However, I now have a liking for jellied eels. Lovely.