Broadway c1955, Bexleyheath
Broadway c1955, Bexleyheath Ref: B650032
Memories of Broadway c1955, Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath. Then And Now
I lived in Belvedere. My sister and I would walk to Bexleyheath, crossing fields to go to the Regal Cinema. This cinema had a fine organ that came up from nowhere and was played by Reginald Fort during the films interval. Words of the songs were flashed on the screen and everyone sang along.. Popular songs at the time were "When the Poppies Bloom Again" and "Her name was Queen Mary she sailed the seven seas"etc.
Unfortunately, the second world war put an end to the organ. A bomb fell in about 1942 hitting that part of the cinema wall containing the organ pipes and electronics.
The Regal was demolished in the 50's and became a Bowling Alley and then Sainsbury's Super Market. Across the road from the Regal (Again in the 30s') was an older cinema called "The Broadway" This also became a supermarket
My sister died in 1977. The fields we walked through to get to Bexleyheath were used by light private aircraft giving public scenic flights for... Read more
Shop
Somewhere on the right there was an ice cream parlour. When my classmates and I left Bexleyheath Technical School in Townley Rd, we celebrated by congregating in this parlour to indulge in eating knickerboker glories.
Bexleyheath & local memories
Read and share memories of Bexleyheath and Kent inspired by Frith photos.
Owned The Lewis' Tobbaconist And Sweet Shop
My parents (Anita and Bill) owned and ran Lewis' tobacco and confectionery on the corner of Percy Rd and Pickford Lane, opposite the co-op between the 60s and 70s. We used to employ a woman called Dot who used to help serve customers with my mum. I remember in the mid 60's my father saved the owner of Cameron grocer's life by resuscitating him after he'd had a heart attack. We used to shovel the snow and ice off the pavements in front of the bus stop to stop people form falling. There was a woman who lived upstairs from Web's TV repair who was very beautiful but sadly died in her 40s of cancer - only a few years after we had moved there. There was a very nice pub across the way, can't remember the name. So many memories it's hard to pen them all down. Will need to update this later.
Bexleyheath Western End of Broadway
Please note there is no road called 'High Street' in Bexleyheath. The main shopping street has always been Broadway. Just behind the black car pulling out of a driveway on the left is Christchurch and cemetery. Also behind the car is the Pincott Memorial, which used to be sited where the clocktower now is. Pincott Memorial, a drinking fountain popular in olden days for horses, people and animals. You don't see many prams like that today either. Editor's note: Thank you for your information re the incorrect street name attributed to this image. Our Archivist has been informed and the image description will shortly be changed in our database and on the website.
A Schoolboy's View of Bexleyheath in The Early 1950s
I went to school in Bexleyheath between 1950 and 1954. I believe the school was in Pelham Road but I can't be sure. Maybe there was a separate infants department in North Street? My first (very young) girlfriend was there too and she lived just off the Green and was called Kay Thompson. I started school early at the age of 4 at North Street infants and moved on to Pelham Road Junior the other side of the site where Miss Harding taught us beautiful handwriting with pens and nibs that had to be dipped in inkwells! I remember the excitement of the Coronation in 1953 when we spent a lot of time making flags. I was given a Coronation cup and saucer at school. Sometimes I would come up to the High Street as I joined the cub pack in 1953 which met at the Congregational Church (the 4th Bexleyheath). Looking back on those years now I am nearer 70 than 60 it seems quite amazing how much... Read more
Lost Shop
I used to get all my motorcycle bits from a shop called Rapedes, they had a Vincent Rapede in the window. Back in 1985 or so I went back to look for the place, I had the old A-Z book from 1964 so I thought I should be okay... I asked a police man he laughed and said it was ASDA now. All gone years ago. I left Graham Road School in 1968. Barry
I Was Here in 1965
I remember the hut that was used as the changing rooms for all the outside sports, damn cold in the winter. Mr Lester was the Head at the time, mostly I remember the teachers Jim (Maths) and a tall teacher, very stern, chemistry, can't recall his name. Oh, and a Welsh teacher that taught English. I learned a lot at this place, best time ever when I think back. The girls school was the other side of a fence at the other end of the playing field. The last 2 years of my time there, the two schools merged into one. Shame there are not more photos of the old school. It's very clear in my mind but I would love to see some actual pictures. 2 of the kids in my class lived in one of the terrace houses in Gramham Road close to the TV factory at the end of that road. That burned down in 1966-1967 or so. Does anyone remember that? Barry
Welling of my Youth
Hi folks, just found this site. I lived with my Mum and Dad and brother at 70 Westwood Lane in Welling. Went to Hook Lane school at Welling Corner. I flubbed the eleven plus and went to Westwood Secondary School on Northumberland Ave. I met my wife at a record store on Welling High Street. We used to go to the Court Dance Hall on Saturday nights. My Dad was the Motoring Correspondent for the London Evening News. Spent many days at Danson Park at the pool with my Dad.
