| STANMORE OLD AND NEW mail-me@chaseside.org.uk I was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, in
1947 and lived there until 1979 when I moved to Hatch End. During that
time the centre of the village, Church Road, The Broadway and
Stanmore Hill inevitably began to change in character as the population
grew and
some historic buildings were demolished to meet increasing
demands for new shops, offices and accommodation.
Changes continued after I moved to Bedfordshire in 1983 and for many years I lost touch completely with developments, but three years ago I revisited Stanmore with a friend from the old days and we tried to relate our memories of the place we grew up in to the current layout of the centre particularly with reference to the shops and other business we and our families used daily. This was not very successful as some parts had changed almost beyond recognition and of course our memories had faded during the intervening years. My interest was revived recently when browsing the internet I found a web site with lists of businesses situated on various shopping parades in Harrow East including those in Stanmore. The lists for Stanmore were not definitive but it occurred to me that they could make a useful starting point for further investigation and I might draw up a plan showing the shops in the village as it was in my childhood in the 1950s and early 1960s compared with today's busy suburban shopping centre. I should like to thank Colin for posting the lists that started me on this little project which is admittedly very limited in its scope. I hope those who knew Stanmore 40+ years ago will find this of some interest and if you would like to send me comments, corrections or additional information please click one of the mail-me@chaseside.org.uk links on this page. I shall be very pleased to hear from you. I have listed below some queries I have at the moment on which I am hoping for new sources of information. Perhaps you have your own memories or access to old street directories, reference books or photographs? Again, if you can throw light on any of these, please get in touch. Information taken from old photos would be welcome but scanned copies would obviously be better. Images sent to me will be used to add to my knowledge and the information on this website. They will not be published in any form. Please note this is still very much a work in progress and some details, particularly of The Broadway and Stanmore Hill are far from complete.
SOME OUTSTANDING QUERIES
Please email if you can assist with further information or photos mail-me@chaseside.org.uk 48-58
Church Road
I believe these
6 shop units were built in late 50s [which year completed?] and were
originally
occupied by Bishop's Food Stores and Two-Stroke Cars. In 1961/2 Bishops moved to the newly
opened Buckingham Parade in the Broadway and J Pullen opened at
48-50. There is a Francis Frith photo dated c1965 showing J Pullen here
but it doesn’t show what occupied the remaining units. The car
showroom was certainly still trading in the 1980s under the name
Continental Motors so that seems to leave two units unaccounted for
during the 60s. Were these taken by a butcher and greengrocer trading
as West?
36
Church Road
I remember this
originally as a ladies hair salon. In the early
1960s it also housed a back room café accessible through a side
entrance in Elm Park where frothy coffee was served in glass cups and
there was a juke box mounted on the wall. This enterprise was run by a
young man called Pip Lewis who I believe was related to the woman who
owned the hair salon [his mother, his aunt?]. When the salon
closed I think the premises became the Stanmore Grill [which year?]. I
know that Pip was killed in a car crash on the Watford bypass but
I don’t remember whether this was before or after the Stanmore Grill
opened or whether he had any involvement in that business.
Church
Road South Side
between Elm Park and the Broadway junction
All the premises here
(except 36, see above) seem to be accounted for but I am looking for
photographs of these old buildings taken post WWII. There seems to be
nothing available on the Internet other than ancient photos of the
Fountain Inn.
Church Road North Side between The Post Office and Lloyds Bank Most of the premises
here are accounted for too though I am not sure whether the Gift Shop
listed
at 29 was “The Georgian Gift Shop” I remember as a child. It could have
been here or on Stanmore Hill or even in the Broadway somewhere on the
north side towards the junction with Dennis Lane. I visualise it as a
small detached building - possibly only one storey - with steps leading
up to its door. Again I am looking for post-WWII photographs of this
stretch of Church Road and anything further on the Georgian Gift Shop.
26-30
The
BroadwayI remember
The Normandy restaurant and tea room at 28 The Broadway with its
wood-panelled walls and high-backed wooden settles. I remember going
there for afternoon tea with my
mother during shopping trips. The only reference to it that I have
found is in an article concerning the history of The Grove on Stanmore
Hill
which refers to it in 1950 as “A Normandy restaurant”. This suggests to
me that it may have been part of a chain.
At some time in the early 1960s it closed and the premises were reopened [which year?] after much refurbishment as Maxim’s, a plush West End style restaurant owned or partly owned by the entertainer Max Bygraves who at that time lived nearby in Canon’s Drive, Edgware. I believe Augustus Barnett, later the proprietor of a chain of wine stores may have been involved in some capacity [confirmation required]. When Maxim’s closed [which year?], No.28 became a Chinese restaurant and it has remained so to this day. I am hoping for further information on The Normandy and Maxim's or the premises' previous incarnation, The Hunter's Horn. More queries to follow… mail-me@chaseside.org.uk |
