GRANGETOWN IN TIMES PAST
Football Teams
St Marys School
Mick Traynor - Boer War Recruit + Others
Streets and Buildings
Grangetown People
World War One 1914 -18
Parish, Priests and Processions
Street Stories + Characters
1925 Ladies Parish Outing + More
The Twenties
A Tale from the Duckie + other stories
The Thirties
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World War Two 1939 - 45
Messages from Home & Abroad
Shops and Shopkeepers
Editor's Diary
The World of Work
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The Forties
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Upstairs and Downstairs...
The Board School
Pochin Road Infants School
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Grangetown Boys' Club
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Sir Wm Worsley School
The Fifties
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St Peter's Senior School
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The Sixties
Eston Junction
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Toomeys Shop on Victoria Road c 1910
 photo - Edward Wilcock of Leeds
Confectioners and Tobacconists
The young man in the doorway I presume is a member of the Toomey family.The son Richard was a priest in the Nottingham Diocese and died at an early age during the 1st World War. His sister Lucy, a teacher, went to York and taught Standard IV at St George's School.
Ward's Directory lists a James Toomey Confectioner at 41 Victoria Road in 1909.
I remember this shop as Davisons and later Big Lit's..or Lister Richardson's. |
E Dalton's Shop Whitworth Road c Late Twenties
 | photo and info - Elaine Meadows nee Tyerman
In this marvellous shop photo of the period Whitworth Road ( No 9 ) with its fascinating adverts for Fry’s Chocolate and Rubicon Twist Tobacco,are:-
Left to Right: J.Fox , Kathleen Dalton, Jack Dalton
Kathleen is my Aunt, and Jack, is my grandfather who died in 1948. He was Irish and worked for Harrods as a driver. Harrods Archives have his picture. Ethel his wife (my Grandma) was from Manchester. She was formerly Ethel Wainwright Ross from Brierley Street, Salford. She married a Mr Davis in 1911 who died a year later. Then, in 1915. aged 27, she met and married my Grandfather John Dalton.
I was only 9 days old when he died. Elaine Meadows
We believe that the J Fox pictured could well be Josephine Fox of Bolckow Road from the Shanty near the Steelworks in the forties and fifties.
Ward's Directory :1928/29
"Dalton Ethel Mrs.confctnr.9 Whitworth Rd"
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Shopkeepers of Bessemer Street Corner
 | photo and information -Sheila Barker
Not sure where they are spending the day,
Left to right :-Dot Butler who ran the shop on the corner of Bessemer street in the 40s, her sister Grace Butler /Swann, Lottie Irons of Vaughan street.
Ginny Norton /Silmen who ran the shop in the late 20s and 30s, Charlotte,
Standing behind is Liz Burke/ Nicolson (my mother) with niece Patricia -standing at the back Frankie and Walter Watson
I don't know the other boy.
My mother Liz Nicolson worked there from 1949 - until it was demolished in the mid 1960s for the last owner - Ivy Butler - sister of Dot & Grace. |
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Colley's Butcher Shop 6 Whitworth Rd 1912
 | photo - Sheila Barker
Another jewel of a picture from Sheila Barker with new owner Ted Colley pictured in the Centre of a threesome..with a magnificent display of butcher's wares and a Charlie Chester type advert displaying some events of the period..possibly before WW1
Ward's Directory of 1912 -13 names an
Edward Colley as a butcher of 6 Whitworth Rd
In 1910 Thos A Jackson is named as a butcher of 6 Whitworth Rd.
Later an Edwin W Colley a butcher of 6 Whitworth Road is named in 1921 and 1925 by Kelly's Directory.
I have been writing to distant relatives asking for photos for my family history and as soon as I seen this I knew it was a must for you.
Ted Colley was married to my fathers sister Kate Nicolson. They ran a butchers shop on Whitworth Rd. My mother Liz Burke at that time acted as nanny to the Colley children .
My father Jack Nicolson was serving with the 17th Lancers. He left the army in the mid 20s. On his return he visited his sister and met my mother.They married in 1927.
Later the Colleys lived on ..I think it was Lanchester Rd and were bombed. I am assuming the photo was early 1920's.
Sheila Barker
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Julie's Corner Shop - Vaughan Street
Julie’s Emporium (Please wipe your feet before you go out!)
