Businesses in the High Street, Cradley in the 1920s and 1930s
The Cradley Then & Now group's Sam Taylor has searched his memories of the businesses and major buildings in Cradley's High Street back in the 1920s and 1930s.
We have compared Sam's recollections with the contents of the Kelly's Directory 1924. There is a remarkable coincidence of names and trades, confirming that Sam's memory is very sound indeed. There are a few cases where a name or business is remembered by Sam but not recorded by Kelly's, and vice versa. However, most of the differences are accounted for by the fact that not all businesses chose to be represented in the Directory. Moreover, the Directory is a snapshot in time (1924) whereas Sam's memory is of a period.
In a small number of cases Jill Guest has added snippets of information or queries, and these are indicated in italics.
It is interesting to note that there are just two businesses with a telephone number: Jones & Lloyd are "TN 33" and the Talbot Hotel is "TN 100".
We have presented the information in two tables, the first for the east side and the second for the west side of the High Street. In both cases, we start from the river Stour, the boundary between Cradley and Cradley Heath, and work our way up the hill towards Colley Gate.
Many of these shops, and their proprietors, were still trading in the 1950s and 1960s, and even later. However, today Cradley does not have a High Street. The entire length has been renamed Colley Lane, a continuation of the street of that name. Ostensibly the re-naming was to avoid any confusion with other High Streets in the district, although it is a sad fact that today (2007) and for some years now, the old "High Street" shops are mostly gone and local shopping is almost a thing of the past.
Table 1 - Cradley High Street, east side
Sam Taylor's memories | Kelly's Directory 1924 |
Coming up Cradley on the left hand side from the River Stour, starting at the entrance to Little Hill | |
Bridge Inn | Homer Annie (Mrs), Shopkeeper, 86 High St |
Jones and Lloyds, Chain Works | Jones & Lloyd Ltd, Anchor manufacturers, Scotia works & Cradley Forge, TN 33 |
Black Swan P.H. | Robinson Alice (Mrs), Black Swan, 80 High St |
Clift Henry, haberdasher, 76 & 78 High St | |
Bread and cake makers, Dentith | Dentith James Baker, 72 High St |
White Horse P.H., D Batham | Dunn Hezekiah, Beer Retailer, 70 High St |
Shop Sweets, ? | Bate George, Shopkeeper, 68 High St |
Newsagents and Stationery, Chambers | Chambers Thomas Henry, news agent, 6? High St |
Fish-wet, Warwick | |
Robin Hood P.H., Tromans | Jevons A, beer retailer, 52 High St |
Holly Bush P.H., Cotterel - Hickman | Spicer Frank A, Holly Bush P.H., 50 High St |
Shoe Shop, Jewis | Jewiss Alfred, boot & shoemaker, 48 High St |
Fish Inn, North - Hall | North Thomas, Fish Inn, 46 High St |
Greengrocers, Williams | Williams John, Greengrocer, 44 High St |
Grocers, White, Taylor | White & Taylor, grocers, 42 High St |
Drapers, Dallows | Wassell Clara (Miss), Draper, 40 High St |
Lloyds Bank Ltd, 38 High St (hours 11-2 Tues & Frid) | |
Post Office, Christophers | Christopher Alice (Miss), Post Office tobacconist, 36 High St |
Hill Alfred, Registrar of births & deaths for Halesowen subdistrict, 36 High St | |
Sweet Shop, Bate | Bate Elizabeth (Miss), shopkeeper, 34 High St |
Butchers Lane | |
Clothes Shop, Stringer | Stringer James, Draper, 32 High St |
Coal Gleads, S Bloomer | |
Sweet shop, Abis | Abis Charlotte (Mrs), shopkeeper, 18 High St |
