We have received the following from Australia recalling St Leonards Road in years gone by
I am a former resident of St Leonards Road (1948-1962) now living in Canberra. The Olympic torch will be passing through Canberra later this week, and this coming event reminded me of the 1948 torch relay through Windsor, which I viewed with my family from a point somewhere near the Brigidine Convent, but at the time I didn't really understand what it was all about. Then my thoughts turned to Stan Eldon, and I went searching to see whether he had been involved in the 1948 relay, although he was a teenager at the time. This led me to your website, and I've been browsing for nearly an hour!
I can identify some of the buildings in the St Leonards Road 2005 photograph, and help with a little of the history. The Jolly Guardsman was demolished some time in the 1950s, and was replaced by Criddle's Garage. The flats were built some time after I left in 1962.
St Leonards Road in the summer of 2005
I have a feeling that the red brick house beyond the flats might have been built in the mid-late 1950s, replacing an older house that was set further back.
The cream rendered houses: in the 1950s the one next to the red brick house was Wilmotts, the barber, and the second one was Bowers, a sweet shop. The Wilmotts were Jack and Vi.
The space beyond Bowers was occupied by Barhams, the fish shop, which had two sections. The first bit, next to Bowers, was open about two evenings a week for fish and chips; a sign would be put in the window earlier in the day saying "Frying Tonight". The second bit had a full width roller shutter that opened up to reveal the cold slab, which filled much of the fresh fish shop.
The house next to Barhams was occupied by a family called Bosher. The one at the far end of that row, number 131, was occupioed by a Mrs Eden and her son, John; I think Mrs Eden might have been a war widow.
Immediately beyond number 131 there was an entrance to the laundry in Victor Road. Beyond the laundry entrance was Comptons Garage, which closed some time in the 1950s, then the Queen's Head, then open space (possibly allotments) between there and the hospital.
Coming back from the flats, towards the photographer, and past him, is one house, with front wall just visible, then a row of five shops ending at the corner of Bolton Road. The house was the home of Mr & Mrs Stone (Bert and Grace), and there was a separate entrance for the office; their business was Harts. They sold coal in the winter, and hired out large tents and marquees and wooden folding chairs during the summer. Their summer business took them to large events all over the south of England, and they also provided the marquees for the Royal Windsor Horse Show. There was a big yard and garages at the back, accessed from Bolton Road via a lane behind the shops. Above the main garage there was a workroom where they maintained the tents. When Mr & Mrs Stone retired (to Oakley Green) the business was taken over by Derek Lane, who had worked for the Stones for some time.
Next to Harts, the first shop was Hudsons, the bakers (no 153). Bread was baked on the premises, and as well as being sold in the shop was delivered as far afield as Eton Wick. There must have been a lot of bakers between St Leonards Road and Eton Wick whose bread was not up to the standard of Hudsons! They also made jam doughnuts once a week. Mr Hudson died in about 1950; Mrs Hudson, with son Ron and daughter Rosie, continued with the business until about 1954-55, when it was taken over by a Mr and Mrs Anderson. The Andersons didn't bake their own bread, they bought it from another bakery, and they also sold cakes. This shop is now a private residence.
Next to the baker is the paper shop, now Hardings (no 155). The paper shop traded under the name Janes for many years. It was a registered trade name, and successive proprietors didn't bother changing it. At some stage in the 1920s or 1930s the paper shop was run by people called Marion, then it was taken over by Mr and Mrs Walkley (Alf and Florrie). In 1945, after the war ended, Florrie's nephew, Dick Price (my father), joined them, but our family didn't move to Windsor until after Uncle Alf died, in 1948. Because of the post-war housing shortage there was nowhere for us to live until Auntie Florrie vacated the accommodation at the shop. The Prices retired in 1984.
Next to us was a general shop (no 157) run by Mr and Mrs Brown; after Mr Brown died, Mrs Brown was joined by her widowed daughter, Betty Gilman, and they ran the business together for many years. Later I think there was a sign writing business there.
Next one along was an antique shop (no 159) run by Mr Dixon, who died in about 1956. The shop became a betting shop, but Mrs Dixon and her family continued to occupy the residential accommodation for some time.
The last shop, on the corner of Bolton Road, was Rothwell the grocer (no 1 Bolton Road). Mr Rothwell (Jack) was a Yorkshireman, and his wife (Jill) was from Eton Wick. This was possibly the first shop in Windsor to stock Wensleydale cheese.
Well, it's now lunch time, and I still don't know whether Stan Eldon ran in the 1948 Olympic torch relay, but I have enjoyed the reminiscences, and I hope they will be useful to you. Unfortunately I don't have any photographs of the area.
Jane Lindsay (nee Price)