So many memories. I'm 67 now and live in Tucson Arizona after many years with British Motors in San Francisco. Lots to share but perhaps later.
Bexleyheath
After the Second World War my parents opened a shop at 25 Pickford Lane under the name J T Daborn. It was a tobacconist,toy and sweet shop. They opened in 1947 and traded there until retirement in the early 1970s. Customers might remember that my father was blind because of the war. The shop is immediately to the left of the one with the blind. I went to school at Brampton Road and then Graham Road School. As youngsters we played in Pickford Close in the middle of the road with so few cars and a piece of scrub land just off the Close. I remember the names Rawlings, David Pilgrim. I played hockey for Bexleyheath Hockey Club for many years having been taught at Graham Road School by a Mr Lock. The Headmaster was Mr Lester and I regret not ever returning to the school to thank him for all the encouragement and enthusiasm to study he instilled in me. I have many happy memories of Bexleyheath and after leaving... Read more
Parkside Avenue
I lived in Parkside Avenue, down near the bottom end ( think). A few houses away there lived a very quaint couple. They may have been German Jews or similar. He always walked a few steps behind his wife. Does anyone remember them or have any information on them?
STAYING WITH MY GRANDPARENTS
I have such fond memories of staying with my grandparents at Bedonwell Road during the 1960s. I remember walking with my Nana to Long Lane and being allowed to choose sweets from the shop and then getting the bus into Broadway. I loved looking at the toys in Hides department store and seeing Father Christmas there was an absolute dream. I enjoyed many milk shakes and knickerbocker glories at the Silver Lounge and loved trips to Danson Park. I also remember swimming at the Crook Log and if I remember correctly, I actually learned to swim there. Sadly, Grandad died in 1968 and Nana sold up and moved to Worthing. Even now, in my fifties, I often think about my wonderful times in Bexleyheath.
Married Life in Bexleyheath
We were married at St Paul's in Northumbeland Heath in 1962 and had reception at the Manor House, Danson Park. I was born in Romford and met my future wife at a party at the girlfriend's house. We courted each other across the Woolwich ferry (very romantic), many a time we rode together on the ferry and watched the steam engines working, then on the way to Romford we stopped and looked at the docks unloading etc. After our wedding we spent the first years in a flat in South Norwood. The wife continued to work in the city and this was convenient for commuting. I was a telephone engineer, stationed at Kidbrook and remember being up a pole at Bexleyheath and a smog came down, we rang the office and were told to return to base. We took 5 hours with a chap walking in front with a oil flare to guide us. My wife was nearly involved in the St John's rail crash of 1957, she would normally... Read more
Romance on Broadway
I met my wife Lorna on Broadway while she was shopping there with a couple of friends in January 1950. Seeing the picture of Broadway brought back many memories. Our first date we went to the cinema near the Clock Tower and saw 'The Captain and Mrs Muir'. We were married in Dartford in December 1953 and sailed for the USA a few days later and have lived here for the past 58 years. She used to live on The Green near Long Lane and went to school Dartford Grammar School for Girls. We used to go to dances at the Crayford Town Hall. I wonder if anyone else as old in the tooth as us remember those days.
Childhood
I remember going shopping in Pickford Lane and my brother eating ice-cream outside the paper shop in his pram. It is so different now.
