56, Western Road, Brighton

Image: © Simon Carey Taken: 25 Mar 2016

Now a single shop though for the last half of the 19th century it was subdivided into two units, 55a and 56. The former which probably had an entrance in Clarence Square saw a number of businesses pass through until the 1870s when it spent the last quarter of a century a fruiterer under a number of different owners. The latter also had a steady turnover during the same period the longest occupier being a jewellers. From the start of the 20th century the building became a single unit initially a mantle retailer, followed by a cotton manufacturers and after the Second World War 25 years as a men’s outfitters. In 1975 it became a branch of the Bradford & Bingley building society and it was in an office on the first floor that I later obtained my first mortgage. The building society became a bank in 2000 but hit problems during the credit crunch and was eventually sold to Santander in 2008 who rebranded in 2010 and closed the branch in 2012. Since then the shop has been a bookmakers. The i360 tower is clearly visible behind the building. 55a 1845-1846 - BUTCHER (Henry Weller) 1848 - FANCY WAREHOUSE (Henry Weller) 1850 - GERMAN REPOSITORY (Loveridge & Brown) 1856-1861 - BABY LINEN (Mrs Baker) 1864-1867 - STAY & CORSET MAKER (Miss Mary Watts) 1870-1871 - BUTCHER (J Herbert) 1874-1875 - FISHMONGER & POULTERER (J Mayers) 1876-1901 - FRUITERER (H Hemsley 1876-77, C Smith 1879-87, H Wood 1888-91, James McGabbin 1893, William Groom 1894, The Western 1895-1900, Covent Garden Fruit Stores 1901) 56 1848-1850 - GOLDSMITH & JEWELLER (JS Lee) 1852 - TRIMMING & BERLIN WOOL REPOSITORY (John Loveridge) 1854-1861 - STAY & CORSET MAKER (Mary Watts 1854-56, T Rutledge 1859-61) 1862-1876 - JEWELLER (Henry Davey) 1877 - BOOKSELLER & STATIONER (J Thompson) 1879-1880 - FISHMONGER (WJ Marsh) 1883-1888 - FUR & MANTLE MARKET (Debenham & Co 1883-87, J Bright 1888) 1891-1903 - MILLINER (A Phelp) 1904-1924 - MANTLE WAREHOUSE (Richard Bridgeland 1904-06, A Gurney & Co 1907-24) 1925-1940 - COTTON MANUFACTURERS (John Hawkins & Son) 1947-1972 - OUTFITTERS (Ray Baxter Ltd) 1974 - CHARITY SHOP (Help the Aged) 1975-2010 - BUILDING SOCIETY (Bradford & Bingley) 2010-2012 - BANK (Santander) 2013-2016 - BOOKMAKERS (Coral)

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0