5 minute read
History
The High Street of yesteryear
As we all emerge from lockdown, we’re becoming reacquainted with our High Street. Here’s a look back at how a much-loved friend has changed over the years.
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Bromsgrove’s High Street has received close attention from historians, to the extent that it must be one of the best-documented high streets in the country.
In 1943 a photographic survey of the High Street was undertaken which captured pictures of all the premises from one end to the other. This extremely valuable survey now forms part of the Brotherton Collection and many of the photographs can be seen on the Bromsgrove Society website. Recently, the Society’s Local History Group compiled notes on every property in the High Street from the 18th century to the present day and produced a series of posters. These, too, are available on the Society’s website.
Local resident John Pugh wrote a detailed account of the High Street as he remembered it in 1948. At that time Thursday was half-day closing and Saturday was always a full day. Cars could be parked anywhere, but on alternate sides of the road depending on which day of the week it was. Shopkeepers were dismayed when on 1st September 1948 ‘No Waiting’ signs appeared.
A huge variety of retail businesses prospered: butchers, bakers, confectioners, drapers, grocers and others. Even in the 1940s some still used a system of wires to transfer money to and from the cashier in little boxes. Favourites included Wilson & Sons grocers, which had several premises, and Brighton’s shoe shop. There were also many banks and financial institutions (though the Westminster Bank, a precursor of Nat West, only came
to the town in the fifties). And of course pubs, some of which, such as the Green Dragon, the Roebuck Inn and the Coach & Horses have long since disappeared.
Church Street was mostly offices at that time. These included W.H. Scott & Sons and Thomas Horton & Son (both solicitors), the Halifax Building Society, the Bromsgrove Chamber of Trade, Refuge Assurance Co. and Britannic Assurance Co., and John Yelland & Co. accountants.
At the bottom end of the town was Market Place, which was where the High Street met St John Street, George Street and Worcester Street. A popular shop here was Shrimpton and Cooke, a bookseller, stationery shop and post office run by the Cooke sisters. Nextdoor was Bromsgrove’s best known chemist, A. Terence Hall. He had a cure for everything and his ‘mixtures’ were always personally dispensed. Norman Vine’s drapery shop and the George Hotel were other landmarks.
At No. 58 High Street was De Grey’s, a café and small hotel. This had a cake and bread counter on the ground floor: Kunzle’s cakes were a favourite at the time, many of them rich in chocolate. Beyond the counter and up a few steps was the café itself, a popular morning coffee venue. The story of De Greys is told in The Dear Watsons, a novel written by Lynne Birch, the granddaughter of the café’s owners, which is based on true events - available from the Bromsgrove Society website: www.bsoc.co.uk
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Car parking app launched as charges return
An app to enable shoppers and workers in Bromsgrove to pay for their parking remotely is set to be introduced from August 3rd, alongside reinstated parking charges.
Parking charges were suspended following the Prime Minister’s lockdown announcement in March but are now being reinstated as shops and restaurants begin reopening with social distancing measures in place.
In light of the current pandemic, the introduction of ‘pay by app’ gives people a cash free, contactless option. Users will however, be able to choose how they pay for their parking and can do this via the new Mi Permit App or pay by cash if they prefer.
Full risk assessments have been carried out ahead of the reinstatement and sites will be regularly cleaned. Signs relating to social distancing and hand-sanitising or washing guidelines will also be around to remind users to stay safe.
Permit users can now renew via the council website or over the phone through the Customer Services Team. NHS and social care workers will not have to pay when charges are introduced, as long as their relevant passes are displayed at council pay and display sites.
Visitors can download and access the Bromsgrove Mi Permit app for free on their phones or tablets via both android and iOS app stores from July 31st. More information is available at:
www.mipermit.com/
Bromsgrove District Council leader Karen May said: “With shops and restaurants reopening and parking charges returning across the district from August 3rd, I am pleased that we are able to offer our residents the choice to pay using a contactless system or in the usual way, depending on what they feel is safest.
“We are one of the last local authorities in Worcestershire to reinstate the charges and the income from parking makes up a noticeable slice of our income which allows us to maintain our car parks, so that they are safe and in good repair, and spend our budget on services for all of our residents to enjoy instead.”
The app will not be available for visitors parking in Asda Car Park and Churchfields Car Park due to these machines operating on a separate, non-compatible system. Hand sanitiser will be available at these pay on foot car parks for visitors to use once they have touched the pay stations.
More details on car parking charges are available on the council website: www.bromsgrove.gov.uk
