Image: Sutton Parade in the 1930s. Reproduced with the permission of Sutton Coldfield Library
Since mid-2021 I have been working my way through the extensive archives of Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in preparation for writing a new history to mark the school’s 500th anniversary in 2027. An item I came across recently was the programme for the school’s production, at the town hall in February 1937, of the comic opera ‘Iolanthe’ by Gilbert & Sullivan. It wasn’t the first time that the boys had acted in such productions – they began in 1922 with ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ and similar performances continued to the mid-1980s. We learn from the programme who produced the performance (the headmaster A. Sylvanus Jones), who designed and made the costumes (his wife) and much more besides.
What is particularly interesting about the programme are the advertisements for businesses – mostly shops – in the town centre or other parts of Sutton. There are in fact 53 of them. These advertisements paid for the printing of the programme. Placing advertisements in the programme for an operatic performance by the grammar school suggests that the owners of these businesses were seeking the custom of the more affluent. These advertisements offer a vivid and fascinating picture of commercial life in Sutton more than eighty years ago.
What follows is a complete list of the shops and other businesses, in alphabetical order, that placed advertisements. Where possible, I have added additional information about these enterprises.
- J. Allsop & Sons: 382 Boldmere Road. Butcher. Boasted of their use of ‘Molcarn The Meat Perfector’ which they claimed made their meat more tender: ‘Perfected meat is so meltingly tender that mastication is easy even with false teeth or no teeth at all.’ This apparatus was invented in France & Allsops were amongst the first butchers in England to invest in one. A customer bought a steak or a boneless joint and then asked the butcher to ‘perfect’ it. This involved placing the meat on a metal plate and pulling down a lever which enabled hundreds of very fine knives to penetrate it. The fairly quick abandonment of this new piece of technology suggests it was not as effective as was claimed. A second hand Molcarn was being advertised in a Birmingham newspaper in 1941 for £10.
- T. Barrett & Co: Mill Street. Radio engineers. The radio was at the centre of family life in the 1930s. Sutton families would gather round it every evening to listen to programmes broadcast by the BBC and Radio Luxembourg.
- E.J. Bird: Boldmere Road. Bakers. This was the place to go to buy a wholemeal loaf. Whilst it was known at this time that wholemeal bread had more health benefits than white bread, it was the latter that the majority of people still preferred. To encourage sales this shop would have sold a wholemeal loaf at the same price as a white loaf.
- W.G. Bodley: Four Oaks, Streetly & New Oscott. Chemist. For a time Bodley was member of the town council. Tragically, in April 1945, he poisoned himself; he had been suffering from depression.
- J.K. Bourne & Sons: Parade & Mere Green. Dealers in corn, seed, hay, straw and manure.
- W.H. Bromwich: Four Oaks, Streetly & Erdington. Sold cakes and home- made pork pies, always made with English pork and lard pastry. The shop also delivered bread.
- E.L. Buxton: 3 Station Street. Sold bottled ales and stouts – ‘bottled by the most expert bottlers’ – and wines and spirits. In 1937 Mitchells & Butlers reported a significant increase in the sales of their bottled beers.
- Bycroft’s: A Birmingham business, established in 1870, which manufactured its own confectionary and opened a number of shops. Particularly proud of their mint chunks which ‘will not stick to your mouth’ and their ‘delicious & wholesome’ mixed fruit drops. During the 1939-45 war the factory was damaged during a German bombing raid; the business declared that it would ‘distribute fairly what we can now produce.’
- Coombes: 59 Parade. Confectioner. Noted for its freshly made chocolates.
- W. Cooke: 117 Parade. Gentlemen’s outfitter; also ‘official’ supplier of uniforms for the grammar school.
- Delicia: 52 Birmingham Road. This imaginatively named cake shop drew attention to its stock of Kunzle cakes and confectionary such as ‘spiders’ and ‘matches’ ‘for your boys to eat.’ Kunzles operated a factory at Five Ways and its chocolate was regarded as being as good as that which was imported. A box of their chocolates cost 4s.
- M. Duke: Lloyds Bank Buildings. Sold women’s clothing.
- Tom Elson: Lichfield Road, Four Oaks. Established 1910. Bootmaker & repairer.
