24a Sydney Street

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 24 Jul 2011

Confusingly 24a lies on the opposite side of the road to Image though for nearly a century it was intrinsically linked with it. Like 24 both 24a and the neighbouring property whose official address is 19 Trafalgar Street were knocked through and linked together and although the ground floor shops have now been separated the upstairs can still be walked through. To add to this confusion for a period at the end of the 19th century the shop was sometimes numbered 25a. During that period it was a furniture sellers until 1901 when it was acquired by The Co-operative clothing store from across the road and traded as such for the next seventy odd years closing sometime in the 1970s. I have nothing definite after that though have my suspicions that Rayford Electrics, who took over 24, may also have used this property as I have dim memories of fridge freezers out on pavements at this corner. The next definite occupants are a gift shop called Camp Classics who were replaced by the current occupiers, To Be Worn Again, who have been building a little empire selling second hand clothing and other tat. They have a warehouse in Providence Place off London Road to the north and have recently opened a branch in neighbouring Kensington Gardens. They are also currently trading out of Image The first floor was originally home to Brighton Guitars who moved to Image and is currently occupied by a number of small stalls. OCCUPANTS 1884-1901: FURNITURE SELLERS: Sydney Street Furniture Sellers (1884-86), Mrs White (1889-99), Martin Meron (1899-1901) 1901-74: CLOTHING STORE: The Co-operative Clothing Store also known as Smith & Brown Outfitters 1993-96: GIFT SHOP: Camp Classics 1997-2011: SECOND HAND CLOTHES: Taj Emporium (1997-98), To be Worn Again (1998-2011)

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