“Have you seen Julie's Taffee Rolls?
With the Baccy Knife she cuts the margarine”
So sang we children in the thirties after a visit to her shop at the lower end of Vaughan Street at its junction with Whitworth Rd.
It was typical of the type of corner shop established in the two up and two down terrace houses. The shop section occupying the front room was full of merchandise of every description.
In order to reach the counter it was necessary for prospective customers to negotiate a conglomeration of obstacles, sacks of potatoes, rice, boxes of vegetables, kindling. All of them artfully placed so that only one person at a time could reach the counter and be served.
The walls were hung with an assortment of cards all bearing patent medicines of every description in tins and bottles, fastened to the cardboard with little elastic thongs. Legends such as ”Carter’s Little Liver Pills” “Syrup of Figs” “Bile Beans” “De Witt’s Bladder Remedy” ”Fenning’s Fever Cure” were displayed for the eager hypochondriac or the terminally ill to purchase.
She did an enormous amount of business in Robin’s Starch, which I’m certain, doubled for relief of baby’s bottoms and a cheap face powder for the Discerning Young lady, judging by the number that bought it.
Added to all those delectable products was the food section, which was displayed on the counter with the aforesaid knife in a prominent place amongst the loaves of bread and cooked Ham. She was known to sell half a loaf if the monetary position warranted it and it was reputed that no one came in and left without making a purchase.
Julie had inherited the shop from her mother Mary, and like her Mother she had been born in Ireland. She was a lady of indeterminate age to anyone who first met her and she still retained the soft Irish burr. She remained single all of her life The back yard wall was festooned with broken glass but one cynical customer reckoned it was to keep in rather than reject any felons.
I personally did not believe the tales about banshees being seen on the premises and the stories that men used to put on their bicycle clips before shop entry were greatly exaggerated.
Ged O'Neill
I found the site great ! But there are one or two errors about Julies shop.
I am a niece of Julie and would like to point out that Julie was called Campbell not Breen. She was my late mam's sister and shared the shop with her aunt who was called Mary Breen. They all came over from Ireland even my granny who I never met. It was that long ago. My name was Martin and my mam's maiden name was Campbell. Many people in Grangetown thought my great aunt Mary Breen and great Uncle Henry were married - in fact they were brother and sister.
My name before I married Dennis Purvis was Martin.We used to live on Birchington avenue.
There was Frankie, Kathy, Jimmy, Josie, Mary, Maureen (myself), Tony - who now lives in Canada -and Dom.
My mothers name was Rose and my father's name was Thomas (Rattler) Martin.I also have photos of most of the above which I will get our Eugene to scan. If you want any more information I can be contacted on 01642 452786. By the way which John O'Neill are you - some of the O'Neills were very good friends of our family.
Cheers Maureen
I remember Tony telling me years ago that his brother Dom was a great artist - and Tony himself was the first lad to get a painting on Wilkie's classroom wall.
It's just great to see how many people remembered Julie's shop on the corner of Vaughan Street.My family lived next door to Julie's. We lived in 58 and Julie's Shop was 61 Vaughan Street,I Lived there from the day I was born which was 1938 to 1950. She was a great lady to me and my two brothers.Even when sweets were on the ration she used to always find a stash to give to us.
Edward O'Hagan.
I remember Julie very well. She was a very hard working lady whose shop floor, like all the other little house shops, was full of sacks of potatoes, boxes of oranges and whatever was in season; so much so that she barely had room to walk.I remember her climbing over all these obstacles to get to the back kitchen to wash her hands or her knife before serving a customer, depending on what she had handled previously (which meant that she always had a queue).
When the men were changing shifts, the passage would have a couple of workmen standing waiting to be served with more waiting at the doorway, so that if you had managed to get into the shop, you struggled to get out again!
I personally remember complaining to Julie the fact that she would always serve the men first!Now this held proceedings up completely as Julie could not stop laughing. She could always see the funny side of everything. She had a terrific senSe of humour and loved to tell anything funny that had happened to her. But she used to look very tired as she got older with working such long hours although always patient.
My favourite memories of Julie were early in the morning when she was on her way to St Mary's for early morning Mass with her lovely naturally curly hair and dressed in a beautiful good quality grey coat, a floppy black velvet beret and her bag under her arm. Even though in her advancing years, Julie was a handsome lady. I used to think she must have been a beautiful Irish colleen in her young days.
