26 Sydney Street

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 24 Jul 2011

Originally a private residence known as Chelmsford House it was converted to a shop during the 1930s when it became a pharmacy then a wardrobe dealer. After the Second World War it was a newsagents with the exception of a brief interlude as a carpet centre which also extended into Image next door. Sometime during the 1970s the newsagents closed down and was occupied by Ajays Removal and Storage though I’d imagine the narrow street limited the scope of this business which was soon trading from neighbouring Trafalgar Court then later near Preston Circus. Records are bitty for this shop thereafter, a brief sojourn by an arts and crafts shop is followed by a few gaps, one of whom is filled by Shmutters, a second hand clothes gap, which I think was followed by another called Funkadelik but I do not have any record of that shop yet. From 1998 it was Glitzy Tartz, specialising in bondage gear for the discerning clubber, then a second shop for menswear retailers, Minky, who initially traded out of Image before moving to bigger premises on Ship Street. Since 2005 it has been home to Vivid Design & Print, a business specialising in graphic design and associated services. OCCUPANTS 1930-36: PHARMACY: The Sydney Pharmacy (1930-35), Hancock & Co (1936) 1937-51: WARDROBE DEALERS: Mrs Foreman 1954-69: CONFECTIONERS/NEWSAGENTS: Mrs French (C – 1954), AH Brooker (C-1956-58), TA Bates (C – 1960), Clarkes (N – 1962), Terry’s (N – 1964-66), Norman Trott (N – 1968), Hewitt (N – 1969) 1970-71: CARPET CENTRE 1972-74: NEWSAGENT: F Pantling 1980-81: REMOVAL & STORAGE: Ajays 1984-87: GIFT SHOP: Smart Arts 1994-96: SECOND HAND CLOTHES: Shmutters 1998-2003: LADIES WEAR: Glitzy Tartz 2004-05: MENS WEAR: Minky 2005-2011: GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Vivid Design & Print

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