Uxbridge c1965, Hatch End
Uxbridge c1965, Hatch End Ref: H404057
Memories of Uxbridge c1965, Hatch End
Hatch End Shops in The 1960''s
I lived in Hatch End from 1956 until I went up to Manchester in 1966, so I got to know my local shops both as a helpful schoolboy running errands for my mum to MacPhails the greengrocer and later as a teenager buying my records in Giles and my half pints of Benskins in "The Railway".
This view on the left side shows Payantake Supermarket, Signal Service radio shop, Woolworths and Spurlings Vauxhall Garage. On the right Budgens grocers at the corner of Grimsdyke Road, MacPhails, Boots (the manager Mr Thomas had two lovely daughters!), Whitworths sweet shop, the telephone exchange, an alleyway leading to the 1st Hatch End Scout Hut, Halls Chemist and Geoffrey Irvine Estate Agent.
I recall happy Friday evenings with the Scout Troop which was run for so many years by Jack Walters - he would dismiss us at 9 o'clock with announcements and prayers and tell us to behave as we went home past the shops in Uxbridge Road. Little... Read more
Women at Work
On the right, between the first and second trees there was AJC Motors, apart from Cornwall Garage, the local garage and filling station. The premises comprised an office on the street with an arch at the side leading to the workshop. Standing on the pavement, but hard against the office wall, was the petrol pump. It had a huge boom which was swung out across the pavement so as to serve petrol to cars drawn up on the road outside. I only ever saw this manned, or staffed I should say, by a woman. She wore dungarees and had a scarf round her hair. When petrol was needed she would don a pair of heavy gloves, swing out the boom and start to work the pump. And work she did. This was not a modern electric pump; this was manual!! At the top of the pump was a glass measure, like a pub optic, which held half a gallon; she would turn the pumping handle in one direction... Read more
Hatch End & local memories
Read and share memories of Hatch End and Middlesex inspired by Frith photos.
My Favourite Car Was A Triumph Spitfire From The Cornwall Garage
I bought my favourite car in Hatch End from the Cornwall Garage in 1970. It is on the right of this view beyond the row of shops and the crossroads of Uxbridge Road and Cornwall Road. It was a 1966 Triumph Spitfire, pale blue with two black "racing stripes" up the long bonnet over the hard top and down the boot! It cost me all of £465 in April 1970. I rather think that the car is no more as I drove it for four years until selling it in my new home town of Sevenoaks to a local fireman who thought he may have mechanical and welding skills to strengthen the rusty body! Although these cars did not have large engines they were blessed with excellent acceleration thanks to a low body weight. Sadly the cornering was not great and it was possible to hang out the tail in spectacular skids!
The Cornwall Garage was run by decent and honest people and they looked after me... Read more
1960s Shopping in Uxbridge Road, Hatch End
On the left of this view is the pub sign for the "Railway Hotel" - a popular drinking venue for older members of St Anselm's Youth Club and the Hatch End Young Conservatives! Next door is a garage forecourt sign - this was the Cornwall Garage where I bought a lovely blue Triumph Spitfire two-seater in 1970. I returned there in the 1980s when they had a Fiat franchise and bought a couple of new cars from them.
On the opposite side was a branch of Barclays Bank, managed by Mr Alf Woolley, and further down towards the corner of Grimsdyke Road a branch of the National Provincial Bank where I had a savings account.
On the extreme right of the picture (really just out of view) is Hatch End Post Office. I worked there as a Christmas "casual" in 1965 while I was a sixth former at Pinner Grammar School. I had a lovely time on the parcels counter - the permanent staff would weigh parcels... Read more
Dicing With Death
In my day there was a triangular grass island where Old Redding met the Oxhey Lane; that possibly saved my life. What is not apparent from the photo is that Old Redding is a 1 in 9 incline. One day, whilst seeking more exciting places to use my go-kart (that is an unpowered vehicle comprising four pram wheels on a wooden plank with rudimentary steering and no brakes) my chums and I decided to try our luck at Old Redding.
On the first run, gaining on the Morris going down ahead of me should have been a clue; an impact was avoided by running onto a convenient piece of verge to slow down.
On the second run, my brake linings (i.e. my shoes running on the road surface) gave out; there was no more verge; only the grass island; that was just enough.
There was no third run.
The SS Motor Company "Jaguar"
While my father was having his house built in Thornton Grove he rented rooms from Mrs Parry who lived at "Marden", a vast rambling Victorian pile at the end of Westfield Park, not far from the church. She had a gardner called Mr Hedges; how appropriate!
Next door there was a family with a son a similar age to myself. One day I was invited to join the family on an outing. I recall nothing of the ocassion save that the father had a very smart car. Cars tended to be pre-war in those days; production had restarted after the war (sorry, the war of 1939-45) but new cars were not available in large numbers; driving a prewar car was not considered odd.
