Kenton 1950's 1960's

A Memory of Kenton.

I was raised in Kenton from 1954 until I left home in 1971. My visits to Kenton up until 2013 were to visit my elderly Dad, who still resided in Woodcock Hill until his death. The changes over the years have been enormous. Mum and Dad actually saw their house being build by 'Costin' and they were finally able to move in, in June 1952 having rented the upstairs of a house in Kenton Road after they first married at Kenton Methodist Church in 1950. Their Wedding reception was over the Northwick Tea Rooms. As a child I always thought what a long walk it was, along Draycott Avenue to Kenton shops - we had no car. We'd set off, Mum with her wicker basket on wheels - with the cane handle.
I remember the old Sainsbury store. Those tiles! There were two long counters on either side and you queued up at various points to buy your goods. Eggs, butter and cheese in one queue, cooked meat in another.The ladies behind the counter all wore the same little head scarves and overalls. It seemed an enormous place to me ..... stretching way back with the various queuing points.
Further up the road, toward the cinema, was a pet shop. My Mum often went in to buy our dog his biscuits .... Winalot and Sprats Ovals I believe. I remember it as being a narrow shop that widened slightly as you went towards the back. Our dog was fed on a diet of boiled meats ... ox liver, hearts and kidney. No tinned dog food in our house ... I don't think it even existed.
Northwick tea rooms was the place we often stopped off for a cup of tea and a roll. Mum would always peer into the roll to see how much butter had been allocated. Sometimes the tea was too strong and she'd go up to the counter to ask for a 'dash' more milk. On more than one occasion she was told that milk was too expensive and she could have extra water! There were two rooms to choose from to sit in. In the room to the right .... there was a budgie in a cage. I remember a very thin lady who worked there, she reminded me of Olive Oyl from Popeye. Another lady was called Brenda and a man named Egbert. They eventually sold up and were going down to Bournemouth to begin a hotel business. I believe there was a charity collection box outside of a 'child in a caliper'. I always asked if I could put something in.
Across the road, a little further up was 'Lawleys' the china shop. I remember going in and asking to purchase a glass butter dish for Mum's birthday. I did not have enough money ... but the lady who worked in there let me have it, saying she would put the extra money in for me. How kind to a little girl!
I believe on Kenton bridge itself, where the small ornate shops were, there was a toy shop. More than once my broken dolly went to the dolls hospital there. Oh, and the wood yard next to the station, my Dad would spent so long in there on a Saturday morning, it drove me nuts. It stretched right out to the back so you would be right beside the railway lines. I remember the old police call box on the corner ... next to Draycott Avenue. And .... if you were to turn into Draycott Avenue from Kenton Road, there was a tiny sweetshop with a red canopy. The best bit about returning from a shopping expedition was Mum allowing me to choose some penny sweets from within - black jacks, fruit salad, pink shrimps etc. She wasn't keen on me having gob stoppers. The floor space so small, you could only fit about three or four people in at any one time. Sometimes we would catch the bus into Harrow, especially if Mum wanted to go to 'Sopers' (which became Debenhams.) Yes, Sopers was the place I was taken to see Father Christmas each year. The old fashioned lift with the cage door and the attendant. At home, the Corona van would come round and as a treat we might have a bottle of vivid green fizz. The ice cream van always stopped in Bulmer Gardens, its bells making the dog howl. The rag & bone man making his way up Woodcock Hill ... and my Dad running out to collect the manure left by the old horse. Hoping to get there first before any of the neighbours.
Night time sometimes frightened me. Although we weren't directly next to the railway, it was only across the road at the back of the houses in Draycott Avenue. Sometimes they would do a lot of shunting about with the engines in the early hours making an awful lot of noise. I often woke and started crying! Visiting my Grandad was good. He lived nearby in Conway Gardens, under the bridge off Draycott Avenue and veer off to the right from the roundabout in Windermere Avenue. We could walk to the end of his road, up the steps over the bridge and down to the 'golf links'. A glorious green space with trees and bushes & loads of room to run and play. We'd go blackberry picking there every year for Mum to make her jam. Northwick Park Hospital now stands in part of that green space.
So many memories of dear old Kenton.