- Empress Cinema: Built and owned by local councillor W.H. James, the Empress opened in January 1923. It was constructed of reinforced concrete with stone faces, and inside customers found a marble entrance hall, carpets and oak doors. The cinema offered a free illuminated car park, accommodation for cycles … and the loan of hearing aids!
- Germain: 11 High Street. School outfitters, including for Sutton High School for Girls, which opened in September 1929 with 150 pupils. The first headmistress was Miss K.I. Bradley. At the foundation ceremony in January 1930 the Countess of Warwick, reflecting the attitudes of the times, declared that ‘It must not be forgotten that a woman’s activities were still chiefly in the home.’
- W. Gill & Son: Parade. The proprietors of this much-loved toy shop were Edwin William George Gill and W.T. Gill. They also had another shop in Four Oaks. The business boasted that it sold ‘the biggest variety of toys in the midlands’; these included Meccano, Dinky toys, Hornby trains, Frog flying model aeroplanes and Skybirds aircraft model kits. At the rear of the shop was a garden and this was tended by a full-time gardener.
- F.J. Hall Ltd: Station Drive, Four Oaks. Coal merchant. Houses were mostly heated at this time by ‘the delightful, friendly comfort of the coal fire.’ A cwt. of house coal cost 2s. 2d.
- A.E. Haynes: 16 Parade. Newsagent, bookseller, stationer. In the evening, Suttonians either listened to the radio or read. A public library was not opened in Sutton until 1937 – which is why this shop sold novels.
- W.T. Jones: 23 High Street. Chemist. To be registered as a chemist and to open his shop, Jones would have needed to pass an examination administered by Pharmaceutical Society. Amongst the many items he offered was a dressing called ‘Varoline’ which was guaranteed to ‘cure bad legs.’
- Judge Private Cars: High Street. Repaired cars, offering a ‘special breakdown trolley’, and supplied private chauffeurs.
- N.D. Keey: Boldmere Road. Electrical repairs.
- B.W. Lee: Many Suttonians rode bicycles at this time. Lee sold B.S.A. bicycles and, with Dunlop tyres and leather saddles, prices began at £4 19s 6d or 2s 3d weekly. The shop offered 12 months free service. Motorcycles were also sold.
- S. Lines: 455 Jockey Road. Established 1901. Painter & decorator.
- Longmores Ltd: 4 & 6 Parade. School & club wear. Lined B.V.G.S. blazers cost 15s 11d, knitted ties 1s, a silk tie 1s 6d or 2s and caps with an ‘unbreakable peak’ 2s 3d.
- The Man’s Shop: South Parade. Formal clothes and sportswear.
- George Masons: Grocers. Its advertisements declared that ‘Health & happiness depend on good food.’ The main office and warehouse of George J. Mason was at 68 Bradford Street, Birmingham. George Mason, who established the business, lived in Wolverhampton. The gross value of his estate when he died in 1934 was £332,885; he made some charitable donations amounting to £1,550 but most was left in trust for his three children, including his successor as managing director George Bates Mason.
- S. Matthews: Belwell Lane, Four Oaks. Butcher. Collected orders and delivered.
- Mere Green Garage: This business promoted itself with a very clever advertisement: ‘We do not advertise much. We find that personal recommendations bring us in a very steady stream of work. Some people, we know, hate us like poison, but in most cases we know why and don’t mind. But our friends may not happen to be your friends so possibly you may not have heard of us. If this is so, we invite you to come along with your car to Mere Green Garage the next time you want some little job doing and see how you like us. We think you will come again. Our telephone number, by the way, is Four Oaks 203. It is worth remembering as a call for assistance, even at three a.m., will be willingly answered.’
- Midland Red: Parade. Offered daily services ‘all over the midlands’, with a timetable costing 3d. Also ‘super holiday tours’ to North Wales (2 days, £2 10s), Devon & Cornwall (6 days, £8 8s) & Highlands of Scotland & Royal Deeside (12 days, £18 18s). Customers were advised to ‘book early and anticipate the pleasure’
- J.P. Morgan: South Parade & Boldmere Road. Radios – Bush, Phillips, Philco & Ekco. Prices for a Bush radio began at eight guineas, Philco at five guineas. Thanks to the coronation of George VI, 1937 would have been a good year for Morgan’s sales.
- Mortons: 72 The Parade. Sold smart footwear for ladies. With a new Queen on the throne, what better shoes to offer than Queen shoes? A pair of these cost 29s 6d.