The SS Motor Company found fame with its "Jaguar" model and our neighbour had one of those. It even had a wireless. Apart from police cars I had never seen a car with a wireless before. The one... Read more
The Hatch End Bus Stop
In the middle of this picture is a bus stop where the London Transport red double-deckers on routes 98B and 209 stop. Both routes ran to Pinner in a westerly direction and I would stand at this stop many hundreds of times between 1956 and 1963 to catch the 209 bus to Pinner Grammar School - often with my schoolfriend Roger Gilbert.
The trees shown in this photo are still there, but now fully grown!
Memories of The Church
My best friends father used to be Vicar here back in 1960's (Rev J Gaunt). Sabrina and I would hang around Hatch End at various places getting up to all sorts of mischief. I had my confirmation at this Church under the guidance of Rev Gaunt but carried out by the Bishop of Singapore who was visiting at the time. When Rev Gaunt moved on the fabulous Rev CLive Pearce took up residence. Clive carried out my wedding service in this church on 31/12/1977, and also the wedding of my sister Lorna just two weeks after me. Subsequently my two children and my two nephews were christened also here. Clive was affectionately known to all my family as "Father Up". He was named this as he lived farther up the road than us!!!
Hatch End Memories!!
I just stumbled across this site, and I had to post some of my memories here! I remember so much of Hatch End, (I'm going to run out of characters in this box - may have to add anther one). I remember Budgens and also Akropolis and I'm sure there was a hairdressers up that end too. There was also a tailors along there. I definitely remember the butchers as there was a young man in there I took a shine to, and every time my mum would go in there to get her meat, I would giggle and act all silly. I think it was my first ever crush!
I remember the gift shop and also Martins on the corner. I used to buy all my 33" and 45" records here and would spend my pocket money there every week. I remember the Railway pub, as my parents used to spend a lot of time in there (Linda and Stanley Holloway). As a child I remember bits and... Read more
Fabulous Hatch End
I also remember this scene of Hatch End. I lived in the Pub which just about appears in this picture on the top far right, its the white buillding that is just sticking out slightly. Next door to the pub was the Conoco garage where someone called Tony Waite worked. I used to watch him from the side window of the pub. Just past the pub there was a baby/knitting shop and then came the newsagents called Dells which my parents later bought in the late 1970's. Dells used to be on the site of Sainsburys which was a large shop with marbled counters. Past Sainsburys was a small gift shop called Smails and then came the TV repair shop. This part has now all changed. After that came a greengrocers and the photographers Malcom Morgans. Down the other end of Hatch End we had Bristol Street Motors where I had my first office job, opposite the garage on the other side of the road was Bunces newsagents and the... Read more
St Anselms Church
This is an unusual view of St Anselm's as I don't recall ever standing on the churchyard flowerbeds! My own routine was arriving in the last few seconds before the vicar and choir processed into church for 9.30 Parish Communion service! This meant that the view I got was a hasty glance at the church porch steps as I rushed inside - along with the many other latecomers from the church youth club!
The church has a huge plot within Westfield Park, a crescent close to Hatch End railway station. The church bell would toll during the solemn moments of consecration of the bread and wine and be heard by nearby residents and railway passengers on the station platforms!
This was a thriving and happy church in the 1950s and 1960s with strong links to the youth club, the 1st Hatch End Scout Group and the local Guides and Brownies. I married there in 1971 and moved away from the area - like most young... Read more
Old Redding - Both Famous And Notorious !
Old Redding is a hilly rural lane connecting Hatch End with Harrow Weald. It is notorious for its connection with The Grimsdyke Hotel where Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame met his death in a drowning tragedy.
It is also famous for its reputation among local young people who congregate in the car park for different purposes by day and night. On a clear day you can look south all the way as far as Heathrow Airport and see a succession of aircraft taking off and landing. As a young boy I would enjoy picnics there and watch the planes in the distance.
However, as I grew older I learned from my teenage friends that the car park was a wonderful place at night for courting! I think most of us in the St Anselm's Church Youth Club parked there in the 1960's!
My Bus to School From Hatch End to Pinner Grammar School
My bus to school, Pinner Grammar, went from this stop in Uxbridge Road in the centre of the picture. It was a red London Transport double-decker route 209 that took us all the way to Cannon Lane between Pinner and Rayners Lane. If we missed it then the 98b would take us towards Eastcote which was most of the way and we would jump off at East or West Towers and run the last mile to school taking a short cut through the junior school as fast as we could and ignoring the shouted complaints of the junior school staff!
On days when we got to the bus stop early we would idle away a few minutes gazing in the window of "Signal Service" at the very latest transistor radios! On the opposite pavement was Hatch End telephone exchange and nearby was Whitworths sweet shop run by Frank Whitworth, our family's neighbour in Hillview Road. I used this bus stop for my school years between 1956 and 1963 although... Read more
W H Smith in Hatch End!
This view shows a branch of Smiths on the corner of Uxbridge Road and Grimsdyke Road on the left of the picture. It was a haven for schoolchildren buying ink for fountain pens and stamp album leaves! I loved to buy bottles of exotic coloured ink for writing my homework. I also bought the Watford Observer to read the football reports on the games at Vicarage Road.