Bexley Village
I remember growing up here as a child and remembering what a friendly village it was. My dad used to send us to the local butchers who knew us and we'd ask for roast beef for the family. He knew how many of us there were and used to give us a joint and put it on the books for my dad to pay later. We then used to go to the grocers next door who gave us the right veg for the roast on the books too. Then we used to pop in the sweet shop, get my dad's cigs and a couple of penny sweets xx I loved growing up in the little village where everyone knew everyone. I will always have fond memories of this place. I went to school at Bexley Tech for girls and the one where Mr Clutterbuck was the head. When I got older I remember meeting my mates at the Clockl Tower at Bexley Heath on a Saturday and going to the Saturday morning flick in... Read more
Happy Daysin Bexleyheath AndBarnehurst
I remember Barnehurst and Bexleyheath in the 1960s. I loved a girl called Lin who lived in Rudland Road in Barnehurst. We used to spend lots of Saturday afternoons in the Astor Cinema near to Bexleyheath Clock Tower. The Astor never had the latest films but it was cosy. I remember there were always two features and the first would be an Edgar Wallace thriller in black and white that always started with the Shadows playing ‘Man of Mystery’. I asked her to marry me there whilst watching 'The Glenn Miller Story'.
The winter of 1963 was very harsh with deep snow for months on end but the buses always seemed to keep running. We all wore overcoats and mitts every time we went out. Lin and I used to go and sit in the bowling alley up by the side of the ABC cinema because it was the only place we could keep ourselves warm for free. Afterwards we would buy 6d-worth of chips from a chippy in... Read more
Silver Lounge 122696
Reading all the memories of the above, brings back a lot of my own. I lived near Richards Corner on the 122 route, and roamed from the Pantiles to Bexleyheath High Street. Went to school at Bedonwell 1949 to 1954 and then 1954 to 1959 Northumberland Heath (were you there then?) A paper round on and around Rydal Drive, and picking up girls with my mate Andy Bond at the pictures, The Regal, Odeon and Granada. The Knickerbocker Glories at the Silver Lounge, and the Wimpy's were great, nothing like they are now. The 696 used to take me to Dartford to visit my grandparents, my girlfriend Sally in Wattling Street and there are so many more memories that I have. How about the Embassy ballroom with a band on a Saturday afternoon. Remember the snow in 1963? And one more - does any one know how to turn back the hands of time???
Bexleyheath Bus Garage
I lived opposite the bus garage for many years (from 1949), my mum worked in the newsagents in the parade of shops (next to the garage) then at Lewis sweet shop at the clock-tower. My dad was a coach driver for Margo's, Bexleyheath, for as long as I can remember. I had a Saturday job at Barret's the shoe shop in the Broadway, we would go to the Silver Lounge for lunch and walk back eating our ice cream which they used to dip in hot chocolate for us. I can taste it now. Saturday night we would go to the Inferno at Welling or The Black Cat Club next to Woolwich Arsenal Station. I have loads of wonderful memories of my childhood in Bexleyheath and I would not swap them for the world.
Catapault Elastic And More
I lived in Midhurst Hill, off Townley Road, a couple of years after this photo was taken, quite scarey to see how old fashioned it looks now. I used to buy my catapault elastic in Jennings. I went to Upton Road Primary and remember Ms Brager telling us of the Aberfan Disaster and all going into the playground to see an eclipse of the sun, armed with dark glass bottles to protect our eyes! I spent most of my first week's wages at the age of 15 on a pair of Prince of Wales check trousers in the men's wear shop opposite Jennings and not quite in this photo. I got told off for wearing them to work the next day as a butcher boy at the Co-op at Pickford Lane by my manager, a lovely man called Ernie Hunt. I remember taking buses to Woolwich indoor market, seeing Cliff in 'Summer Holiday' at the Astor by the clocktower, walking to Martyns Grove swimming pool, Crayford Market on a Sunday... Read more
Broadway
I used to live in 'The Nine Gables' pink painted house in Woolwich Road opposite the Graham Road Secondary Modern School for boys and was the only boy caned for hitting the headmaster with a snowball full in his face ! My house was not far from the Broadway, and I spent many a time walking down the Watling Street shops.
As far as I remember there was a cinema by the clocktower on the corner of Erith Road, and our meanderings used to start at this end of the Broadway.
First off we would pop into Woolies for a look round and onwards to the large toy store on the right hand side, then on to a department store to watch a demo of the new fad called stereo radio!
