24 Sydney Street

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 24 Jul 2011

For three quarters of the 20th century the series of buildings on both the western end eastern side of Sydney Street’s junction with Trafalgar Street were part of the Co-operative Clothing Store also known as Smith & Browns Outfitters with the shop having entrances on both this street and around the corner at 20 Trafalgar Street now occupied by Forfars the bakers. See http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume25/source/jg_25_189.html and http://www.nlcaonline.org.uk/page_id__93_path__0p5p40p.aspx for a couple of old images of the store. Trading began in the 1850s with a couple of businesses coming and going before it became a toy and fancy goods repository prior to the clothiers W & J Smith arriving in 1898. From 1901 they were combined with others to become the Co-operative clothing store, extended across the road to Image and continued trading for the next seventy odd years. They appeared in the last Kelly street directory of 1974 but I could find no trace in either Yellow Pages or the phone book thereafter. By 1978 Rayford Electrics expanded from Image to make use of the combined space in these buildings until their demise in the late 1980s. They were followed by a second hand furniture store before parts of the combined building were subdivided once more and Sydney Street Bikes moved into number 24 whilst Forfars the bakers took over 20 Trafalgar Street whilst the upstairs is now a dental surgery. OCCUPANTS 1854-56: MILLINERS: Arnold & Eager 1864: WRITER & GRAINER: S Saunders 1867-90: TOY & FABCY GOODS REPOSITORY: G Oliver 1898-1900: CLOTHIERS: W & J Smith 1901-74: CLOTHING STORE: The Co-operative Clothing Store also known as Smith & Brown Outfitters 1978-87: ELECTRICAL RETAILERS: Rayford Electrics 1988-91: SECOND HAND FURNITURE: Classic Reproductions 1993-2011: CYCLE SHOP: Sydney Street Bikes

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