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Temple Row

It used to come out in between a sandwich shop and (I think) a clothes alteration place - that was 10 years ago when I was still at work. I used to go to the sandwich shop regularly. It was just where the subway started (or ended whichever way you were walking!).
 
To help members get more conclusive with their memories of Windsor Arcade, here's two shopping-day photographs of the site in the 1950's. The second seems to be taken from inside the arcade looking towards Bull Street (is that Lewis's in the distance?)

The first seems to be taken out into the arcade from Bull Street (?) notice the shop on the right has the Rackham's logo. Therefore the arcade appears to be underneath the main building of the store itself. The NorthWestern arcade seems to be crossing it left to right halfway up, with Cherry Street at the far end?

Photos below from architecture.com

Richie.

image.jpeg image.jpeg
 
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Well, what cracking pictures! The original Rackhams was on the corner of Bull Street anyway, so this is showing the original site. I am now wondering if all of it was called the Windsor, instead of just a bit of it? Is North Western Arcade as a name just to go with Great Western? The second one is certainly showing Lewis's, as the original Rackhams is on the left hand side, which is where it would have been originally. I remembered it being there, but most people I have spoken to don't remember it at all, and somewhere I have a shot of Rackhams taken from Bull Street. I cannot fathom out my scanner's cropping facility properly - it does not work the same as my old one, but when I do fathom it out, I will scan the photo in. My visitor this morning may know, as she has the same scanner as I do.
 
Vivienne14 said:
Was it - a long, long time ago - Etams? Or a similar clothes shop? I'm talking about 30+ years ago Lyn!! Viv.
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yes, I seem to remember a clothes shop in that area, in the days when Greys department store was in Bull Street, it might have been Etams or Hiltons - but maybe not actually on the corner.
 
One shop on the corner of Bull Street (the Gt Western Arcade side) was Werff. I remember it well, as it said Werff ..... and then ' of London' in small letters, and that really impressed me. I think I had just left school and London seemed incredibly glamorous. I did have something from there about a year or so later, but it was something very small!
 
Ah yes, you are right - it was Werff, I remember now!
Not somewhere I frequented, too posh for me ;-D and not my sort of style anyway.
 
I have to say I can't remember what kind of style Werff was - I thought that, similar to today, the 1960's had a 'common thread'. I remember little about what was in the shops, but I do remember certain favourite clothes I had, but I suppose everyone does. There was also a very glamorous shop in New Street which used to have just one dress or maybe two in the window. Up towards the Town Hall end, it was the epitome of grandeur to me. Not got a clue what the name was.
 
From what I can remember, the clothes were of expensive and sophisticated/ classic style.

I can't quite bring to mind the one at the top of New Street, I always avoided the type of shop where an assistant pounced on you as soon as you entered with a 'can I help you...' which was done alot more in the 60's - I found it very intimidating - but maybe people were on commision in those days?
 
It was a shop which from memory, always had mirrors in the window - the back drop of the display was mirrors. Very classy place. I did not go in this type of shop often, and yes, the 'Can I help you?' was a bit intimidating, however, Boots are getting like that these days, I avoid Boots as often as I can because I find it very annoying, especially when I am just looking. I think commission may have been paid on total sales for the week, but cannot say for sure - however, you did get service in those days, which is something I think is missing in entirety today. If Werff were expensive, I wonder what I did have from there - a handkerchief?? I may have just gone in to try - which would have been difficult for me to have done at the time, being so young.
 
Richie's photos are definately of the old Windsor Arcade before the rebuilding of Rackhams. I don't really remmeber the layout in those days but I do remember going with my mother to Rackhams as she used to buy dress matterials and patterns from there and I know that the entrance we used was in one of the arcades. Incidentally the old Rackhams was the last place I saw one of the old candelstick phones in use.

I can understand Shortie being impressed with Werff's of London as they were a very exclusive fashion shop. My mother used to get their mail order catalogues but I don't think she ever bought anything from them. As for Shortie's question about the name North Western Arcade, this has puzzled me also as Great Western is obviously named after the railway company over whose tunnel it stands but why North Western? The London & North Western Railway (after 1923 the LMS) came nowhere near here
 
DavidGrain said:
Richie's photos are definately of the old Windsor Arcade before the rebuilding of Rackhams. I don't really remmeber the layout in those days but I do remember going with my mother to Rackhams as she used to buy dress matterials and patterns from there and I know that the entrance we used was in one of the arcades. Incidentally the old Rackhams was the last place I saw one of the old candelstick phones in use.

