The Friday Photo – The Flat
This week I came across a unique row of shops which was affectionately known as “The Flat” on Lodge Rd in Hockley. Most of Lodge Rd is on a hill so this section was popular and became a busy shopping area.What’s great is that many of the shops have the original overhead frontage where the canopy would have been. On many of them just the old metal chains are left but others appear to still have the canopy, like in this weeks the Friday photo above.
Mills Wines & Spirits shop sits quite abandoned on the corner of Lodge Rd and Ford Street. I found an old photograph and it looks like it used to be Hockley Drugs Store. This is a really good example of the shops on the road and the old style frontage. Well worth a walk down as it is unusual to find a row of shops like these.
HI
We lived in Branston street in Jewellery quarter till 1962 my mother used to shop on the Flat every Friday night after she finished work
we used to go sunday school Sundaty afternoon at the Penticost church
went to Ickneild boys school
Baptised in ST Paul church
you cannot forget living there happy memories
I lived in Whitmore Street,during the 50’s until we moved to Monument Rd, I have lovely memories of the shops on the Flat, especially Woolworths, and the butchers shop next to Freeman Hardy Willis shoeshop, I think the butchers name was Sid, also Mr Groombridge the barrow boy, always had his barrow lit up at Christmas – great memories.
Came across this photo of Lodge Road on “The Flat” and can give you a little more information. In the 60’s My parents took over the Duoro Wine Shop at no 30 and ran the shop until around 1974. During which time it became John Fane Wines. The flat was a lovely place to shop – we lived in Hockley in the 50’s and I have many memories of shopping there with my mum – some of the shops I remember were a Woolworths and Norton’s Department Store (my pram came from Norton’s!). While mum and dad ran the shop, just around the corner in Ford Street was a long established Fruit and Veg merchant – Ernie and Eileen Groombridge who ran the stall and stored it every night in the yard at the back of the shop. Would love to know what became of some of our more memorable customers!
Hi Sue
Thanks for sharing that memory. How shopping and retail in our towns has changed! Suzanne
Hi Sue I took this photography so it is so brilliant when someone gets in touch who remembers these places. I can just imagine what The Flat must have been like. Thanks for sharing your memories. It would be brilliant to find a few people who remember it and take a walk there.
Tracey, nice photo – will have to go and take a look!
Thank you let us know what you think when you visit?