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Gardner Street, BRIGHTON, BN1 1UP

After a start as a boot maker the shop became a bakery or confectioners for the next 50 years before becoming a tailors, hosier and outfitters from 1912 to the eve of the Second World War, the latter run by Percy Peckham who sounds like a character Charles Hawtry would play in a Carry On film. In the post war world the shop became a radio shop which then expanded into television retail which it would remain until the mid 1980s when small scale electrical goods shops such as these began to be put out of business by the new larger out of town chain stores. Between 1966 and 1990 the shop was combined with neighbouring Image then split up again becoming a number of ladies wear shops, a comic store, the first stop for Velvet who also traded at another shop in the street before moving south to Bond Street where they currently reside, and finally a shoe shop specialising in American boots. OCCUPANTS 1845-52: BOOT MAKER: Richard Cole (1845-50), George Strand (1852) 1854-90: BAKER: J Terry (1854-67), Thomas Vallance (1868-69), George Mitchell (1870-71), S Welfare (1873), James Robert (1874-81), Esther Gains (1882-90) 1891-97: CONFECTIONER: Mrs L Wiseman 1898-1909: BAKER: VG Smith - also known as Smith's Pastry Stores 1912-14: TAILOR: E Balchin (1912), F Suckling (1913-14) 1915-25: OUTFITTER: Percy Peckham 1926-39: HOSIER: Jocelyn Hansford 1947-85: RADIO & TELEVISION SHOP: Scotts Radio Ltd (1947-76), Wigfalls (1977-81), Robert Harding TV Ltd (1983-85) 1986-87: BAKER: Grints 1988-90: SHOE SHOP: Italian Shoe Centre Ltd (1988), Helmking Ltd (1990) 1990-93: LADIES WEAR: Laid Back Ltd (1990), The Clothes Rail (1992-93) 1993-98: COMIC SHOP: Fantastic Store Ink 1999-2000: LADIES WEAR: Bond 2000-01: GIFT SHOP: Velvet 2002-11: SHOE SHOP; Rock Sole Ltd - Trading as Bik Chief

Another shop with a long history of rapid turnovers of businesses. J Combridge ran another butcher at 79-80 North Road until 1907; Gardner, handy name for this street, moved his antiques business to Image; Jacob Lenz may have been related to some more Lenz's at Image and Image; one wonders whether Walter Pullingers descendants run the shoe shop bearing his name in Bond Street or that Ransoms, the hardware store, is related to that of the same name in Ann Street. Luigi's moved to Image and still trades today whilst the Clothes Rail also traded at Image The current occupants began life as a skateboard and fashion shop but seems to have dropped the former. OCCUPANTS 1868-71: BASKET MAKER: Charles Terry 1873-96: BUTCHER: CH Jones, later Jones & Co (1873-90, 1892, 1894-96), J Combridge (1891, 1893) 1897-99: SECOND HAND BOOKSELLER: Herbert Goldney (1897-98), J Smith (1899) 1900-04: ANTIQUE DEALER: C Gardner 1907: WATCHMAKER: M Tharin 1908-13: GREENGROCER: H Ayling (1908-10), W Harman (1911-13) 1914-17: DRAPER: Jacob Lenz 1918-22: WARDROBE DEALER: Mrs Georgina Harris 1923-40: STATIONER: Walter Pullinger 1947-49: HARDWARE STORE: GA Ransom 1951-54: DRAPER: E & B O'Grady 1956-64: TV & RADIO DEALERS: Ransoms (Television) Ltd 1966-69: SHOE DEALER: AG Martin 1971-84: TAILOR: Luigi's 1985-87: LADIES HAIRDRESSER: Front Page 1988-89: COSMETICS: The Little Green Shop 1990-93: LADIES WEAR: The Clothes Rail 1994-97: CLEANING MATERIALS: The Little Green Shop 1997-98: SHOE SHOP: Platform 1999-2011: CLOTHES: Jell-O

Currently home to Luigi's the tailor who have been trading on the street for over 40 years. They moved here from neighbouring Image in the mid 1980s when another longstay of the street, HE Bolton, finally closed. Bolton's egg business began back in 1887 in Hove moving into 47 in 1910 then across the road to this shop in 1917. Other than a long stint as a greengrocers in the 19th century and a decade as a toy shop in the early 20th century the other businesses have not stayed for long. OCCUPANTS 1873-94: GROCER: R Barber 1896-1907: TOY SHOP: BF Davis 1909-14: CONFECTIONER: C Yelland (1909-10), Robert Barber (1911-14) 1915: DRAPER: A Symons 1916: CYCLE DEALER: FG Curd 1917-84: EGG MERCHANT: HE Bolton 1984-2011: TAILOR: Luigi's

Looking north from Church Road. Shortly before midday on New Year's Day 2015, shoppers are gradually increasing in numbers, with many shops open all day or from twelve o'clock.

