Bermondsey Yesterday and Today

Old radio shows, shows we were glued to, we've mentioned Billy Cotton, how about  "Journey into space" 1950's,  Capt' Jet Morgan, Lemmy, and the rest of the crew of the Luna spaceship make the 1st
trip to the moon( set in the future 1965 )-only to find they are not alone!!!, we would all sit round the radio wide eyed and completely silent, much to our mum's delight, brilliant.. i bet a few of you remember it.

Hi Pete re-old radio shows 1950s,just a few to jog the old memory, Dick Barton like "Journey into Space" couldn't miss this one.Family Favourites,Hankcocks Halfhour,Mrs Dales Diary,Rays a Laugh,Life With the Lyons and of course,dinner time mid- week Music While you Work and they never swore to get a laugh. Then of course when Radio Luxenbourg started with all the pop music of the day it was great,except when you tried to tape it on to your tape recorder.Half way through it would fade or crackle like hell, that's when I swore but it didn't make anyone laugh

 KIWI  
    

Old Radio shows:

Hi Kiwi,
how about,the Arthur Askey show, the Navy Lark- meet the Huggetts, the goons, and life with the Lyons,
just to name a few more, sad old gits aint we, but i like it,
"music while you work, Hitler is a twerp!!! " oh,well, time for me pill,  g'night.
Fred.

Victoria Place 1933 Decima Street

Thanks to paperboy for help on this one, his mothers recalls the area before redevelopment in the 1930s.

Victoria Place could be found at the far end of Decima Street directly behind the Ship Public House in Long Lane and on the left in Wilds Rents when entering from Long Lane.

It would seem  Victoria Place when demolished was replaced with a block of flats ( see picture ) although the buildings to the rear in Long Lane are as shown on the 1878 Ordnance Survey Map.

I understand the Ship Public House has now closed and turned into flats but the old Ship sign still remains

vine st buildings was near where hms belfast is moored

Thanks for all the excellent info you've posted about Parkers Row, fosney. My Great Grandparents lived there when they married at Christ Church in 1885 and, because I know little to nothing about them, every little bit helps me put together a mental picture of what their world must have been like then. I've been away for a long while - having relocated from Massachusetts to Arizona - and I have to say that I've been enjoying all the back-and-forth chatter about the people, places and things that still live in the memories of all the contributors here. It's almost like coming home for a visit.

Thank you, everybody. Thanks, fosney. 

And a special thanks to esther for sharing her memories with me.

Hi EVERYONE.

Someone mentioned the toilets in TBR a little while ago, so better late than never. Just received this photo of the toilets with the building in the back ground being where the Trocette Cinema was.

 KIWI

Problems Uploading  Re Above

Hickmans Folly and Wolseley Street

Original DocklHead Post Office

The original Dockhead Post Office was on the corner of Wolseley Street ( London Street ) and Hickmans Folly with the juction with Dockhead and Parkers Row.

The picture shows the Post Office with Wolseley Street to the left ( Formerly London Street ) and Hickmans Folly to the right picture taken in a postion where Dockhead and Parkers Row Meet.

London Street shown on the map was renamed Wolseley Street in 1912 in the LCC street renaming program of that period.

Both London Street and Hickmans Folly like many other streets in the area can be found on the street index for 1799.

The whole area was destroyed by bombing during the later part of the war with the destruction of the RC Church and surrounding area which can be seen in the photographs of the time  ( other pictures of the area can be seen on page 12 of Yesterday and Today ).

After the war reconstruction took place of the area which left as with what we see today

I lived on the Old Kent Rd from 68-77.
There was a little newsagents shop on the left hand side as you went down Dunton Road from Old Kent Rd and a chippy on the right

RE- Cobourgkid, Newsagents in Dunton Road, Old Kent Road end. I’m going back about ten years (58) and I think there was a newsagent there then. There was also a café which we used when I worked on the railway, not sure of the name of either of them but the café was owned by either a Greek or Turkish couple.
  KIWI

The newsagents was called BROWNS. There was Winnie and I think her husband was John. They also had the paper stall outside the Dun Cow. Another Brown had a tobaccanist in the Old Kent Road next to Bertroms,/ or was this before your time, 1950s.The cafe you mention was next door to Ashes dairy, /corner of Marcia Road/.

a great pic of st olaves library  had the pic been a bit more to the left   i could have seen my old blds vine st through the park     nobody have come up with any pics yet  maybe some day i will keep looking  there was a lot of people lived in them flats   there has to be a pic some were   great site for us bermondsey folk

