Recollections of Causewayhead Penzance

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Recollections of Causewayhead Penzance over a period of time by Wendy Richards.

Working up from the London Inn:-
74 Was Foss butchers shop later years Stuart's dress shop, its now Cancer Research UK.
Next there was the Peppercorn restaurant and shop before becoming Bazaar clothing now Rowe's bakery.
72 Lanyon's newsagent is now Miller Countrywide Estate Agent.
71 Up to 1980 Widgers wallpaper/paint shop then Stuarts dress shop before moving down to no. 74. John Knight had it as haberdashery material shop. Then Lun Poly now Thoson Travel Agents.
Before Harbour Crystals arrived in 2004, was Little Gems jewellery and prior to this Alliance & Leicester Building Society.
Next up was a little electrical lighting shop owned by Bryant Bros. This was redeveloped and became Bear Creek before becoming Subway.
67 Trezise hairdresser and tobacconist and now Mi Mi's Boutique .
66 Thome's greengrocery extended in 2007 to no. 65 which previously was Just Cornish, prior Hudson Men’s outfitters and previously Hawkins outfitters.
64 Spiegelhalter the jewellers was Hutchen's jewellers.
63 A R Shoes and prior was Penzance Aquarium run by Len Brown who started the Causewayhead Traders Association in 1983, with the first Christmas lights in the street.
62 Before M C News was Simpson's newsagent.
61 Cyril Grey ran pet food shop selling all manner of things, then Micky Angwin took it over with his son John and wife who developed the flower side of the business known as Fur Feather & Flowers now run by Sarah Gendall.
60 Robinson & Son Furniture store became Woodhouse 1965 - 1986. Then in 1987 Causewayhead Furnishings.
59 Now Jims Cash & Carry 13 years ago (1998) was Ace Home Improvements before that Alrons Discounts and prior Roger Dennis grocery shop before that Gorden Nesbitt had it as a Spar shop for a couple of years. Prior to 1974 it was Dugdales grocery store.
57 I think was Thomas the butchers then Penwith Pirate now St Justin Pewter and jewellery.
56 Herbies was Hawkins Fish & Chip shop.
55 Now Lighthouse gallery but was Phoenix and previously Vickers betting shop and prior Jefferies florist and before that Negus photographers.
53 Was Co-op store before becoming Kentucky Fried Chicken then Favourite Fried Chicken now Goldcrest Office Supplies.
51 Hobbs was previously Richard’s cycle shop.
50 Walkers jewellers were a newsagents.
43 Rogers the butcher’s then Rare book shop and now Unique.
Near here was Hollows the fruit shop.
Below the Farmers Arms is the Mounts Bay Music shop this used to be James the butchers shop.
On the opposite side of the street.
36 Healing Star it's been many things. A furniture shop and prior the Greenhouse selling fruit and veg, before that Mr Patterson had it as a model shop.
Waves Cafe used to be Bendix laundrette and prior to that SWEB.
Curious Collectables
Party Zone
26 Jean Barry soap shop was Lewington estate agent until the mid-90's.
25 The Lighthouse Gallery was Curnow wet fish shop.
24 The Leather craft shop was previously Jinks jewellery and watch repairs.
18 Lanxon's sports shop before becoming Cobblers Last.
17 Robinson's Travel Agents became Pickfords then Going Places before they moved further down the street. Then Bennetts gas shop then M & J Florist and now Agapanthus flower shop.
The area of the Cinema Hollywood Pizza bar used to be New Man mensware run by Alan Hole.
15D Was Wood the Chemist now The Granary.
15C Oxfam was previously Hutchens plumbing and ironmongery run by Mr & Mrs Bolitho.
15B R & E Electrical became Josling Electrical then Temptations lady's cloths shop before becoming The Weigh Inn.
15 Now Epic films use to be Olivers clothes shop and before that Causewayhead Booze and before this another clothes shop and prior Manzi Jewellery shop.
Barnardo's and Colour Bureau are part of a redevelopment. The previous shops in this area were:-
Hooker Hall's sweet shop.
Sheila King Antiques.
Humphrey’s delicatessen.
Causeway Grill run by Bill Clayton.
8/9 Army & Navy stores now Mounts Bay Trading Co.
4 Peaks wallpaper and paint became McFradden butchers now Moshulu.
3 Also Peaks paint shop, then furniture shop before becoming a temporary residence for Newlyn Art Gallery while they were having their redevelopment at Newlyn. It's now No 36 lady's jewellery and accessories.
T.Mobile was a men's cloths shop run by Derrick Dowrick prior to this Bevell's shoe shop.
Below the hop way to the car park was Rogers sweet shop this became part of Bevell's shoe shop, later a jewellery shop before becoming Age Concern charity shop. It's now Leavy Herbs health shop.