On the opposite side of the main road was Soman Sports toy shop - another haven when shopping for train set accessories! Next to it was GIles record shop.
Hatch End's first supermarket was called Payantake and this was on the right of the picture almost at the end of the terrace of shops.
St. Anselms Church in Hatch End
At the time of this picture in 1960 the church could only be reached by travelling along an attractive, tree-lined, unsurfaced crescent called Westfield Park. Beyond the church on the left of the picture is the vestry where Sunday School and confirmation classes were held. I was confirmed at St Anselms around 1959 and would attend services here regularly along with many of my friends in the St Anselms Youth Club. The ministers around this time included Reverend Moxon and in the late 1960s the curate was Reverend Eric Gaunt. Mr Gaunt officiated at my marriage to Elizabeth in 1971. I remember him well. The church itself is a Victorian brick and flint building with exquisite wooden furnishings within. A bell would toll during communion services so that you could hear and pray by yourself if you were not in church! You could hear the bell when standing on the platform at Hatch End railway station - a surreal experience!
Horace The Milkman With His Horse And Cart
There was strong competition among us young lads in the 1950s to be allowed to help Horace, our local United Dairies milkman, with his milk round in Hillview Road, Grimsdyke Road and Sylvia Avenue. Horace would allow two of us to help him deliver and in return we were given a one third size bottle of orange squash and a ride on the seat on top of the cart at the end of the round! It was frighteningly high up! I never got to hold the reins - indeed no one did as his horse knew the round so well that it moved on to the next house with just a call from Horace walking along the pavement! After a few years the horses were retired and electric milk floats were introduced. Horace used his new electric milk float to help my father get his car started outside our home in Hillview Road on a Saturday morning. Dad's old Ford Prefect had a flat battery and he didn't fancy using... Read more
Remembering Hatch End
Seeing the photos of Hatch End Broadway in 1965 brought back memories of how it felt to live there at the time. We moved to Hatch End that year, when I was ten, from Pinner Green. I especially remember W H Smiths, with long newspaper and magazine counters either side as you went into the shop, and further through to the pens and stationery. My dad would buy his newspaper there on the way to the station every weekday morning on his way to work. I remember the Post Office, next to the Bank, and the old Library at the other end on the corner opposite Bunces the sweetshop. At the top of that road was an 'alleyway' though to Grimisdyke Road. I also remember the Sainsburys in Pinner, queuing up with my mother to buy bacon, the smell of the food and the coolness of the marble counters at eye height. I went on my first 'date' to the Odeon in Pinner, we saw 'Gumshoe'. I belonged to St... Read more
Hatch End High School
In December 1995 the Harrow Arts Cuncil organised a festival of dancing at Hatch End High School and invited a dozen or more dance groups and schools to come along and provide a showcase of talent.
It was fascinating to see so much talent and a surprising amount of this was from young people and, in particular, groups of Asian dancers with magnificent costumes.
The only participats to represent a truly English dance tradition were the dancers and musicians of Whitethorn Morris, a Harrow based team of women dancers who perform clog dances in the style of "North West" morris dancing from Lancashire and Cheshire. The organisers took a lot of flash photographs of the performers in their striking scarlet and blue dresses and shiny black clogs whirling around in the centre of the polished school hall. I was one of their musicians playing a piano accordian for them on the stage and it was quite exciting playing music to a crowd around the hall and... Read more
Childhood Memories of Hatch End
My earliest memory of Hatch End is when I started at Grimsdyke School at the age of four and a half in 1948. My brother Michael used to walk me to school from Hillview Road.
I went to 2nd Hatch End Brownies which was held in the Vestry behind St Anslems Church.
After leaving Grimsdyke School, I went to Rosary Priory at Bushey Heath. I used to catch the train from Hatch End Railway Station to Bushey Heath Railway Station, then by bus to the school.
My parents, Frank and Doris Whitworth, first had the sweet shop, Whitworths, in the High Street (the shop was previously called Creswicks). Later on my parents established a card and gift shop two doors up in partnership with Bert and Joan Lovelock.
I used to go to St Anslems Church when the Reverend Charles Moxon was the Vicar and I was confirmed by the Bishop of London in March 1959.
I can recall being allowed to catch the bus to North... Read more
Home
My memories of Hatch End are all of a very happy childhood with my Mum and Dad who worked at Euston, and used to come whistling home from the railway station every night. We lived on Oxhey Lane, a service road and I can just recall the milkman with his horse and cart, Mum laying crazy paving in the front garden, pigeons from the house at the back flying round and ruining Mum's washing.
I remember the library at the end of Broadway, my favourite place, the cake shop that always seemed to have a fancy with my name on it, the fishmongers with the open front and all his wares on display on a marble slab.
I recall Sainsbury's opening in Hatch End, it must have been in the early fifties, quite a coupe for a small suburb, and W.H. Smith with its shop near the station.
I loved Hatch End, but my Mum was ill in hospital when my Dad died in the early sixties and I had... Read more
