Where Is This? No.115

Published on: 26 Jun, 2014
Updated on: 26 Jun, 2014

By David Rose

The parade of shops on Aldershot Road at its junction with Southway was the colour vintage pictured featured last week.

The quirky photo of a railway boundary post was a tricky one. It is located in The Mount just above the Wodeland Avenue/Mount Pleasant junction. Thanks to Ian Plowman who sent in the photo.

Reader Frank Phillison adds: “It would have originally been painted signal red with the raised lettering and border edge painted white.

John Lomas emailed to correctly identify the shops on Aldershot Road and added: “I wonder if the telephone kiosk was one which incorporated a post box, there was usually a pillar box of some sort near a sub-post office. I notice that there is now a pillar box in roughly the same position as the kiosk. I was really confused by the shadows in last week’s picture (No 112) as they seemed to be cast by light from the left of the picture, which is to the north of Woodbridge Road sports ground.

Norman Hamshere emailed regarding the photo of the Aldershot Road shops, saying: “The very small gents loo is just visible in the background.”

Look at that fag machine!

And he attached a rather interesting photo (seen here) and says: “Here is one I took earlier, october 1957 in fact with a girlfriend who had a liking for du Maurier cigarettes – naughty girl. Notice all the tobacco advertising in the shop windows.”

Although I have lived in the Stoughton / Westborough area for most of my life, I can’t recall the public loos at all mentioned by Norman. Also, I’d love an old fag machine (or a chewing gum machine) for my collection. If anyone sees one for sale or being thrown out…. do get in touch.

With our reply box working, some readers responded via that with, as always, some great comments. Click here to see last week’s post and the replies at the foot of it.

I’m not surprised Ray Springer and Brian Holt got it right, especially Brian as he updates the noticeboard there now.

Chris Townsend’s comments about the footpath from Aldershot Road to Farnham Road is interesting and a bit of a pet subject of mine. Yes, the cast iron footpath signs are still in place. I certainly believe this was an ancient track. I think it also ran down what is now Northway (perhaps following field boundaries); and there are passageways closely aligned halfway along both Shepherds Lane and Sheepfold Road. I wonder whether it once led to (or came down from) the Worplesdon area?

Can you name this village? The half-timbered house still stands, and possibly the others too.

On to this week’s pair of images. Here is the vintage photo and a village scene near Guildford. Can you name it? It has a pub named after a piece of agricultural equipment and there are a couple of antique / junk shops there today. I had a browse there last week with a mate of mine. One sells some good blue and white ceramics as well as choice cottage furniture.

Where is this?

The quirky photo is of another sign alerted to me by Chris Townsend. Do you know where this is?

If you know the answers and can perhaps supply some extra details, please leave a reply in the box below. They will all be published in about a week’s time with the next pair of images.

Responses to Where Is This? No.115

John Lomas Reply

June 26, 2014 at 8:25 am

This is The Street in Compton, photo taken from adjacent to the entrance to St Nicholas’ Chuch gate looking south, south east.

The Wycliffe Buildings are on Portsmouth Road just below Bury Street.
John Lomas Reply

June 26, 2014 at 8:52 am

Regarding the footpath mentioned, the passageway at Shepherd’s Farm also runs through to Byrefield Road.
Looking at http://www.oldmaps.co.uk 1870/71 1:2500 it looks as though it follows old field boundaries.
However, there is also what looks like a path/track leading from Pitch Place (called Baker Street at that time according to the map) passing the side of Chitty’s Common and becoming Rydes Hill Road.
There is also an 1873 1:10560 map which covers a greater area.
On screen magnification isn’t great but I suspect that if Guildford library has original copies you should be able to trace the path you are lookking for.
Ray Springer Reply

June 27, 2014 at 9:15 am

The village is Compton. All three of the buildings in the picture are still there.

The pub referred to is the Harrow which is a little further on down the Street

The quirky picture is of Wycliffe Buildings, a block of flats in Portsmouth Road.

The building was designed by Architect Hugh Thackeray Turner, who also was the designer together with Gertrude Jekyll of the Phillips Memorial Cloister in Godalming.
Margaret Cole Reply

June 27, 2014 at 5:21 pm

Eastbury Manor Compton, now a nursing home near the Harrow pub.

The windows are part of the building in the Portsmouth Road.
Brian Holt Reply

June 30, 2014 at 10:32 pm

(1) The Street, Compton. The half-timbered house dated 1520 was known as White Hart Cottage, and later referred to Chittys, because an old Mr Chitty worked on the ground level there as a cobbler.

(2) Wycliff Buildings, Portsmouth Road, on the corner of Bury Street. Block of flats designed by Hugh Thackeray Turner in 1894.
Chris Townsend Reply

July 1, 2014 at 3:18 pm

The village scene is of Compton, just along the village street from the Harrow pub and little changed today.
It looks very similar to a Francis Frith view of 1904. The half-timbered house is the late 16th-century White Hart Cottage, formerly an inn.

Wycliffe Buildings is the Grade II listed block of flats between Portsmouth Road and Bury Street. Thomas Wilde Powell, a local benefactor, gave the property to the town to provide low-cost housing for the needy.

It originally included 18 dwellings, a lecture hall, reading rooms, a refreshment room and a laundry with roof terrace, designed by Hugh Thackeray Turner, Powell’s son-in-law, in Arts and Crafts style.

Helen Chapman Davies has written an article on Wycliffe Buildings in Local History magazine no. 93 (2003).

There appear to be at least 26 flats today. Have some of these been converted from the hall etc., perhaps during recent changes?
Michael Bunce Reply

December 14, 2017 at 8:56 pm

I remember the cigarette machine at Southway shops, Aldershot Road well.

I used to do penny for the Guy there with my school friend, Eddie Robertson.

It was a plum site as we would often get the change left in the machine.

My brothers, Peter and John worked on Guildford railway station and we used their old surplus uniforms, stuffed them with straw and paper, paint a face, then put the guy in an old trolley we had made and wheel it from Lincoln Road to the shops.