Osman's of Huntingdon
A truly old-fashioned type of ironmonger and household ware store seen here on the immediate right of the picture. My mother, Mrs. Ruby Chandler would have been working here in 1965, as she did for many years both before and after '65. If you couldn't get it at Osman's you couldn't get it anywhere else, either. The shop premises were very old, and when it rained, there was panic up in the storage rooms above to place buckets to catch the leaks.
I remember, too Stiles, the Bakers, further up along the High Street. My grandfather and I walked into Huntingdon from Alconbury (the only way to get there) on my 9th birthday in 1941 to collect my birthday cake, supplied during rationing times.
Almost opposite Osman's was Cox the County Clothiers, who supplied my uniform for Huntingdon Grammar School a couple of years later.
Huntingdon once boasted two cinemas, The Grand, accessed through an archway beside Murkett's Garage, opposite the Market Place, and The Hippodrome further along the High Street, on the opposite side to Huntingdon Brewery.
With the High Street also being the main road from Cambridge to Peterborough there was considerable traffic at times, although these photographs show very little, and for two buses to pass one another, one often had to mount the pavement to squeeze past.
Now, with the main road outside the town, the High Street has a totally different character, but many of the old shops are gone, replaced by the ubiquitous chain stores, and the town is no longer the County Town of Huntingdonshire, more is the pity. Now on visiting Huntingdon as I do on trips to England, I feel a stranger in what were very familiar surroundings. Such is progress ! !
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RE: RE: Osman's of Huntingdon
I remember Osmans quite well, having worked there for about four years 1957/61. The staff then as I recall were: in the main shop Len "Sam" Isley shop manager, and Mrs. Chandler "Auntie Rube", across the yard in the ironmongery dep. were Mr. Smith and an assistant, who I just can't recall at this time. The general manager was a Mr. Huntington, he originated from Worksop. In the office were Mr. Briggs firms accountant, Mrs. Dean and a Miss Rosemary Crisp. The firm was origanally owned by a Mr. H. Osman Metherall (spelling?) whose three daughters were the directors, two of whom left their affairs to ther husbands, Mr. Archie Price, Bridge Hotel at Huntingdon, and Mr. Norman Price who owned a hotel somewhere in the South, I can't remember the other lady's married name, but she attended the board meetings with her two brothers-in-law. In the yard were two workshops. I had one, suposedly as a Plumber and Hot Water engineer, but spent most of my time repairing and re-grindind lawn mowers, that was the reason for leaving when I did. In the other one was Fred Bradshaw, Calor Gas fitter, key maker and general light engeneering. In this workshop there was still a forge which we used on occasions. I was told that in years past when the yard was owned by Pentelows there were 7 forges. Freddie Coral Radio and Television engineer, Burt Sommerly who ran the "Radio Relay", this was a system which supplied the town with "Wired" radio, this was just a small reciever in the house for B.B.C. radio One & Two. Later on Osmans installed a piped television to the town.
Comment from John Lovell on Sunday, 25th September 2011.