Bromsgrove is an old part of Faringdon at the top of Marlborough Street and Station Road which has undergone much redevelopment in recent years.
Also see our house by house tour of Bromsgove in the Year 2000.
See Faringdon Streets for an indexed list of all streets in Faringdon.
1880’s. At the junction of Marlborough Street with Bromsgrove. The large house on the right facing Marlborough Street is addressed as #2 Bromsgrove and called Marlborough House.
The second building on the left is #1 Bromsgrove or Bromsgrove Place, which was built around the 1850s as a draper’s shop. The building has a glass roof presumably to provide better lighting for displaying the stock. In 1882, it was owned by the Goddard family and known as ‘Top Goddards’, a drapers & haberdashery. By 1895, the owner was William Collins Sell who was listed as a linen and woollen draper, silk mercer, hatter, hosier and agent for sewing machines. However, a lot of different people with various trades were registered at this address in 1863 and 1895, including the Parcels Booking Office for the Great Western Railway (see list at bottom of page).
1916-1931. Keeping the name J. Goddard & Sons, the draper’s shop changed hands and in the 1950s was owned in turn by Mr A.J. Fish & Mr L.W. Gough. During the 1970s it was converted into a restaurant, first called ‘Mistinguet’, later ‘Rat’s Castle’ and then ‘La Bobina’.
1995 & 2001. The restaurant at Bromsgrove Place has since become known as the ‘Rat’s Castle’ on changing ownership during the 1980’s and again around 2010 to become ‘La Bobina – Spanish Tapas & Wine Bar’. The building has been renovated but the drawers and storage units that would have been used are still preserved in the present day restaurant. The frontage of the building was also changed but the glass roof was kept in place. Next door to Bromsgrove Place, shown in the first photo, is Brockendon House at #3.
2000. On the left is Brockendon House at #3 Bromsgrove. Ferndale School, established in 1952, occupied the building from 1956 until 2016. It was a private school for boys and girls aged 4½-11. The founder and principal was Mrs N. B. Reeves. More… The house shown next door at #5 was advertising in 1995 as Ferndale Preparatory School – providing nursery education.
Looking back towards Marlborough Street at the junction with the new Hart Avenue (off to the right). The site is being redeveloped at this time for new housing, called Blissett Terrace.
Standing in front of Blissett Terrace on Bromsgrove, Marlborough Street is off to the left and Station Road to the right. Hart Avenue, opposite, is the new road built to link Bromsgrove to Ferndale (previously Union) Street and help alleviate traffic flow through the town centre. A number of old buildings, including the old fire station, had to be demolished to make way for it.
Moving along Bromsgrove towards Station Road was an entrance on the left to a builder’s yard owned by S.G. Bowler (est 1920). It was still there in 1972 but the site was later demolished to make way for Walnut Court. A little further along the road is a track leading to the school that was on Southampton Street.
1953. Looking towards Christopher Square and Station Road. The Swan Inn is dead ahead. The Baptist Chapel is on the right. Bowler & Son, builders and decorators, on the left. The street is very quiet and lacking in vehicles – only 1 in 10 households in the UK owned a car at this time.
1911. June 22nd Coronation of King George V. Looking back from Christopher Square into Bromsgrove. The street is en fete for the Coronation celebrations and everyone is dressed in their best. The children are able to pose in the middle of the street as there was no danger from traffic. The child on the left is Dick ‘Tammy’ James. The third person from the right is Mr Harry Whipp; fifth from the right is Mr Harris, head tailor for Pocock, and left of him is his son. The Baptist Chapel is off the picture on the left hand corner. The front door on the far right with the mother and her young boy standing on the step is the one behind the white car in the second photo, taken in 1995. On the far right you can just see the edge of The Swan Inn on the corner with Station Road.
c1900. Looking back from the Swan Inn on the right into Christopher Square and the road into Bromsgrove. The Baptist Chapel is on the far side of the Square. The next tall building to the left that looks like part of the church has since been demolished as shown in the second photo taken in 1995. The next building on the far left is the start of the cottages shown in the next two photos.
Bromsgove, where the cars are in the second photo, runs parallel to Station Road and heads back towards Marlborough Street. The photos show a string of terraced cottages both before and after renovation works. One of the cottages was also a cobblers run by Mr Edington. The very last building at the end is the back of The Rookery Coffee House on Marlborough Street.
The end of Bromsgrove just beyond the above row of cottages. It leads to the top of Arthur’s Hill on Marlborough Street, with The Rookery Coffee House on the corner.
Trade Adverts in Local Media
The following shops and businesses were advertised in Bromsgrove, Faringdon in the years stated:
BAILEY JN., fellmngr. & parchment ma., Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
BALLARD WILLIAM, fellmonger and woolstapler, Bromsgrove Place, DG 1863, #1
BOWLER S.G. (est 1920), builders/plumbers/decorators (G.R.Davis & K.A.Davis), 49 Bromsgrove, FV 1972. FCP 1953, #49
COX FREDERICK WILLIAM, farmer, Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
FERNDALE SCHOOL, boys and girls 4.5-11 yrs (Principal: Mrs N. B. Reeves), Brockendon House in Bromsgrove, FDS 1966, #3
GODDARD J. & SONS, drapers & haberdashery, Bromsgrove Place, FA 1916/1919/1931/1937. FDS 1949/1953 (A.J. Fish & L.W. Gough), #1
GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY CO., Parcels Booking office (John Houghton agent’s clerk), Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
HOLIFIELD JOHN, plumber & glazier, Bromsgrove Place, DG 1863, #1
LOCKWOOD JOHN PARKER L.R.C.P. LOND., surgeon & certifying factory surgeon, Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
RIXON JOSEPH, market gardener, Bromsgrove Place, DG 1863, #1
SELL WILLIAM COLLINS, draper, Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
SHEPPARD JOSEPH, builder, Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
SMITH FRANCIS, grocer, Bromsgrove Place, DG 1863, #1
SPRING JAMES, tailor, Bromsgrove Place no.1 Bromsgrove, KBD 1895, #1
Media Key: FA = Faringdon Advertiser; FDS = Faringdon Dramatic Society; FV = Faringdon Venture; FF = Faringdon Folly; DG = Directory & Gazetteer of Oxon, Berks & Bucks (Dutton, Allen & Co. 1863); KBD = Kelly’s Berkshire Directory 1895; FCP = Faringdon Coronation Celebrations Programme 1953; FCC = Faringdon Chamber of Commerce 2006.
Reference:
The Changing Faces of Faringdon and Surrounding Villages – Book 1 p8. By Rosemary Church, Jim Brown, Millie Bryan and Beryl Newman. Robert Boyd Publications 1999.
Researched by Ian Lee, February 2020.