I can understand Shortie being impressed with Werff's of London as they were a very exclusive fashion shop. My mother used to get their mail order catalogues but I don't think she ever bought anything from them. As for Shortie's question about the name North Western Arcade, this has puzzled me also as Great Western is obviously named after the railway company over whose tunnel it stands but why North Western? The London & North Western Railway (after 1923 the LMS) came nowhere near here
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I believe it is purely the direction the arcade faces from Corporation St.
 
what a lovely thread this is turning into...although i cant help out much with what was where etc i am really enjoying reading other members memories plus i am also learning....i will be going through some of my books later to see if there are any new photos i can add....

lyn
 
Shortie said:
Well, what cracking pictures! The original Rackhams was on the corner of Bull Street anyway, so this is showing the original site. I am now wondering if all of it was called the Windsor, instead of just a bit of it? Is North Western Arcade as a name just to go with Great Western? The second one is certainly showing Lewis's, as the original Rackhams is on the left hand side, which is where it would have been originally. I remembered it being there, but most people I have spoken to don't remember it at all, and somewhere I have a shot of Rackhams taken from Bull Street. I cannot fathom out my scanner's cropping facility properly - it does not work the same as my old one, but when I do fathom it out, I will scan the photo in. My visitor this morning may know, as she has the same scanner as I do.
Click to expand...

Yes wonderful photos of the Arcade Richie. Shortie, is this the view you were thinking of? You can see the Arcade entrance. Sorry don't have a date for this photo.
First_Rackhams_shop.JPG
Viv
 
I think the photo is early 1950s looking at the cars. So Rackhams was on the corner of Bull Street and Temple Row in those days and going back along the Windsor Arcade.
 
I like the frieze around the shop front above the name. That detail's continued in Richie's inner Arcade photos in post #192. You certainly get a better impression of how much grander the whole Arcade once was, unlike the functional passageway it seems to have become. Viv.
 
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As a child I always looked out for the frieze as the 5a bus turned into Bull Street and around to Grey's. It reminded me of the Quality Street sweet tins at the grocers we went to. We used to catch the 5a outside the Midland Educational. Just past the entrance to Cherry Street cutting through to Temple Row. I can see the Manfield Shoe Store. Always a favourite. I always knew where the shoe stores were in the l950's and 1960's. Remember several years ago going into that building and squeezing into a tiny lift to buy what they called a "bucket" airline ticket back to Canada when I only bought a one way on the way to England.
Tiny office with several business men buying cut price tickets to Australia. So different today.
 
Astoness said:
i know dek...will take a pic of the colmore entrance as soon as i can unless of course someone beats me to it...i guess we are so lucky that we still have the arcade..
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Now found a picture of the Colmore Row end of the Great Western Arcade. Very nice view for passengers coming out of Snow Hill station. And an explanation from Pevsner's guide about the change in the height of the Arcade: "Top floor lost in the Second World War"

Great_Western_Arcade_Colmore_Row~0.JPG
 
As the tram in the picture appears to be a cable tram this would date the picture to between 1888 and 1911 when cable trams operated from Colmore Row to Handsworth New Inns
 
That photo of the old Rackhams shop brought back a lot of memories to me Vivienne. I remember going in there with my Auntie and buying a pale blue mohair full length coat probably around 1958/9. I loved that coat and can still remember it today!

And Shortie, was the shop at the top of New Street - Chanel? I bought dresses now and then in there in the 1960's - probably cost me all my week's wages!

Judy
 
Thanks for that David. When you consider the location the Arcade must have been a very busy thoroughfare. I know when the entrance in the picture was re-built it had a Kardomah to the right side of the entrance (i.e. next to the Halifax Building Society building). But I also seem to remember seeing a much older photo (pre-WWII bomb damage) and I think there was a Kardomah actually inside the Arcade on the left. Can imagine it would have done a roaring trade in the early 20th century with all that footfall from GWR.

Judy. Your mohair coat from Rackhams sounds very Audrey Hepburn. I always associated Rackhams with quality, so it must have been lovely to wear. Viv.
 
Going off the exact Temple Row location topic-wise just slightly, the up-market Barnby's toy shop was immediately next to Kardomah in the Arcade.
 
This advert for Walker Brothers Electrical Engineers in Temple Row claimed to have a "Record Browserie" ! Funny how we woudn't today necessarily associate records and engineering as having a close connection. Viv.

WalkerBros_Temple_Row.JPG
 
That,s a nice reminder Viv I did my apprenticeship at Walker Bros although the workshop was in Bath St at the time I started, the shop was in the area of the new Rackhams.Dek
 
Glad that's brought back some memories Dek. When it says in the advert "electrical engineers" do you remember if that would have meant they sold electrical equipment related to records (e.g. record players) or would they have sold specialist electrical parts etc? Viv.
 
Viv I think the shop was just that, a lot of our business came through the shop i.e. other shops requiring electrical installation works.WE became the biggest Electrical installation company in B,ham and had more than 500 electricians working in all the large factories in the area also many of the new builds at that time these include Lloyd House,The New Library,New St. Station and many more all of which I worked on.Dek
 
That's interesting Dek. You must have a very good knowledge of the structure of many of these buildings. I don't remember the Walker Bros shop but I expect at one time it must have had those booths that you sat in with a pair of headphones to listen to the records. The walls were often lined with, I think hardboard (?) that had holes in it. Viv.
 
There were two dress shops at the top end of New Street, a cousin of mine Jean Worrall worked as a seamstresss in one, I think it was called Florence? and she did the alterations -shows what sort of shop it was, and I never dare go in there!! There was also another on the corner of New Street and a short street running off it. I think it was Chanell, I did go in there, just once and I bought a dress and jacket that I wore for donkeys years, it came out every summer if I was going somewhere nice.
 
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