EPW006268 ENGLAND (1921). The Market Place and St Edward the Confessor's Church, Romford, 1921

Mid 1960's became Hambletons, retail and commercial photographers. Next door was a Chineese restruant which was taken over by Hambletons in 1967

Opposite the Laurie Hall c 1957 there was a bike shop where I got a new bike at 11 after passing the 11 Plus. I went to concerts in the Hall - small orchestras and string quartets. Discos were held in the Wykham Hall - Teddy Boys with their `bothel creepers` and DA haircuts. There were also Romford `Ideal Home` exhibitions; Dad sold typewriters there [Haywoods]- he also sold typewriters from a caravan in the Market Place on Saturdays - his shop (where we lived) was at 273 South Street; people still remember his Christmas Trees!; the first one was the `top` of the tree from Norway that broke in two before it got to Trafalgar Square. Shopping with Mum in Sainsburys with its long marble counters, bacon slicers, butter pats and cheese cutting wires. Live eels from Brummy in the Market just outside BHS - a perennial Saturday night feast. Happy days and happy memories.

Goodness, these photographs have really brought the memories back, when I moved to Romford with my family and through to around 1966, Romford still had the feel of an old, historic, market town. That started to go in 1963. The ground work for the changes in the town started on 18 March 1963. I remember it well because it was the day that the work started on the 'new' Central Library. It was also the day I started work at Romford Police Station and I walked past the builders demolishing the old Civil Defence Hall next to the Town Hall on my way to work.

I moved to Romford in 1956 and some of the features in this photograph were still there. The animal pens in the middle of the photo (left hand side of the road) were still there as were the remnants of the holding pens on the right hand side, at the 'top end' of the market. The large building across the top of the market of the old Laurie Kinema, later the Laurie Hall, which was used as a general civic hall well into the 1960s. It was demolished to make way for the Market Plain 'development' Behind the Laurie Hall are the old Laurie Villas, in front of which was Lauirie Square, where the War Memorial used to stand before being moved to Coronation Gardens which would be just out of shot.



From Laurie Gardens ran Park End Road where first mt grandparents and then I lived in the early 1980s before the old houses were demolished to make way for an extension to the Town Hall, where I lived with my parents for many years. It's likely that this photo was taken on a Friday because that was always the small market days - no animals. I wonder whatever happened to Keith Radley and Nigel Hogben who also lived in Park End Road?



The white building adjacent to the Church is still there, Wykhame Hall, still painted white. Through the many years I've known Romford the frontage has been occupied by a book shop, a herbalists and various other enterprises. During the 1960s when I was a Police Cadet stationed at the old Romford Police Station, it was the venue for regular Saturday evening rock and roll dances where people like Gene Vincent, Marty Wilde and Jow Brown played, I even remember 'Screamin' Lord Sutch playing there a few times.



The market was surrounded by pubs, I think at one time there were 7 or 8 but they have all gone now except 'The Lamb' which would be tucked into the bottom left of the market place.



Really brought memories flooding back, I can see me coming back to this time after time.