I also remember when sweets came off ration and not a sweet was left in the shops for quite a time, only dummy boxes, but soon we were able to buy a bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk for... Read more
My Memories From 1955-72
I lived in Station Road till 1955, then moved to Franklin Road and lived there till 1972. I can remember most of this parade of shops, starting at Lewis's on the corner of Percy Road, Frost's TV repair shop, Home & Colonial, Pricerites, H M Lawrence (insurance), Cafe, Bakers?, Jenkins? chemist ... then over the road to drycleaners?, Jack Roberts (grocer), Dredges (butcher), and a hairdressers ... further up near St Peter's Church was Cameron's grocer, and over the road Lepard's PO, petrol station, Footits newsagents, hairdressers, greengrocers, Dolcis Ave unused shop, Picketts butcher, Pickford Lane Cars, Web's TV rental, Farsams DIY, Lee's hairdressers, Lockyers ironmonger, launderette, carpet shop, off license, Bata shoes, Daborn's toys, ???, Manktelows wool shop, big builders shop, Jenny Mac's corner shop, Batchelor's fish shop, post office, plant and corn stores? next to railway... opposite was a row of Co-op shops including tobacconist in the middle- phew! me brain hurts now.- Bexleyheath station to the ABC (Regal), Bexleyheath was 2d on the 122 bus ... and... Read more
I Saw The ABC Cine Bowl Built And Pulled Down!
I left Graham Road Secondary School for boys in 1963 ... and played in the foundations of the ABD Cine Bowl ... it seems strange to see Asdas sitting there now ...
Pickford Lane
I grew up in Bexleyheath in the late 1950s and 1960s. The shops in Pickford Lane were the nearest to my house in Woodlands Road and those of my grandparents who lived in nearby Herbert Road. I recall Daborns toy shop on the left hand side of the parade. The 'Home and Colonial' shop on the right hand side; nearby was a sweet shop and greengrocers. The hall above the 'Co-op' was home to a youth club and the early versions of a disco on a Friday night. Opposite the 'Co-op' was the chip shop and a newsagents called 'Macs' I believe. The 122 buses that stopped in Pickford Lane would take us to the Broadway and school; and later the trains at adjacent Bexleyheath station carried us to London and our first jobs when we all left school.
Shops
Hinds was on the right. I had those reels of self taken photos in a booth taken there.
Danson Park And The Broadway
I am eight years old and walking to the Broadway to see my grandad who had the barber's shop next to the LEB showrooms just round the corner from Lion Road.
I remember walking into the shop which had about three basins for shaving and hair cuts. He was there 40 odd years.
The kitchen out the back was where my grandad lived and wooden stairs went into a bedroom. I remember the Library to doors down painted dark green with stairs going up to the doors. Does any one remember Elizabeths, the posh dress shop and the 1940 cleaners where I stood and watched weddings every Saturday across the road at Christ Church. I was that bride in 1967.
Yes I also remember Hides the department store, very posh then and also Jennings across the way.
My dad worked at the Co-Op as a butcher for a while and our Co-Op number was 284901. How sad is that.
I remember going to Sunday School Down Bean Road... Read more
Meet You at The Clocktower!
I wouldn't be surprised if I was in this photo! Saturday mornings were the time when we met friends at the clocktower, and then spent time chatting and wandering around the shops and into the record shops to listen to the latest hits in the record booths. A coffee in the coffee bar .. or if we were lucky a Wimpy ... and then home.
Schooldays in Bexleyheath
I went to school in Bexleyheath between 1950 and 1954. I believe the school was in Pelham Road but I can't be sure. Maybe there was a separate infants school in North Street? I remember the excitement of the Coronation in 1953 when we spent a lot of time making flags. I was given a Coronation cup and saucer at school.
Sometimes I would come up to the High Street as I joined the cub pack in 1953 which met at the Congregational Church. Looking back on those years now I am in my sixties it seems quite amazing how much freedom we had at such a very young age. I would travel to school unaccompanied on the 401 or the 486 bus (fare one penny!).
I can remember shopping with my mother and seeing the trolleybuses by the Clock Tower shown in this view. Happy memories!
Danson Park
I purchased this picture for my mum for Mother's Day. She and her sister (who now has sadly died) used to play at Danson Park when they were young - my mum has a good memory of her sister swimming the lake.
