The Village c1960, Tideford
The Village c1960, Tideford Ref: T319023
Memories of The Village c1960, Tideford
Tideford
This photograph shows Tideford prior to 1961, a quiet village on the road between Trerulefoot and Saltash. That was all about to change when the new Tamar road bridge was opened connecting Saltash with Plymouth in 1961. What had been a minor road now became the main road out of Cornwall into Plymouth. Previously the main route had been via Torpoint and the car ferry. If that happened today, it is likely the village would have had a by pass. But, in 1961, they just put the new road right through the middle of the village and the houses on the left of the photo were demolished. The new A38 split Tideford in two and, as traffic levels increased through the 60s and 70s, it became increasingly difficult to cross the road from one part of the village to another. At the time of writing the village is still split in two, a monument to the failure of planners to foresee the increasing volume of road traffic
Tideford & local memories
Read and share memories of Tideford and Cornwall inspired by Frith photos.
Tideford's New Road
This photograph shows Tideford after the new A38 had been built through the middle of the village to serve the new Tamar road bridge. A number of properties had to be demolished for the new road. The shop in the foreground on the left is Worsfold's. When I moved to Tideford in 1965 it was one of two shops in the village, the other being the post office and stores. Mr & Mrs Worsfold were Londoners who had moved to Cornwall. Inside the shop was an Aladdin's cave of groceries, goodness knows how they managed to find anything. It was all counter service and you went in with your list and were served. Mr Worsfold used to make deliveries in a grey mini van. Just beyond Worsfold's was Haddy's dairy were you could buy freshly made clotted cream and unpasteurized milk. At the end of the row, on the left, just out of the photograph, was Congdon's butchers. They had their own small slaughterhouse just down the lane.
A Typical Old Village Pub
When I moved to Tideford the Rod & Line was run by Fred Barnes. The pub was owned by Plymouth Breweries, a company that was later bought out by Courage. Most of their beer arrived in wooden casks and Fred had to hammer a tap into the end to dispense the beer. In those days pubs were for drinking, not for food. The Rod & Line offered crisps, pork scratchings and a jar full of pickled eggs sat on the counter. An egg and a packet of crips passed for a pub meal in those days. I went to the Rod & Line on the evening of my 18th birthday and Fred bought me my first ever legal drink, half a pint of Plymouth Breweries bitter. It was awful.
