Where Is This? No.96

Published on: 12 Feb, 2014
Updated on: 12 Feb, 2014

By David Rose

I have to say, many of you know your back roads around Guildford. Last week’s vintage picture did indeed show the view from Wodeland Avenue, looking towards the junction of Mount Pleasant with The Mount.

And the quirky photo, featuring a building with a date on, is above the premises of Bardot & Appelle in Tunsgate.

Thanks to all who replied. Click here to see last week’s post and all the replies at the foot of it with lots of comments.

A printer’s ‘banging out’ ceremony – in which Guildford street?

Where is this week’s mystery vintage photo? Anyone remember Coombes the baker?

The photo is from my friend Sheila Atkinson’s collection and I guess dates to the early 1970s. I can explain what is going on: it is a scene from the ‘banging out’ ceremony of a newly qualified printer at the Surrey Advertiser, Trevor Dean, who sadly died a few years ago.

This was a time honoured ceremony throughout England for printers who had completed their seven-year apprenticeship.

Approaching the fateful day, fellow printers began to fill a large container with all manner of horrible things – printers’ ink, tea slops, even weeing in it. At the Surrey Ad, the container, usually a bin, was kept up on the roof – it smelt so bad!

Come the glorious day – usually a Friday after the week’s printing was completed – the ceremony began with the print staff banging metal rulers and other heavy tools on their stone work tops in the ‘composing room’. That’s where the type was composed into the pages before being made into metal plates for the press.

I witnesses the ‘banging out’ of two printers, the last being in the early 1980s. The noise of the banging could be heard throughout the building. The ‘prisoner’ was then taken out to the car park around the back by The Bars, strapped to a print room trolley and the contents of the bin, that often also contained feathers and other bits and pieces, was then ceremoniously tipped over him. (It was advised to be completely drunk while this was happening to you).

The ‘fun’ didn’t stop there as the poor guy was then paraded around the streets of the town centre.

Photos of ‘banging out’ ceremonies are very rare. I took some of the last one at the Surrey Ad. Glad I did. Health and safety wouldn’t allow things like this today!

When a ‘banging out’ took place at the printers Billings in Walnut Tree Close, at least the guy got the chance to wash off the muck – he was thrown into the river behind the works!

So to recap, can you name which street this is?

Do you recognise where this is?

I am running short on quirky photos again – must get out to find some more. However, I think this week’s will suffice. I took the picture last week when out looking for early flowering daffodils. I ended up featuring some others I saw at Millmead, in the story about the latest floods.

These daffs can be found by a wall and metal fencing in what could be described as a ‘dead centre’ of Guildford. Do you know where this is?

If you think you know the answers, please leave a reply in the box below. The answers, along with the next pair of images, will be published about the same time next week.

Responses to Where Is This? No.96

Pete Lambert Reply

February 12, 2014 at 6:29 am

That is Stoke New Cemetery along Stoughton Road.
Jennie antliff Reply

February 12, 2014 at 8:04 am

This is the cemetery on Stoughton Road
Bernard Parke Reply

February 12, 2014 at 9:01 am

1) North Street

2) Stoughton Cemetary
ray springer Reply

February 12, 2014 at 11:12 am

The scene of the banging out is in North Street and the quirky picture is of the entrance to the Stoughton Road Cemetry
Ian Plowman Reply

February 12, 2014 at 5:58 pm

First Photo – North Street – with the Market taking place. Background s the entrance to House of Fraser(Harveys) unloading bay.

Second photo – entrance to Stoughton Cemetery
John Lomas Reply

February 12, 2014 at 8:44 pm

That is North Street. I think it is very close to where Sahara and Corals are now.
Harveys’ goods entrance is shown in your photo, but the gap between the current House of Fraser store entrance and the gates just below which could be their current goods entrance looks too short for the two goods entrances to be the same.

The daffodils are at Stoughton Cemetry, left-hand side of Stoughton Rpadd travelling downhill, and left-hand side of the entrance.
Carol Norris Reply

February 14, 2014 at 11:37 am

Picture 1 : North Street
david & ann bailey Reply

February 14, 2014 at 2:10 pm

North street

Stoughton Cemetary
Colin Jackson Reply

February 14, 2014 at 2:42 pm

The first photo was taken in North Street. The Harvey’s entrance now belongs to House of Faser. I remember Combes the bakers very well, we also had Ayres bakers. So all in all we had about six bakers with wonderful fresh bread and cakes in the town centre.

The second photo is Stoke cemetery in Stoughton Road.
Richard Collins Reply

February 16, 2014 at 8:13 am

Mid North Street – Harvey’s is now House of Fraser
Chris Townsend Reply

February 17, 2014 at 7:43 am

The 1970s photo shows North Street, between Market Street and Angel Gate, roughly where House of Fraser (formerly Harvey’s) is today.

The quirky photo shows the wall by the Stoughton Road entrance to the new (1938) extension to Stoke “New” Cemetery.

The cemetery alongside Weyside Road (formerly named Cemetery Road) opened in 1883, and was planned by Henry Peak the architect, along with the Lodge and the Chapel, which is grade II listed.

[Ed: Chris also tells me there is possibly a speedboat in Weyside Road!]
Brian Holt Reply

February 17, 2014 at 2:50 pm

This is North Street outside where the post office was. I remember Coombes the bakers, but they was not one of our local bakeries.

I think there was the Co-op bakery Haydon Place, and Ayers was in Woodbridge Road,
Haines Woodbridge Road (by Cinema), West in Chapel Street, Bretts in Farnham Road, Butlers in Barrack Road, Christmas at Worplesdon. The the best bread was made at this bakery. And I think Grimmonds bakery was in Godalming.

The other photo is Stoughton Road entrance to the new part of Guildford Cemetery.
Clitherow Kid Peter Holt) Reply

February 17, 2014 at 5:29 pm

1: North Street opposite the post office.

2: Entrance to Stoughton Road New Cemetery.
Doug and Bill Stanniforth Reply

February 18, 2014 at 4:29 pm

It’s by House of Fraser in North Street, there was also Ayers bakers further down North Sreet and also Boyce’s bakers who we think was in Tunsgate. We believe the name Boyce was used in the Comedy favourite Only Fools and Horses, he was sure to have owned a speedboat,probably.
The dafffodil photo is Stoughton Cemetery, Stoughton Road.

[Ed: Still always amazed at the connections you make with speedboats! Is there a boat chandler near here?]