Calthorpe Terrace – ghosts of bygone shops in Gray's Inn Road

When I travel along Grays Inn Road on a No17 bus I like to admire this west-facing terrace between Calthorpe Street and Wren Street. 

Screen grab from Google Streetview here

Ever other shop along here shows hints of a bygone era, specifically numbers 240, 244 and 248 which, judging by the embellishments and metalwork on the upper floors, looks to be 1830s-ish. 

Reading left to right, north to south, let's start with number 248, C. Antoniou, tailor:

Pic taken from the upper deck of the bus. I do have better photos but this illustrates my point.   

This shop, with its hand-painted signs on the wooden fascia and on the window glass, has looked like this for as long as I can recall. But I cannot ascertain when Mr. Antoniou started offering his tailoring services here (perhaps I should simply go in and ask them or phone that number!) but I can see no tailors listed here before WW2. A hairdresser by the name of William Fowler was here in 1910 and there is nothing listed at all for this address in 1939 by which time Rosen & Rosen tailors, who were next door  at No.246, in 1910, have given way to a print supply shop.

Two doors along, today's hair salon window advertises two brands of Wills's cigarettes, revealed during renovations in 2020. 

The Wills's company was one of the largest tobacco manufacturers in the country. 

This shop has been a tobacconist since at least 1882 when James White's name would have been over the door. Gold Flake first appeared on the shelves in 1901 and I suggest this advertisement probably dates from the 1910s during Hebert Stoddart's era, although I expect Mrs Rubina Smith was still offering the same brands in 1939.

Note also the impressive columns here showing that this was originally the doorway to the shop, today slatered in layers of grey paint (it was white pre-2020 – what is it with the over-use of grey paint these days?!)  Other decades-old signs have also been discovered and retained in the last few years – there's another Wills's sign in Hornsey Rise and the St.Bruno ads in St Paul's Rd.

Staying with smoking and also revealed in 2020... Fourways convenience store at No.240 displays a 1970s-era Player's No.6 cigarettes sign above the shop, showing that the proprietors were RL & M Griffiths:

Back in 1882 this was a baker shop owned by Henry Harvey Bearns. By 1910 it had become a tobacconist, at that time run by Mrs Sarah Fair. In the late 1930s Walter Stewart was selling here. It's interesting how two tobacconists could survive in such close proximity to each other and I'm wondering if they offered different brands. 

There used to similar shop sign to this at 65 Highbury Grove revealed in the period 2009-12, but they painted over it rather than covering it with a board (duh!) and I think I recall another No.6 fascia in Chatsworth Road, Hackney, again, gone.

Incidentally, it's unusual to see that the Calthorpe Arms is not at the Calthorpe Street corner as is usual in cases like this where a pub has the same name as the terrace, originally called Calthorpe Terrace when there were fewer properties along this road. 

Seeing these old signs reminds me of one of the first posts I ever wrote on here about the reveal of an electrical components store near the junction with Clerkenwell Road, back in 2008. More recently, I wrote about this tiled shop at the Kings Cross end of the street.

Fashion City at Museum of London Docklands – How Jewish Londoners shaped global style

There is a marvellous exhibition at MoLD about the world of fashion and tailoring, couture and the Swinging Sixties. This museum, within an old warehouse that abuts one of the docks is somewhere you'd usually go to find out about the history of shipping and trade in this area, and fascinating it is too, told chronologically within the upper floors of the building.

Yet this latest exhibition about the garment making industry. It fills the ground floor space previously occupied by their marvellous Executions show, and it is certainly up to that same high standard – packed full of information about the innovative and skilful tailors, designers and makers who created beautiful clothing and accessories adjacent to this part of the River Thames.

One only has to walk around the nearby Spitalfields area to get a sense of the clothing-related trades that once thrived in the area. I noticed whilst researching my ghostsigns and Art Deco walks that many of its streets, such as Hanbury Street and Fournier Street, were in the 1880s occupied by tailors, trimmers, furriers, outfitters, hatters, leatherworkers etc, and approximately 80% of them listed with Jewish names. 

1940s: Monica coat by Koupy / 1970s: bra by M&S / 1960s: shirt by Mr Fish

This engaging exhibition echoes that manufacturing history and, just like the main museum, it is a chronological journey, starting with the Jewish immigrants as they arrived via boat, seeing how and where they lived and were schooled, with rooms laid out as evocations of shops and a tailor's workshop. The East End is then linked to Bond Street via Central Line corridor, the construction of that tube line better enabling these talented people to get their wares to West End. 

There are some beautiful handmade pieces on show both by unknown tailors and by well-known names such Cecil Gee, Chelsea Girl, Moss Bros, M&S, Mr Fish, Irvine Sellars and David Sassoon. Plus lovely leather luggage, some fabulous hats by Otto Lucas, and a stunning wedding dress by Neymar (Netty Spiegel). There are references to, and examples of, clothing worn by celebrities from the worlds of film, music, sport and royalty, as well as actual garments worn by Princess Diana and Dot Cotton. Oh, and the music and soundtracks in every room is cleverly designed to echo each era or district. 

It's really very good. I was so engrossed that I spent many hours in there reading every panel and assessing every sequin such that I forgot to take any more pics than the three shown above. I do love a well-made fitted coat, especially a red one, the bra with its interchangeable straps and evocative lace pattern reminded me of my mum, and I was blown away by the teeny tiny stitching on that Mr Fish shirt!

Museum of London Docklands (free)
This exhibition – 13th October until 7th July 2024 – Various prices – find out more here. 

Ideals in Industry – a book about Burton's

Delivering my cards to Oxfam bookshops is a dangerous process – shelves of delicious old antiquarian titles are always beckoning me. Keep away from the books Jane; keep away from the books!!

Last month I was in the Crouch End shop and found a wonderful little book 'Ideals In Industry' by and about Montague Burton and Company telling us how bloody marvellous they are/were.

It's a fabulous bit of self promotion:

That's Monty on the top row. Next to him is an aerial shot of the Workshops Estate at Hudson Road Mills, Leeds, showing how large some of the Burton's factories were.

Benefits of being a Burton's employee included; sing-songs while during work hours at the factory, dentists, doctors and nurses on site, morale-boosting visits by VIPs and royalty, plus social events, outings, theatre and dramatic associations, indoor sports facilities at work, a variety of external sports clubs, and much more.
The clothes were then distributed to Burton's distinctive and imposing shops. Their store at 118-132 New Oxford Street (end of Tott Ct Rd) was, in its day, the largest tailoring establishment in the world. Oh yes; this was a big company, make no mistake.
The back section of the book shows page after page of illustrations of all the Burton stores. I can see this is going to keep me quite absorbed for some time yet.... :-)