I would love to have seen a photograph of her on the site.
I have heard all the tales that have been made regarding Julie's shop I don't know how many are true! but I do know that they would have made her laugh !!!!
Julie was a special lady.
Regards Sheila Barker
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Billy Brown - Electrical and Cycle Shop
 photo - Sheila Barker
Do you remember Browns on Victoria road? They sold radios etc and bikes. Mr Brown and his two sons. Billy dealt with the electrical side and his brother dealt with the cycles. The family used to live in Bessemer street originally. This is Billy Brown
I remember them well - both pleasant and helpful - even when we only needed a brake block !
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Coates Butcher's Shop Whitworth Road c 1930's
 | photo - courtesy of Dennis King
Mr and Mrs Coates pose proudly for the photographer. We think the shop was on the corner of Whitworth Road and Vickers Street ...and it looks as though it's next to Daltons Sweet Shop - if you compare the two shop fronts ?
1910-11 Ward's Directory has R. Coates, Butcher at No 11 Whitworth Rd - quite a long running family business apparently.JW. |
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Wood Street Shop
 | photo - courtesy of Dennis King
The owner holds a young girl in her arms and a small boy stands in the passage. |
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Lightfoots of 36 Whitworth Road 1967
 | Lightfoots of 36 Whitworth Road 1967 - courtesy of Ken Lightfoot
Taken a year before the demolition of that section of the streets which lay in the way of the proposed A66, Ken Lightfoot still manages to smile with his assistants Joan, Lil and Edie at 9 a.m. - after managing his newsagents' shop for over thirty years. A very familiar shop to all shiftworkers and employees of the iron and steel industry which served the community for a total of nearly 70 years. |
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Seaman's Record Shop Whitworth Road
 | Seaman's Record Shop Whitworth Road - courtesy of Tess Pearsall
How many knew there was such a place and in two different locations? It must have been quite a place for the teenagers to gather. |
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Joe O'Neill's Papershop
 | Joe O'Neill's Papershop - courtesy of Isolde Bradbury (nee O'Neill)
This is my Da's Paper Shop. His name was Joseph O'Neill (better know by everyone who went into the shop as "JOE". He started off in Bessemer Street and then they moved the entrance of Dorman & Long round the corner - so Joe moved too.As you can see by the picture - he stayed put till they pulled him down too.
Everyone who ever worked in Dormans knew Joe. He used to open the shop around 5 a.m. to cater for all the shift workers. They mainly came in for their paper and fags. Most of them didn't even have to say what they wanted as he used to look at their faces and knew what they wanted straight away.
He opened up in the late 1940's in Bessemer Street and he even had a little cafe in there too and my mother used to bake scones which all the workmen greatly appreciated but when he moved to Vaughan Street, the cafe part closed.
He used to have about 6 paper boys who delivered all over the area with morning and night papers and then at the weekend I used to go around to all of them and collect the payment. One of our paper boys was Roy Vasey (better know as "Chubby Brown") and when he was over here in Australia - doing a show - I went backstage to meet him. I am pleased to say - he remembered me - as Joe O"Neills daughter. In my adult life - I was never Isolde O'Neill - I was always Joe O'Neill's daughter - and very proud of it too!!!
He was also a member of the Council for years and did an excellent job there too.
He died on New Years Eve in 1968 at only 56. He left a wife,Annie, and 4 children - myself (Isolde), Margaret, Josephine and Paul.
I came to Australia in 1969 but I will always remember and always be proud to have been "Joe O'Neills daughter"
I hope this picture and this story will bring back some memories to some of your readers.
Isolde Bradbury (O'Neill) |
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Billy Brown's Car Alexandra Road
 | Billy Brown's Car Alexandra Road - courtesy of Ron Vickers
What a wonderful website. I was astounded to find my Mum's Uncle Bill Brown (and his car) on this site.
Mum can remember her Uncle Bill very well, and can also remember trips in his car when she was a little girl - they used to go to the beach to collect sea shells. It was a real treat for her.
I was wondering if you can possibly provide me with Sheila Barker's (or alternative) email so I can hopefully get more information about the Brown's.
I live in Australia, so any help in my quest to find out about my family would be lovely.
thank you
Karen |
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