Thames
Street runs from the High Street to the Victorian railway bridge near
the old Pack Horse Hotel. It then changes to Laleham Road.
Many changes have happened to Thames Street, even in my lifetime.
The road that we see today is completely different to 60 years ago.
The road was widened, to eventually two lanes both sides of the road.
The massive Debenhams store now takes over the corner of the High
Street and Thames Street, almost to what is now known as Elmsleigh
Road, next to it is the Community Center. 60 years ago there were
many little shops occupying that same footstep of those two buildings.
You will see some of them on this page, now sadly only Ghosts.
I walked
down this street today (September 24th, 2021) and it felt very strange
after working on this page for a number of days. Remembering the old
Thames Street, looking for things I remembered that were no longer
there, seeing Debenhams and realizing that if the planners get their
way that huge building will no longer be there, instead a massive
high rise block of flats will stand in it's place, and of course the
Spelthorne Museum, will also be gone along with the Library, and even
more flats will be built instead and more ghostly memories will haunt
us.
The old
Thames Street early 70's
The big
building is Kennards, that became Debenhams. (see up to date photo
below) There are some small homes next, behind the Billboards.
Then comes Salmons the Greengrocers, The Evenng Mail, newsagents and
a small shop.
The same place today. Just Debenhams and the Community Centre.
An earlier
photo of the same stretch of Thames Street. I remember the Las Vegas
Cafe, and the Spinning Wheel restaurant. This had a wonderful array
of small unique shops it was so sad when they were all destroyed by
the planners who demolished the whole lot.
This is
what it looked like from the High Street junction. This is before
the big Kennards,which was first built the other side of the white
shop, (above the car,) when the Congregational Church still existed.
Probably 1940's or 50's
The Congregational Church that was pulled down to make way
for the road widening
Going
even further back this is looking at what became Johnson & Clarks.
They had roadworks even back then in 1907!
The White shop is Swann's chemist. It later became a china and glass
shop, Waine's.
This shop could be seen almost from one end of the High Street to
the other.
(Photo from the Barker's book Snapshots of Staines.)
Johnson
& Clarks being built in 1956. This is the exact spot that the
above shop used to be
Johnson & Clarks corner in the 60's
The same
corner a few years ago, with the individual shops shown below
Today:
September 2021: The Corner of Thames Street and High Street.
Mezo Barbers, and First Call Contract Services
5A Thames
Street. A-Plan Car insurance
Numbers
8 - 10 Thames Street, Marianne's Cafe. A Community Cafe
with profits going to charities
1, Thames
Street, Roni Hairdressers
From
here on this side of the street, to the Riverside Park, there are
Apartments being built,
afer the Park is the Mercure, Thames Lodge and what used to be the
Pack Horse Hotel, just before the Rail bridge
Let's
now cross the Street
This is the first Cinema in Staines, it is the 'Palace' that
was put into the Margaret Pope School building, (below), and opened
around 1914. Another lovely building that was pulled down. photo
© Barry Dix
The Margaret
Pope School building
2021: Formally Kennards, then Debenhams. I joined 2 pictures
together so you can see the length of the building.
It is yet another empty building. During the Covid Pandemic, it closed
down and like many shops, never opened again.
The Debenhams brand closed many of it's shops in the United Kingdom
at that time.
There are many rumours going around about what should/could/will happen
to this building.
It has a basement as well as 4 floors, a massive building it should
not be demolished, but altered to fill a need in the town. I found
out today that it is going to be demolished if the planners get their
way.
This building
is on the corner of Tothill Street, retail shops stopped at this point.
Up towards Kennards you can see another pointed tower. That was the
Margaret Pope School which was converted into a Cinema, the Palace,
during WW1.
Below shows what is on this corner now, the Community Centre on what
is now Elmsleigh Road and on the opposite side is the Museum and Library.
2021:
The Community Centre.
2021:
The Spelthorne Museum and the Library. The Tothill multi story car
park is shown above them.
All are expected to be demolished in the near future. Both the Museum
and the Library will be given a new home!
Thameside
House. This was previously the Bupa Health Insurance building.
It has been empty for many years and is due to be demolished shortly.
Locals are pretty irate that it isn't being used for homeless people
to live in,
but supposedly it is in a really bad way and so not safe. It backs
onto the railway line so I would imagine it is very noisy in there
at times.
Such a shame that yet another lovely building is going to be pulled
down.
This is
the Victorian railway bridge across Thames Street and the Thames.
The coal post or Pylon, is a 'Listed Building'.
The Thames
Floods into the Jubilee Gardens along Thames Street in 2014.
The railway bridge is the one across the Thames shown in the previus
photo.
A lovely
place to just sit, relax, and watch the river. This is at the back
of the Thames Lodge, the old Pack Horse Hotel.
(In loving memory of my friend Trinity)
To
Be Continued
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Various
Photos from Google Earth and elsewhere of different places
in Staines plus extra information are listed below.
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