West Street, Erith

My Mum worked at Burndetts in West St in the 50s. l think they made electrical transmitters.

I remember it well. At one end was the church, St John's. Looking from there towards Erith there was West Street school on the right, then there were shops, a cafe, greengrocer and the Coop, opposite them was a factory. Going further there was the church hall which was quite a busy place for activities and opposite more small shops. Further along was a factory set back which i think was Burndetts and a railway line crossed from there to the river. More shops on the right and houses opposite until near Walnut Road when there was another factory on the left and a little swimming pool on the right {demolished in the 1950s I think) by the road leading to the station.

Just to add some detail. The factory opposite the Co-op and the Church was Sebels, which made Mobo toys. Next to the church hall (which belonged to St John's) was St Fidelis Catholic Primary School and church. The railway line was an industrial one, trains took ballast from the sandpits off Fraser Road to the riverside to be used in the ships which were unloading. They were later replaced by lorries. Burndepts was along the path by the railway line, on the corner was Palmer and Harvey, a wholesaler. The south side of the road was a mixture of shops and houses; the north was more housing, some very old (that along Maxim Road was knocked down in the '60s). Marie asking about flats, some of the housing on the north side was four storey, with a basement and an attic; my impression was that it was mainly extended families but some parts, particularly the basement could have been rented separately. One of the shops near the station end was a high class jeweller, it was set back from the road, there was also an undertaker at that end. Much of the housing on the south side remains.

Brought back so many memories of the area. I lived in Pembroke Road and attended West Street school. Opposite was St John’s church where my parents were married in 1942. Thanks for the post.