CHAPEL STREET, HIGH STREET & ST LUKES LANE

I was delighted to see the photo of the Co-op at the junction of Bridge Street and Chapel Street. My father was manager of this department store from about 1950 through until about 1970. When I first visited the store it was a two storey building with Haberdashery, Men's Outfitting and Shoe departments on the ground floor together with the cash office. The first floor was for Furniture and Flooring. The building was very old fashioned and the upper part had a huge amount of wood in its construction. When in later years the upper floor was removed a small section remained which contained a staff room, a singularly basic and uninviting space. The original wide staircase leading from Bridge Street to the 1st Floor also remained in situ. The cash office was served by an amazing arrangement of wires that led all around the building on which money containers whizzed overhead, it was a bit like having a model tramway system above you. When the building was modernised the section that had once been for the sale of shoes became the Furniture department otherwise much remained the same. I also remember the old Police Station well. On one occasion back in the 1960's I left my car for a few days outside the house of a relation on what I thought was a private road running alongside the upper part of Brighton Road and when I returned found I had ticket. I went to this Police Station to point out that the car had not been left on a 'public road' only to be informed that that service road was in fact construed as part of the main road to Brighton!! Luckily things were a lot easier in those days and a chat with the officer on duty resolved the situation with the ticket being withdrawn.

Really nice to see the photos of St Luke's Lane. I lived at No 10 next door to Arnold's shop.