Chelmsford, New London Road 1892.

A Memory of Chelmsford.

This is a view taken from the bottom of London Road, near to the High Street. It has now changed beyond all recognition. However there is one building which has not changed in appeareance one bit, and still exists to this day. If you follow the buildings on the right side of the road, literally the last one you can make out has its apex roof towards the road. Well, this is the Chelmsford Institute building which was erected in 1841. Google this and you can still see it just the over side of the London Road bridge. Someone I recall mentioned going to the Orpheus Coffe Bar. Well, this was the very next building up the road, and it has been many shops over the years. At present I believe it is a men's clothing shop. However many years ago the door also gave you access to the basement of this building, and this is where the Orpheus was located. You could also exit out the back door, and this lead you through a small builder's yard that was there at the time. The owner of the building I was led to believe was old man Flexman, who owned many properties dotted about Chelmsford. On the left hand side of the road once stood the Bolingbroke & Wenleys store but they have been developed into W. H. Smith, The Ivory Peg and Marks & Spencers, to name but a few.