Komedia is an arts and entertainment company that operates venues at Brighton and Bath, It presents a diverse programme of comedy, music, cabaret, theatre and kids shows, featuring local, national and international performers. Komedia’s resident shows include the Kronenbourg Krater Comedy Club, The Kroon Kat Lounge and Bent Double. Komedia was formed in 1994 by Colin Granger, Marina Kobler and David Lavender, beginning as a theatre and cabaret bar in a converted Grade II-listed former billiard hall in Brighton's Kemp Town area. At that time, Komedia promoted many young performers including Graham Norton, Mel & Sue, Johnny Vegas, The Right Size, Al Murray, Jenny Éclair, Peepolykus, Alistair McGowan, Omid Djalili, Rhona Cameron and The League of Gentlemen. Within a few years, the tiny venue had proved so popular that the company was able to expand, and in 1998, Komedia moved into a former Tesco supermarket on Gardner Street in the North Laine area of Brighton. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komedia Komedia web site http://www.komedia.co.uk/

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

Currently home to Cyber Candy who moved here a couple of years ago from Gloucester Road. the shop specialises in sweets and fizzy drinks from America, Japan and Europe. The building remained residential until the 1880s when it passed through a series of differing professions before settling down as a butcher for 50 years, the first 20 as a pork butcher. After a brief interlude as a greengrocer it became the first of four shops Marina Electrics would occupy in the street between 1964 and 1995. Polysound dealt in new releases that were slightly cheaper than those on the High Street; Beauty Plus moved to premises above 53 to cut costs; whilst Tickled specialised in 'toys' for women and moved to Ship Street where they still trade today. OCCUPANTS 1887: MEDICAL HERBALIST: D Tull 1888-97: WEIGHT & SCALE MAKER: G Taylor 1898-99: CONFECTIONER: Arthur Botham (1898), Mrs Boulding (1899) 1900-03: UPHOLSTERER/FRENCH POLISHER: EC Woolven 1904-07: ANTIQUE FURNITURE: C Gardner 1909-58: BUTCHER: H Frost (1909-27), E Chapman (1928-29), Frank Walter (1931), Frederick Chandler (1933-58) 1960: GREENGROCERS: WRJ Weatherstone 1964-71: ELECTRICAL GOODS: Marina Electrics (Brighton) Ltd 1973: WATCHMAKER: KJ West 1974: TAKEWAWAY: Bake'n'Take 1975-86: RECORD SHOP: Polysound 1987-2000: BEAUTY SALOON: Beauty Plus 2001-2008: GIFT SHOP: Tickled 2009-11: SWEET SHOP: Cyber Candy

Once one of three beer houses on the street, the others being Image and Image, it operated for just over a hundred years before it closed in the mid 1950s. After a brief stint as a shoe shop it became a coffee merchants that became well known for a coffee grinder it put outside its door which flooded the street with the smell of freshly ground coffee. The company traded here for 27 years before closing in the early 90s to be replaced by a hairdressers then a florist who originally traded at Image before moving here and trying the novel approach of joining forces with Jollygood Chocolates, who moved out of Image, to try and fleece gentlemen of even more cash when trying to apologise to their wife or partner after a minor indiscretion. It didn't work and they were replaced by the current incumbanys, Kissing Fish, who moved here from their original store in North Street to trade in ethnic and fair trade goods and gifts. OCCUPANTS 1845-48: BOOT/SHOE MAKER: Harry Osborne 1854-1954: BEER HOUSE: The Harp 1956-60: BAKER: Thomson's Bakeries 1962: SHOE SHOP: Avenue Shoe Company 1964-91: COFFEE MERCHANTS: Coffee Mill Ltd 1992-2001: LADIES HAIRDRESSER: Polo Hair Group 2002-05: FLORIST; Botanica 2006-11; GIFT SHOP: Kissing Fish