Dursley Glos Forum

I'm trying to collate a list of the town's shops that used to operate in the town's three main shopping streets. If you know of any, where they were and when they were open I'd be grateful for any details.

SILVER STREET AND PARSONAGE STREET
Blue Bags - hardware
Forge Cafe
Hector Paroussi - photographs
Peakes first supermarket, then became International
Baileys
Hewitts - tobacconist
(little sweet shop run by two little ladies, cannot remember their name)
Hector Hayes - clothing
Coop

LONG STREET
Dorothy Cafe (ice cream parlour), which then became Woolworths
Owens - drapery and hairdressers upstairs
Gas Office

I remember Greensill's the jewellers, which is now a material/knitting shop called 'Inches', the son is Michael Greensill a well known jazz musician now living in the USA.

I remember a tobacconists called Beards at the bottom of Bull pitch, very handy on way to D.C.E. SCHOOL. It was quite dark and you had to go down a couple of steps once inside the door. They sold raw liquorice, like chewing string and fishermans lozenges. This would have been in the 1950's.
I also remember a pet shop at the bottom of Boulton Lane. My mum used to go in for dog biscuits sold loose from bins. We also ate them!! There was also Etheridge's the photographer next to the church. I had my picture taken there in 1962 or thereabouts. He lived in Kingshill Road next to the lane that went up to the woods and also operated from there as we had a family photo taken there in the late 40's.
There was a dairy shop in the main street, you could buy ice creams there as well as milk. I remember my dad buying me one on the way back to school one day after lunch. He gave me a silver thruppence and the lady gave me a sixpenny ice cream, boy did I feel lucky!! That would have been in the 50's or late 40's.
There was also Stower's Grocers near the church, it belonged to my friend Jenny Stower's grandparents. Hector Hayes was popular for clothing as was Wilkes of course. Fosters Mens Wear was opposite the Town Hall.
The chip shop was down Long Street, 1st stop after Girl Guides on Wed nights, the 'bits' were the best.

Thanks for all these memories.

I spoke to Hector Paroussi last year so I know he's still around, not in Dursley though.

Was Beard's shop you mention also a barber's? I know that Harry Beard ran a barber shop in Dursley. Also, was the dairy Wainwrights's?

Hi Andy,
Wonderful site, had a few replies from people with same and other memories. Yes I think the dairy was Wainwrights, funny I can still picture the interior and 'smell' it. Very white stark and clinical, and obviously very hygienic, and I still love ice-cream!
Not sure about the barber shop, didn't figure in my early years. The only one I do remember is Kingham's, down Long Street I think. You had to enter at the back of a shop and walk up some rickety stairs to very small and cramped premises, or so it seemed. In our day our hair was cut by Dad who sat us on a chair and literally cut round a bowl on our head. Our hair was washed with rain water, collected from a rain water tank in the garden and heated on the stove top. Those were the days...
BYE FOR NOW
FROM SUNNY AND HOT CAPE TOWN

You're right, those were the days. I think the Wainwright's dairy was around the back in Prospect Place and the shop was on Parsonage Street, later demolished when the Castle Street junction was built. Kingham's hairdresser's is still there by the way.

Surely the Dorothy cafe was next to Pepworths, and the ice cream shop in Long Street, was that not Savage's? The little shop at the bottom of Bull Pitch was, I believe, run by a Mr Phippin. He sold tobacco and a wide selection of sweets and chocolate. I started to collect chocolate wrappers and often went to ask if there were any new sweets available (early 1950's).

My 90 year old mother confirms a lot of the names of shops and traders already mentioned.
She left Dursley in 1949 but can also remember :
Photographer called Restal
Blue Bags run by Robinson's
Long St. Hat Shop - Mrs.Hancocks
Silver St. Kemp's - mens clothes. Moodys -Wet Fish shop. Adams -Chemist.
Boulton Lane. Hancock's - Butchers.
Parsonage St. Cope's-Chemist. Wintle's-Grocery. Clutterbuck's - Clothing, drapery. Boots chemist.

She also recalls a poem listing many traders, she thinks written by an Ernie Kemp, cannot see it on this
website, but perhaps I am not looking in the correct place. It must have been printed in the 'Gazette'
awhile ago.

I found this old poem about Dursley it may be the one mentioned.
JEAW

Thankyou, Jeaw, yes this is the poem that my mother was trying to remember. Although it says 'author unknown' , the 'K' refers to Kemp, so perhaps she is right as she seems to think that at was penned by Ernie Kemp.

She is unwell at the moment so this will cheer her up, thanks again,
Beajaytee

Hello Beajaytee and Jeaw
I can confirm that this poem was definitely penned by Mr E.H. Kemp. It was written in October 1949 and sold for six pence with all proceeds going towards the cost of new curtains (£15) for the Tabernacle School Hall in Dursley.
Best Wishes, Andy

From JEAW
I also found this later poem written by Terry Bloodworth and published in the Dursley Gazette...Enjoy...
Not sure when it was written or published, it was sent to me a few years ago.

I've lost all memory of the street names except Long Street where I used to live. However there are some shops I remember which don't seem to have made a mention :-the L.C.M. (London Central Meat Co.), where I worked as a butcher's boy in the early 50's, Ferris's Cake shop where I used to get the butcher's cakes on their breaks, Beards, the Tobacconists, with a barber's shop above, Dewhurst's further up the street, another butchers. I'm sure there are more but these were ones that came to mind!!