Robinson John, carpenter, 18 High St | |
Fish, Poultry, Eggs, Rabbits, J Genner | Genner J, Fishmonger, 20 High St |
Clothes Shoes, Raybould | Raybould Harold, boot dealer, 16 High St |
Bills Clara (Mrs), Wardrobe dealer, 14 High St | |
Cobblers | Johnson Bert, Boot repairer, 8 High St |
Butchers, E Hodgetts, J Hodgetts | Hodgetts E, Butcher, 2 High St |
High Town, Mapletree Lane | |
Old Crown Inn, D Provit, J, Jinks, R Jinks | Proffit Daniel, Beer Retailer, 2 High Town |
Fish and Chips, S Goodwin | Goodwin S, Fishmonger, 60 Mapletree Lane |
Sweets Ice Cream, Walter Hodgetts | |
Willetts Confectioner, then offices for H Reece (Chainworks) | |
Rates Office. Before Library was built (Allotments where Library now stands, Rates office now private house further up) | Bird Edwin, assistant overseer, rate collector & Clerk to Parish Council, 40 Colley Lane. |
Infants School | Colley Lane, built in 1902 and enlarged in 1911 for 255 children, Miss Ruth Lucy Wright mistress |
Police Station, before the Community Centre | County Police Station, 32 Colley Lane, Walter Henry Wright, sergeant in charge, 2 sergeants & 4 constables |
Table 2 - Cradley High Street, West Side
Sam Taylor's Memories | Kelly's Directory 1924 |
Coming up Cradley on the right hand side from the Stour | |
Corn Mill | |
Mill Street | |
Grocers, Blunt | Blunt Felix, Grocer 19 Bridge st |
Fish and Chips | |
Round House | |
Lyde Green | |
Wesleyan Chapel (Trinity) | |
Fruiter, Gad, Hickman | |
Bethesda (Primitive Methodists)? | |
Walker Solomon, Shopkeeper, 63 High St | |
Miscellaneous shop, Millward called Tinkalary's | Millward Bertram, hardware dealer, 47 High St |
Rose and Crown, Mop Boxley | Boxley Fred, Rose & Crown P.H., High St |
Fish and Chips, Lears | Leah John W, Fried Fish dealer, 41 High St |
Head Frank, confectioner, 39 High St | |
Southall Walter, Grocer, 35 High St | |
Warr Willam, Greengrocer, 29 High St | |
Draper, Raybould | Round & Nichol, Drapers, 27 High St |
Barbers, Flavel | Flavell George, Hairdresser, High St |
Chemist, ? | Harris Emily (Mrs), Drug store, 25 High St |
Second Hand, Pictures, furniture, Gill | Gill Alfred, Furniture dealer, 21 High St |
Worton Emma (Mrs), Confectioner, 19 High St | |
Butchers, Tidmarsh | Tidmarsh Samuel J, Butcher, 15 High St |
Shop, Miscellaneous, ? | Southall Joseph, china & glass dealer, 13 High St |
Talbot James, Draper, 11 High St | |
Pawnshop, Rollinson, Taylor | Rolinson William, Pawnbroker, 9 High St |
Robinson Howard, Painter, 7 High St | |
Robinson Stephen, Boot repairer, 7a High St | |
Plant William, Fishmonger, 5 High St | |
Old Sandstone building | |
Dungeon Head | |
Mens Urinals | |
Memorial Garden War Memorial? | |
Baptist Chapel | |
Blue Ball Lane sometimes called the Malthouse | |
Butchers, Harris | Harris William, Butcher, 3 High St |
Ironmongers, Paul Homer | Homer Paul & Son, Ironmonger, 1 High St |
Anvil Yard | |
Inage leading to Blue Ball Lane | |
Colley Lane | |
Grocers, Robinson | Robinson Harriet (Mrs), Shopkeeper, 37 Colley Lane |
Electrician, Steve Robinson | |
Grocer, Smith | Smith John W, Grocer, 11 Colley Lane |
Grocer, Bills | Bills Alfred, Shopkeeper, 7 Colley Lane |
Newspapers, Kirton | |
Liberal Club | Liberal Club (Edgar Dunn sec), 3 Colley Lane |
Large House (The Elms) | Fox Miss, The Elms, Colley Lane |
Girls School | 422 girls, Miss Ruth Evans, Mistress |
Boys School | 400 boys, Thomas Allchurch, Headmaster |
Talbot Hotel, Oliver, J Roper, J Bills | Oliver W & Sons (of Cradley) Ltd, Maltsters, Colley Lane, TN 100 |