Church Road, Lawrence Hill - 1905 and 2014 - These photos show the beginning of Church Rd, looking from the bridge by Lawrence Hill Station towards St George. The ornate rank of shops on the left, built in 1887, is known as Victoria Buildings and later became the home of Max Williams’ famous shops. In the 1905 photo the rank contains a variety of shops, one of which provides Refreshments and Beds (presumably for the night). On the right, the Kings Arms pub is on the corner of Thomas St. The main road is busy with horse-drawn traffic, including a cart delivering Palmer’s biscuits. Further up Church Rd two electric trams pass each other on the Centre-Old Market-St George route. The tram stop is in the middle of the road between Victoria Buildings and the pub, where the sign with the route details is attached to the tram post. In the Today photo Victoria Buildings and the less ornate terrace beyond are relatively unchanged apart from radical alterations to the shop frontages. Max Williams opened a cycle shop here in 1946 at No 5 Church Rd and he subsequently took over No 7 in 1955 and No 9 in 1957. His shops were an Aladdin’s cave of bikes, toys and models, particularly model railways, and he was a fount of knowledge and advice. On the opposite side of the road the buildings on the corners of Morton St and Thomas St survive, but in the distance all the buildings on the right of Church Rd have been demolished to be replaced by modern buildings, including Moorfields House. Let’s hope that Victoria Buildings can continue to be an interesting and attractive addition to the street scene.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 08:27:43 +0000
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