Growing Up On Peel Road, Kilburn

A Memory of Kilburn.

I'm Mandy Coggins and I was born at 7 Peel Road, Kilburn in 1960. It was a beautiful Victorian House and I can remember the marble fireplaces, oak staircase that us kids used to slide down. My nan lived on the ground floor, we had the middle floor and my maternal Uncle lived on the top floor. Peel Road connected Malvern Road and Carlton Vale, and Stafford Road took us down to school - Kilburn Park Primary. There was a scrap yard on the corner of Peel Rd and Stafford Rd (Fred Fanning??) and a couple of shops just around the corner on Carlton Vale. Gwen and her husband ran a little grocery store and next door was Harry's, he used to sell glasses of pop. I can recall the dark wood of his counter. My dad was from the East End but mum's roots were in Kilburn. Her parents and grandparents lived in the area. My mum's maiden name was Barbara Cussell and her maternal grandparents were George and Ellen Cattermole and I think that they lived on Albert Road. They had 11 children in total! My mum's dad - Frank Cussell - was in the ARP during the war and also had a conduit to the black market! Mum worked in the dry cleaners at Kilburn Square for a bit and she shopped at the green grocers there - Fariellos??. My Aunt Teresa worked in the fish and chip shop at Kilburn Square. I used to go to Saturday morning pictures at the Grange Cinema on Kilburn High Road. I went to Carlton Vale Infants, then Kilburn Park and onto Carlton Vale Girls School before ending up at South Kilburn High School. I loved the library on Salisbury Road, the huge bookcases and the sound of the librarian stamping the books. Paddington Rec was great and sometimes mum would treat us to a coke at the cafe there. We moved out of Peel Road in 1973 and not long after it was knocked down with many other houses. Peel Road no longer exists, it is a park area opposite a school.