Holloway Road & 43-53 High Street

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1935 showing shops, Walde at 47 High Street this side of Holloway Road, then a narrow lane; and 51, name not discernible. Later Walde sold cameras, wool and also ran a taxi service from here.
1985. Holloway Road after road widening and when Green had the shop at 47 High Street
1985. Holloway Road after road widening and when Green had the shop at 47 High Street
2018. 53 High Street after further repairs following the car collision
Planning application for Gostick Stores of the buildings previously 51-53 High Street (now 53 High Street) believed to be from 1972. This clearly shows the extent of the previous buildings and that the carriageway width (including pavements) was originally half its current width.
Floor plans for Gostick re-development of 51-53 High Street.
OS map showing the original width of Holloway Road before the 1970s re-development.
Looking up Holloway Road when a narrow lane and before widening in the 1970s. Planning permission for widening was granted in September 1973
1977. 47 High Street when run by Green
Green's shop, probably 1970s
Taken 31 December 2017 showing the building boarded after a car had crashed into it.
COPYRIGHT Packer photo, 1935, of 47 High Street when still trading as Dora Pope (W.H. Pope on the sign) before it transferred that year to Walde, as shown in an almost identical first photo in this series. From the PictureOxon collection ref https://heritagesearch.oxfordshire.gov.uk/images/POX0170088. Gostick Stores was trading at the shop across Holloway Road, 53 High Street, by or before 1935 therefore.

Archive Notes:

Some records in High Street box 10-2 and some in Holloway Road.

Photos taken in c 1935 and 1985 showing changes. At 47 High Street, Mrs Life had had a draper's shop, but was not trading as this in 1921 although she and her huband still lived here. Later, Dora Pope had a grocery shop. Then by 1935, Walde had taken this over with the photo showing a general stores.Later (in 1946) they were a radio specialist and sold photographic items as well and had a car hire and taxi service. In 1966 the taxi service was sold to Ray Bushnell who kept the name Walde, but they were never partners. In the 1980s, it was a shop run by J M and J F Green, as shown also in the Jubilee boklet of 1977. In 1988, The Wool Shop had the left hand part of this shop but, by 1998, they had taken over the main shop and Country Collections (an antique and collectibles business) was in the small left-hand part (having taken this in 1996). The Wool shop closed down c. 1998 or 1999 and Country Collections moved into the larger shop with a barber taking over the smaller one. later Country Collections took over the whole shop. It is now (2018) Country Collections with Identity Hair occupying the small shop on the left. The latter moved to the Merry Bells stables in 2021.

It is believed that Frederick Fowler (1861-1951) had a grocery and bakery here by 1900. By 1910 (1910 revaluation survey) the owner was James Nicholas Hughes (1911 and 1921 censuses confirm) and the business was later carried on by R R Gostick from c. 1935, see one of the photos attached. Later it was owned and run by Percy Blake and Mary Blake as well as their shop on the site of the Old Chequers 113-115 High Street. Comparison between the 1935 and 1985 photos shows clearly that the two earlier buildings had been considerably adapted and shortened (by some 3.75 metres) in order to facilitate the widening of Holloway Road, as per the planning application drawing for Gostick Stores of the buildings previously 51-53 High Street (now 53 High Street) believed to be from 1972. This clearly shows the extent of the previous buildings and that the carriageway width (including pavements) was originally half what is has since become. The application included the development of three houses on Holloway Road. The new building only had one chimney at the east end. In 2000, the ground floor was vacant, but the upstairs consisted of 4 poor quality rooms in a single flat, occupied by Tamsin Ingle. The earthquake at Dudley in 2000 dislodged the window overlooking Holloway Road. In 2003, a new owner bought this and set out to renovate the first floor. However, the stonework collapsed at the eastern end of the building, as can be seen from the boarding taken on 31 December 2917 and new stonework evident in the 2018 photo. In 2018, a car ran down Station Road out of control and into the building requiring yet more stone repair work. The building is now several flats on two levels.

Wheatley High Street as it was in 1930, said to be by B. Eyley in 1980. Copyright sketch from https://www.pictureoxon.com/