Now I know there are some discrepancies. So please add your comments below so that I can add or change this account.
Thanks
 

Tropicgal

Janner/ Senior Member
#43, if I'm not mistaken was a bakery before it was a butchers or was the bakery a little further down?
 
68 was once my mum and dads shop G J BILLINGTON AND SONS SHOE REPAIRS , Now a subway food shop.
Up near the cinema was laxons sports shop , Young ideas clothes shop etc
 

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Oh I remember Billingtons. I don't think we have any pictures of the shop on the site yet though :(
 

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That would be great. But even memories about the store and the street are important. Even written memories about the street and busineeses and the people living and working there is great.
 
These threads bring back so many childhood memories.I remember a sweet shop
called The Red Shop I think it was next to Rodgers,also the shop which is
Healing Star was a Co-Op as was Sweeny Todds next door.
Further down was Mottons the Florist and next door to that was a Wool shop.
Thank you so much for these memories.
 

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Our job now is to hunt out the pictures to show everyone what the town once looked like. Thanks for your memories... your recollections are precious :rolleyes:
 

Tropicgal

Janner/ Senior Member
There was a store near the top of Causewayhead when I was a child, I think it was a green grocers????? They had an old dog called Leo which, if my memory is correct was a Chow, looked very lion like hence the name, the dog always lay in the doorway so you would have to step over him!!! This would be early to mid 50's. My Uncle Garfield Tonkin owned the newsagents a little further down, I think it is now Walkers jewelers??.

I will be back for a visit first week of June so will drag hubby on my trip down memory lane! Have to say my hometown has changed so much in recent years, some of it not for the better, I was back in November 2015 for a family funeral and was shocked at the state of Market Jew Street. Very sad.
 

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Change is certainly something Penzance is going through. But t is still a small town in respect to most, so change has a big impact. Shops are closing but this isn't because the town is a ghost town by any means, it's because Penzance is probably the most up to date fibre optic place on the planet and that means most shop on line now.
I'm in the mids of writing up an article about it now... I'll post up something soon :rolleyes:
 
I remember the shop and the Chow,I was fascinated by its blue tongue.
The shop was called either Stables or Staples, it was a Green Groceries.
I believe when the couple retired from the shop he became the Caretaker
of Mounts Bay School.
 

Tropicgal

Janner/ Senior Member
Bobcat, I had forgotten about the blue tongue!! The couple who ran it were quite elderly if I remember correctly.
 
Tropicgal.Perhaps the couple I remember were Family or Staff,but they were
not elderly.
Also the Chinese Takeaway at the top was a Newsagent,next to The Farmers Arms
was James the Butchers and a Grocery shop.I think there was a Bakers next door
down.
This is getting the old brain cells working.
On a different thread does anyone remember Eggins at the bottom of Adelaide St.
I can remember being taken to an upstairs Tea Room for Afternoon Tea it must
have been a special occasion as I cannot remember it happening at any other time.
Vaigly I remember a Post Office on the ground floor or am I mistaken.
 

Tropicgal

Janner/ Senior Member
My Gran lived in Adelaide Street (I was born in number 24) and I spent a lot of my childhood there, I must admit I don't remember Eggins or a Post Office. There was a pet shop (always had a flea bitten monkey in the window), then a fish and chip shop and on the opposite side was a green grocers on the corner and a bit further up was Bond Clark.
 
Thank you for identifying Foss's butcher's shop. Up to the 1950s it was kept by my Great Uncle Willie Foss. He had a parrot in the shop which greeted customers. He would finish business on Saturdays by going out into Causewayhead and offering meat at knock down prices (even at times giving it away to families he knew who were very poor). According to the 1901 census, his father was also a butcher so it may have been Foss's for a long time! I was fond of Uncle Willie - a a generous man with an apparently inexhaustible supply of half crown coins in his waistcoat pocket (untold riche sto achild in teh 1950s!).
 
I am also trying to fix where the Duke of Cumberland pub was. I think it was where Rowe's Baker's shop is now. That is a modern building but I think the buildings used to be set back from the line of the street. It was kept in the 1950s by my Great Uncle Hedley Watkins.
 

Tropicgal

Janner/ Senior Member
I remember the shop and the Chow,I was fascinated by its blue tongue.
The shop was called either Stables or Staples, it was a Green Groceries.
I believe when the couple retired from the shop he became the Caretaker
of Mounts Bay School.
Looking back at the list of shops at the start of this thread I think the shop with the chow was Hollows.
 
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