13 Gardner Street

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 25 Sep 2011

For nearly twenty years the store has been printing and selling comedy tee shirts with amusing slogans. Prior to that it began life as a surgery and then became a workshop occupied by J Hatton. Amongst Hatton's various trades was gas fitting, electrical engineering, whitesmith and pneumatic bell hanger. A brief interlude as a chemist was followed by Emmanuel Miller's wallpaper shop. Miller moved to Image and continued trading until 1949. The 1927 directory has the shop occupied by a G Natlie which in all likelihood is that of Natalie Gershek who was registered as being here for the next 22 years and was then followed by the splendidly named Louis Lewis and another clothes shop. In the mid 1960s, Scotts Radio Ltd expanded into this shop from Image and 13-14 was to trade together for the next twenty years prior to it being separated once more in the early 1990s. OCCUPANTS 1850-61: SURGEON: J Caudle 1862-1903: GASFITTER: J Hatton 1905-06: CHEMIST: People's Drug Store (1905), Lemon & Kilpin (1906) 1908-26: WALLPAPER MERCHANT: Emmanuel Miller, also known as London Wholesale & retail Wallpaper Co. 1927-47: COSTUMIER/MILLINER: Natalie Gershek 1949: FINANCIER: Louis Lewis 1951-64: CLOTHIERS: Maxam Clothiers Ltd 1966-85: TELEVISION STORE: Scotts Radio Ltd (1986-76), Wigfalls (1977-81), Robert Harding TV Ltd (1983-85) 1986-87: BAKERY: Grints 1988-90: SHOE SHOP: Italian Shoe Centre Ltd (1988), Helmking Ltd (1990) 1992-2011: CLOTHES: The T Chest

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