MANY thanks to Mrs Sylvia Murray, who has sent in some interesting details of life in the Walton Street area in the 1940's and early 1950's.

She was born in Walton Street in 1940, and her parents were Elsie and Fred Kalabza.

She writes: "We were a family with five children, and knew everybody in the area.

"There was a big air-raid shelter outside our house.

"Our milk came direct from Heath Farm and was delivered by horse and cart by a nice lady called Miss Peach.

"It was quite a highlight of the day to me when she came, especially if her horse did a wee it seemed to do gallons.

"I expect a lot of people will remember Mick Hill, with his horse and cart, who came round with vegetables.

"His wife sold vegetables in Sandridge Road. All the sacks of carrots and potatoes were sold from their front room.

"The fish shop was next door, and I think a a sweet shop was further down, near Bernard's Heath School.

"They sold the most delicious sweets. My favourites were raspberry sticks and tiger nuts I've never had them since," she recalls.

"On the corner of Boundary Road and Sandridge Road there was a baker's.

"The other side was the butcher's. My mother used to send us for a joint for six people for ten shillings it was huge.

"Next door was the bike shop, which sold bikes and mended them too and that was where we took the accumulator for the radio to be changed.

Mrs Murray said: "Upper Culver Road had two grocers next door to each other one was owned by Mrs Gazely.

"There were two other corner shops at both ends of Heath Road and one at the corner of Walton Street. We didn't use the corner shops a lot as we walked to the town.

"There were little pubs on the corner of each road, very dark, smoky places.

"There was Pamphilons, a haberdashery shop where we got our linen, and it smelt wonderful.

"We bought butter, cheese and bacon from Sainsbury's; butter was cut off, patted into shape and wrapped in grease-proof paper.

"Woolworths was, I think, where it is now. There was a huge open greengrocer's, a place where we got baby milk and orange juice with coupons.

"There was, I think a large pub called the White Horse, and Maddox the fish and veg shop a large place. "On Wednesday the cattle market was on and the town was busy. There was a place by there where cheap meat could be bought'" said Mrs Murray.

"Some of the places I don't recall, but the building that is Laura Ashley used to be Boots.

"There was Batchers, and a Peakes who sold biscuits, flour, currants etc, all wrapped neatly in blue bags. They also sold broken biscuits.

"In the High Street we went to the Home and Colonial store, a large grocer's with chairs for customers to sit on they were high chairs counter high.

"Then we'd go to Lyons next door and have a cup of tea. It seemed huge to me the lady who poured the tea poured about 20 cups at once.

"Then that was as far as we went, apart from Fisks next door who sold clothes, shoes and all sorts.

"We walked back on the other side of St Peter's Street, and at Christmas, bought our crackers from Oakleys, a very high class grocer's shop, a few sweets from Fountains, past the post office and looked next door at the expensive sweets in a better class shop, the Chocolate Box.

"The Heath and Heather shop was was beside the cloisters in High Street.

"We often took an empty jar there to have it filled with peanut butter," Mrs Murray recalls.

"Mr Tominey is well worthy of praise, as he was the first maker of ice-cream in St Albans.

"He used to make his ice-cream in his back premises and would open up, at any time, just to sell one ice-cream.

"During the war, my father went off to fight in the Gunners, the Royal Artillery, and my mother, who had three children, saw evacuees being brought round the streets.

"As she had three children already, and no money, she said she could take on one child, but ended up with two sisters, Ruby and Ray Samuel.

"They eventually lived in Spencer Gate after the war.

"She also had a woman and child by the name of Green, and they settled and lived out their lives in Culver Road."

Mrs Murray also remembers the jazz club held in the Market Hall every Wednesday in the Sixties.

She said: "Many famous people started there, including Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth.

"Opposite at the Waterend Barn there was a dance every Thursday, a big band, Frank Harwood. It was also popular.

"There was also a billiard hall over the 50 Shilling Tailors on the corner of London Road."

July 5, 2002 13:00