Image: Looking towards Sutton Parade c. 1950. The much-loved toy shop, Gills, is the large building on the right
Reproduced with the permission of Sutton Coldfield Library
Up until the early 1880s the Parade was known as the Dam. The reason for this was that it was, quite literally, a dam, built to contain a pool which had been drained in the eighteenth century. A road ran along the Dam leading to Mill Street. There were houses on this strip of land, but, as shops began to be built, the more attractive new name was adopted. We find shops opened in these years that were to survive for decades – for example, George Dunn, the tailor, and George Mason and Maypole Dairy, both grocers. There was also Henry Salt, the butcher, Ann Higgs, the greengrocer, William Crane, the chemist, and many others.
Let us now fast forward to the 1950s. By this time there were shops on both sides of a busy main road, with heavy traffic, cars, lorries and Midland Red buses, running along it. If anyone wanted to peruse a good selection of gramophone records, it was still necessary to get the bus into Birmingham, but otherwise the shops of the Parade offered almost anything local inhabitants wanted. There were branches of British Home Stores (63/9 The Parade, which included a small cafe), Woolworths (97 The Parade) and Boots (58/60 The Parade). Amongst other shops, there were seven butchers, six grocers, two fishmongers, two greengrocers, four tobacconists, six gentlemen’s outfitters, five dry cleaners, four hairdressers, a bakers, a jewellers and outlets selling cooked meat, wine, china, radios and televisions, even – reflecting the town’s agricultural past – seed. There were also places to eat – the fondly-remembered Trows Milk Bar, Pattison’s café and the Parade Café. Let us look a little more closely at some of these shops:
Busbys: Located at 16 The Parade. Sold pictures, mirrors, lamps, pottery, china and ‘a host of enchanting small gifts.’
Chamberlains: Located at 109 The Parade. Sold vegetables, fruit, flowers and fish. Its main competitor was George Rose’s.
George Dodd: Located at 102 The Parade. Sold lawnmowers.
Frames’ Tours Ltd: Located at 122 The Parade. Travel agents. The place to book your week at Butlin’s or a 13-day cruise in the Mediterranean for £38 inclusive.
John Frost: Located at 113-115 The Parade. A pharmacy and photographic shop. Later sold records, specialising in classical music. Founded by John Frost, himself a dedicated photographer.
Gills: Located on the edge of The Parade. A toy shop and a magical place for Sutton children and still very fondly remembered. Sold model soldiers, trains, aeroplanes, forts, garages, stamps, comics, everything a child in the second half of the 1950s could want. Had a model railway on the upper floor.
Cyril W. Hicks: Located at 91 The Parade. Gentlemen’s and boys clothes. Very busy in the summer as it sold uniforms for Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School and other schools.
George Mason: Offered a delivery service, groceries often arriving before the shopper had returned home. Its competitors included Maypole Dairy, Liptons and Arnolds.
Reeve & Stedeford: The place to go for a new Austin motor car. An Austin A.35 could do up to 60 m.p.g. and could be had for £360 plus £181 purchase tax.
Slater, Dann. Located at 126-30 The Parade. An estate agent, founded by J.J. Slater and Herbert Dann. Quantrill Smith & Co. was the other estate agent, located in High Street.
W.H. Smith & Son: Located at 54 The Parade. ‘Give books & get them from Smith’s’, the advertisements proclaimed. Also sold toys, leather goods, card games and typewriters.
Walter Smith’s: Located at 107 The Parade. Once a week offered a cookery demonstration lasting one-and-three-quarter hours. Its competitors included Dewhursts.
So that was Sutton Parade in the 1950s. All very different now – and, yes, you read that correctly – once there were seven butchers in the heart of Sutton!
Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Yvonne Moore and Richard Morris for their assistance and also to those who contributed their recollections online.
Stephen Roberts, April 2021