Quote:
Originally Posted by Atarah
Attached is a grainy old photo of that junction. Hopefully you can make out some of the names along the end building, J. L. Haworth & Co, H.Walmsley & Son and Riley & Co.
Now please see the attached listing from the 1935 Barrett's Directory. You will see that all those three (Haworth's, Walmsley's and Riley's) were all listed as being at Number 11 Whalley Rd, which was Steinway House.
Could I just ask, why would 3 completely seperate shops all be listed as no. 11? Seems a bit odd.
|
It's not that odd Atarah. If you look on the old map (#244), you will see that the original Number 11 Whalley Rd had a substantial yard area. It is also pretty evident on one of the photos Walter put up, you can see the wall.
Now I don't know when Steinway House was built, but you can see by comparing the photos that it was built on that end plot, just before Marquis St. The plot of the original Number 11 (more or less)
Steinway (as in the maker of pianos) House was built by Haworth's who were a music dealer. Their advertisement of the time boasted and I qoute ''11,000 Sq Feet of floor space. Always more than 100 pianos in stock. Recital hall to seat 132 people. Radio Department and a stock of 14,000 records'' So it was a huge place.
Now, my guess is, as time went on and they didn't need as much space, due to a decline in business or whatever, they rented part of their property out to other business's, Walmsley's being one and Riley & Co being another (at the time of the last photo I uploaded). For postal purposes all their addresses would have been Steinway House 11 Whalley Rd. The postman would have to be a bit thick if he had a letter / parcel for Messrs Walmsley and he stuck it through Haworth's letterbox just because they owned the building. Even if they received each others mail from time to time (which I doubt), it would be a case of ''Oh this one is for Riley & Co, not us, I'll pop it next door''.
It happens to this day were more than one business share a large property and I'm sure they devise a system whereby they distinguish one business from another for a variety of reasons, ie post, stock deliveries, business tax, rent, electricity supply, telephone bills etc etc. They all still share the one address. OK they may use a system were one becomes 11a, 11b and on, but not always.