- Motor Mower Service Co: South Parade.
- Neal’s Gramophone & Music Department: 115 Parade. Sold records, sheet music and instruments. Also repaired gramophones, tuned pianos and provided a music studio for teaching.
- Nicholls Bros: Birmingham Road. Clothes shop.
- Odeon: ‘Going to the pictures’ was an extremely popular recreational activity in the 1930s. The Odeon in Sutton opened in April 1936 to exploit this burgeoning demand and declared itself to be ‘the finest cinema in the midlands.’ The Odeon could accommodate 1,700 people and matinees began at 2.40 pm & films were shown continuously through the evenings from 5.45 pm. The mayor W.A. Perry, who opened the cinema, expressed his satisfaction that ‘in the new Odeon refined pictures would be shown. A cinema … must have high ideals as well as the object of providing entertainment.’
- H. Peerless: 40 High Street. Sold shoes, including Clarks, Bective, Brit-ban and Footform.
- L. Pritchard: Maney Corner, next to Odeon. Sold chocolates and cigarettes. Patrons of the cinema provided him with a regular supply of custom.
- Radio Supply Co: Birmingham Road. Dealer for Murphy radios, which were manufactured from 1929 in a factory in Welwyn Garden City.
- Elsie Richards: 36 High Street. High quality confectionary and always well-stocked with Fuller’s cakes, a brand which by this time had been bought by Rowntree.
- Rose’s: 22 Parade. Greengrocer and fruiterer. The shop occupied 450 square feet. The advertisements emphasized the name: ‘Get it at Rose’s. It’s better.’ George Rose was fined £2 at Sutton Police Court in February 1944 for having 12 lamps alight in his shop and therefore using too much electricity.
- R.F. Scrivener: Jockey Corner. Declared itself to be a ‘purveyor of home-killed meat … lamb a speciality.’ In March 1940 Scrivener advertised for a ‘smart youth or man, used to good class trade; good wages and prospects.’
- 7-Hour Cleaners: Birmingham Road & South Parade. Offered to collect and deliver. Suits, coats and dresses were all cleaned for 3s 6d. In April 1941 this busy business advertised for a permanent experienced presser and a young trainee.
- W.F. Shakespear: 39 Birmingham Road. Opticians, including to the Sutton Coldfield Education Committee.
- H. Shaw: 15 Station Street. Sold sports equipment, repaired tennis rackets and provided everything you needed for your dog.
- Streathers Limited: Four Oaks. Building contractors & merchants, supplying hot water engineers, builders, plumbers, painters and decorators, particularly to ‘residences of quality & distinction.’ In October 1939 the business was advertising air raid shelters for £50. R.S. Streather was a member of the town council.
- T. Voce: Station Road, Wylde Green. Sold newspapers, stationery, tobacco and confectionary and offered a library with ‘the latest fiction at 2d and 3d per volume.’
- John Wainwright: High Street, Birmingham Road & Wyndley Nurseries. Florist. In July 1934 Wainwright won a prize for his sweet peas at the Aldridge Flower Show.
- C.N. Walsh: 274 Birmingham Road. Radios sold and repaired. In November 1940 Walsh advertised for a radio engineer to manage the business, promising ‘good wages & hrs. for the right man.’
- E. & R. Wilkes: 62 Birmingham Road. Dressmakers.
- A.E. Wood: 78 Parade & 28 Mill Street. Bootmaker & repairer. A long- established business, which came into existence in 1892. At this point run by Mrs Wood, presumably a widow.
- John Wood: High Street. Decorators & Plumbers.
- Wright’s Stores: Corner of Park Road and Station Street. Founded by Henry Wright in the 1880s and continued by his family, this grocer offered deliveries twice daily.
- Sutton Laundry Limited: Coleshill Street. Operated in new buildings ‘of the most modern design’, used ‘pure soft water’ and – its most distinctive feature – offered ‘savo-wash’. Regularly placed advertisements in the newspapers for: ‘lady driver … for Morris 8 van’; pressers; packers and sorters; and men and women to work in the wash-house, promising ‘good wages; full week’s work.’ Quite what a ‘savo-wash’ was remains unclear.
Stephen Roberts, March 2022
Stephen Roberts is Honorary Archivist at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School