Hi  Rollsey

Thanks for that would never have guest the newsagents was called Browns, but I can remember the paper stall outside the Dun Cow. I can also remember Bert’s pie &mash shop in the Old Kent Road. You mention that it started in East Street, would this be coming from the Old Kent Road on the left hand side. I also remember the coffee stall corner Dunton/Rolls Rd and Georges (Hole in the Wall), what  I would give for Saveloy, Pease Pudding and Chips which tastes just like that again. Had a many a drink in the Gloucester Arms when I work on the railway and my sister lived in the flats behind the pub. Do you remember the car dealers in Albany Road next door to the Thomas A’ Becket a friend of mine (Brian Greenwood) worked there in the early 60s.The man that owned it used to be a racing driver, can’t remember his name but he kept his racing cars in a garage in the East End. Unfortunately he died in a racing accident in the sixties; I think it was at Silverstone.

    KIWI         

Grange Road

Picture from outside the old Cinema

Hi Fosney,

Very interesting piece about Molins. I have researched the history of the Evelyn St site and have a bit of  information on it to add. Would you mind copying your piece into the seperate "Molins" forum that I set up so that we can keep it all together?

Thank you,

George61

Joe/fosney,

Problems Uploading  Re Above
Hickmans Folly and Wolseley Street
Original DocklHead Post Office
The original Dockhead Post Office was on the corner of Wolseley Street ( London Street ) and Hickmans Folly with the juction with Dockhead and Parkers Row.
The picture shows the Post Office with Wolseley Street to the left ( Formerly London Street ) and Hickmans Folly to the right picture taken in a postion where Dockhead and Parkers Row Meet.
London Street shown on the map was renamed Wolseley Street in 1912 in the LCC street renaming program of that period.
Both London Street and Hickmans Folly like many other streets in the area can be found on the street index for 1799.
The whole area was destroyed by bombing during the later part of the war with the destruction of the RC Church and surrounding area which can be seen in the photographs of the time  ( other pictures of the area can be seen on page 12 of Yesterday and Today ).
After the war reconstruction took place of the area which left as with what we see today

-fosney

Many thanks for your posts.  When I saw London Street on the map, it sent shivers up my spine.  My great great grandparents lived there with their kids when it was a notorious slum - number 9.  Unfortunately the house numbers aren't shown on the 1799 map, although the house where my great grandpa was born in 1845 is, and that was 7 Nutkins Corner, now the section of George Row nearest the river.  That house was almost opposite Jacob Street.  They were in London Street in 1849: great grandpa's mum died from cholera in the epidemic, but the rest of the family survived.  However, great grandpa's little brother died within months from TB, in a neighbour's house.  I would guess that his dad was out working, so the little boy (only two years old) was cared for by a kind, and equally poor, neighbour.  Great grandpa had determination: he saved his pennies working as an errand boy (shown 1861 as such age 16), then June 1861 was apprenticed to a lighterman, completed his 7 years, got his freedom from bonding, and then married by great grandmother.  Lightermen were paid quite well.  He also applied for, and was granted, freedom of the City of London.  This made him even more respectable.  No stories of poverty ever reached me via my aunts and uncles.  My bit of the family had left that behind.  By contrast, my great grandpa's brothers worked as rope makers, on the long rope walks that existed in Bermondsey in the first half of the 19th century, which then became long straight streets of houses. My grandpa was also able to acquire Freedom as a result of his father being a Freeman.  Then an uncle of mine was able to acquire it, and his daughter, my cousin could apply if she so wished.

Hi Crosby,

  Regarding the St Pauls church photo, if you look just to the left of the tree on the right hand side (in the google street view) you can just make out the white finish of the top floor of the 2 storey houses that run along Porlock St.
  In the old view, the houses are on the left and you can make out the white upper portion. I think the old photo would have been taken almost outside the pub in Kipling St that faces down Porlock St (The Brittania?).
 Todays photo is the old Bricklayers arms depot after it was cleared, but before it was redeveloped. So probably in the early 80s? The view is towards South Bermondsey from the Dunton Rd bridge.So I don't know if the view today would work, as the bridge is no longer there.

-crosby34

Many thanks for your photos of Bricklayers Arms railway site.  My great grandfather, John Sales, began working there as a cleaner - quite a change from being a Kent farm labourer.  He progressed to locomotive fireman, then driver, on the London Chatham and Dover Railway.  I went to The National Archives and found him in the staff register.  He died 1900 from a stroke.

If I send you a message with my email, would you be willing to email the photos across to me?

Regards,
Kathy

Any members of the forum are free to use any photo that I have submitted - just right click the picture and "save image as" and use it to start your own Topic

George61 and Kathy please feel free to do so