The Good Old Days
In the mid 1950's I used to work as a young school boy on a Saturday morning for the butcher ( I think his surname was Finch) just out of shot on the extreme left of the picture. I used to ride a delivery bicycle, small wheel at the front with a large wicker basket. The photographer had his back to the Co-op and once/twice a year you went to the room above the shop to exchange your tin "divi" coins. Also a school chum lived in Pickford Close by the surname of Rawlings and I remember making a miniture seesaw for his pet mouse. He still owes me for it! I also remember cycling from Brampton Road (the cul-de-sac opposite the goods yard which I believe is no longer there) to the Co-op on my brand new bicycle on an errand for my mother then walked back home only to relise where I had left my bicycle. It was still there, no lock or chain. I now live in... Read more
My Childhood
I moved to Pickford Close (the turning halfway up in this photo) in January 1953 as a 5 yr old. I remember the sweet shop and gracious me the bus stop is still in the same place. It is strange to see just one small car compared to nowadays when it is a nightmare trying to park at all. I had a paper round with Mac's which was a papershop on the opposite corder to Lewis's.
Rowing on The Lake
Unfortunately vague memories of my sister and I rowing on the lake at Danson park, that's really all I can recall at this stage.
Childhood Memories
We used to live at The Green, Bexleyheath off Heversham Road and my earliest memories were riding my tricycle around the detached bungalow. My mother took me shopping at Long Lane on this tricycle which had a boot and a rod device that allowed her full control of it. The Co-op then was three separate shops rather than the supermarket of today. A Greengrocers, a Butchers and Grocers. I can remember a money safe within the back counter, a bad egg light detector and the little counter where the plastic dividend coins were handed out. Across the road was H L Strong another grocers with a window display of chrome, brass, glass and marble slabs. My father knew Mr King who ran the garage and next door was a gents barbers via a side entrance with a ladies salon at the front. The barbers has now gone and was demolished to expand the garage. At the other end of the parade of shops was the... Read more
Silver Lounge
The Silver Lounge makes me remember summer holidays when my mum was working in Collins Cleaners near the traffic lights at Gravel Hill, and I was looked after by my elder brothers and sister. My sister and I would meet Mum outside the Silver Lounge in her lunch break and then we would be treated to spaghetti on toast and an ice-cream. The diner was all chrome and an American theme with knickerbocker glories. Mum would then go back to work and we would then go to the playground over the road before going home to Cuxton Close. I can remember shopping in the Co-op with my mum doing the weekly shop, there was eight of us at home, and walking all the way home. Does anyone remember the Candy Box sweet shop further down the High Street near the library and the Salvation Army hall? I went to Guides there and had a wonderful time. Further along the road where the Sally Army hall was there was a grocers... Read more
The Broadway, Bexleyheath 1953 on
I used to live in Grace Avenue, Bexleyheath and one of my earliest memories is of first viewing the house when I was 2 years old. We moved in about 6 months later. I can remember seeing Fairfield Road marked out ready to be built and I believe there were allotments next to it. The Broadway was the hub of the area. I remember the department stores Jennings and Hides on the opposite side. There used to be a young man manning the doors to the lift in Hides but later on there was an automated message in the lift "Stand Clear of the Gates!". I can hear it now in my head. I remember walking to the park or wasteland on Gravel Hill and picking blackberries there. My friends and I used to go to Windmill Park and climb trees and there was an empty house next to it which had an old pond where I used to catch newts. The house was... Read more
Fairs, Cinema And Hides
From the lates 50's I remember going to Danson Park fairs. My brother would take me when I was quite young and I seem to remember him winning a large dog on the air rifles - I think it must have cost him quite a bit to win it, but my mother was pleased with it and the dog 'lived' on the window ledge for many years. As I grew older Bexleyheath became such an important Saturday place for me. When the ten pin bowl opened I spent many happy hours there, I bought my first single record in the co-op in 1963 (I think), it was Jimmy Justice's Ain't that Funny. The co-op had a deli, the first I had ever seen, and it sold, would you believe, chocolate covered ants - does anyone remember them?
I remember the new cinema opening and I occasionally used to go there. I can't recall the name of it, but the other one, the large... Read more
