I’ve always been fascinated by the old corner shop on Wilmot and Ainsley Street, especially as there did seem to be a business in there but they never seemed to be open. I had managed to find the planning application to switch the premises from use as a shop to an office back in 1998, but other than that the current occupier was a mystery. It was a great coincidence that I took a taxi a few months ago and got talking to the driver, it turned out that his brother was the current tenant running a sports shoe business.
1a Ainsley Street today. Photograph from John Mossell
During my recent conversations with John Mossell I managed to learn a lot more about the history of the original corner shop. John says:
“The corner shop on 1 Ainsley Street was a fantastic shop, of which many people living on the the estate have many great memories of. It was a combination of a grocers shop and newsagents. and was known for most of my time as ”Phil and Pete’s”. As it was run by a married couple called Peter and Phyllis Hambleton. They were very popular and got on very well with the residents.”
Photograph – Lee Rice
Photograph – Lee Rice
“During the 1970’s supermarket shopping was still a relatively new thing, and families including mine still got lots of their provisions from these shops. There were three main supermarkets you could go to – a Coop store in the section of shops before where the trendy cafe 338 and Peliccis are located. Where the McDonalds is now was a very popular supermarkets called ”Keymarket” that was larger than Tesco at the time.
Up until 1982 Tesco was smaller than it is today and only occupied the small grey building but then expanded with a red brick extension that you see today. Tesco then had two floors, the food section where the entrance is today and above this was a popular clothes and homeware section. ”
Tesco in Bethnal Green around the time of it’s opening in 1969
“Phyllis and Pete had the corner shop, I think from mid 1960s to moving out to live in Clacton in summer of 1979. The shop was then taken over by a man who already was running a shop and got his step daughter Linda and her partner John to live in and run the shop. Linda and John were also popular and nice but unfortunately business was hit by completion from the two local supermarkets. She closed the shop in December 1983 and moved out. Apart from a brief period after that the shop has remained empty since then.”
The two shops on the ground floor of the flats on Three Colts lane were also very popular. On the left was a newsagent and sweet shop, known to all as Barry’s, that was run by Barry Kirk, the son of the Landlord Tommy Kirk, of the Lamb pub (then became the Sporting Life Pub in late 70s or early 1980) up until the mid 1970s. ”
The Lamb Public House in 1931. Later to become The Sporting Life pub, and eventually converted into flats. In the background you can see the shops on Three Colts Lane.
The Lamb public house sometime pre 1861. Reproduced with the permission of The Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives.
“The shop on the right was a grocers (can not remember the official name) run by brother and sister team called Emmie and Ernie, and was referred to as ”The Dairy” or sometimes as ”Emmie’s”. I seem to recall that they also had a shop on Brady Street and was run by Emmies husband? I believe the Three Colts Lane shop was in their procession until the late 1980s. Like Phyllis Emmie was particularly a lovely lady, and my parents would buy from there as well, they did lovely sliced meats particularly ham off the bone. Other people recall two shops where two small houses are now located on Wilmot but I do not remember these being shops in my time, however I have a very vague memory that one of those shops became an Indian takeaway for a while in the late 70s/early 80s, they are both now small residential houses/flats.”
The shops on Three Colts Lane in 1992. Reproduced with the permission of The Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives.
The shops on Three Colts Lane in 2017
Thank you to John for taking the time to share his memories of the Estate. Along with this post my conversations with John also led to this post on the layout and conditions of the flats on Corfield Street in the 1970s, as well as this post about the Greencoats Tenants Association. You can find the Waterlow Estate Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WaterlowEstate/
George Copeland ran the Ainsley Street shop before Pete had it. I remember him only vaguely as I was only young. I think he helped organise the Coronation Party in 1953 which was held in what was the yard between Wilmot and Corfield Streets. In the 60s, I was one of Pete’s paperboys.
thank you Paul, i’ll have to continue my research and update with details of Copelands. Lesley had mentioned it in her interview but i hadn’t managed to find anymore information about the shop. Do you have any specific memories of your time working there or of the shop and of George himself ?
Paul Granger is correct that shop was owned by Georgie & Rosie Copeland they also had a son Johnny and a daughter Linda , when they sold the business to the Hambletons, Georgie and family moved to Hainult (Laurel Close) , l helped out in that shop from about 1959 to 1964 ish, if I remember Paul lived in a top floor flat in Ainsley Street, also the Ball family Linda, Alan, Archie & Steven , My family flat was at 229 Corfield Street, had some wonderfull times with people I knew Frankie Bennett, Johnny Costigan from Wilmot Street, whilst we are on about Wilmot Street the shop at the end by the Lamb was the Arnold’s sweet shop and Osbornes Cafe of which that family had many ties will the Boxing fraternity especially over the Yorkie, anyone who was dragged up in those times should remember Barmy Park but I suppose in this day and age I,m not being PC
Thank you Gordon, for all those extra details. I hadn’t known the names of the shop and the cafe on Three Colts Lane.
Hi Gordon, This may seem strange, but would you be my cousin who lived at no 200 Corfield St in the early 1950’s, I have been researching my family tree , along with branches, regarding my grandmother Louisa Mayor ( nee Minshull), My aunt. may be your mother Lydia Collingwood ( nee Minshull), It would be great if this is correct, as you may have any stories regarding my grandmother. thanks Peter Mayor (son of May and Ted Mayor)
George Copelands sons name was Victor, he was a fried of mine as was John Costigan, Paul Granger is my younger cousin.
Hi
The cafe shop called Osbornes belonged to my great grandfather called Len Osborne and they had a lot of sons who were all boxers including my grandad also called Len and also Buster Osborne who was a very prominent boxer during the 1930s
Hi Tony,
My grandad was Vic Osborne (Simon) the youngest of the brothers. Nice to meet another Osborne in the family 🙂
Len was my Grandfather.My mother being Mabel, known as Sally their only daughter. I believe Buster worked for the Krays. I stopped at the cafe ,sweetshop a few times when Simon lived there. Was bridesmaid at Patsys wedding and stopped with them at the Lamb pub many times. We lived in Busters flat during the war as he was in the forces and Gladys went to stay with her Mother. Remember the wonderful games all the children used to play in the square.
I also remember a shop on the corner of Corfield Street and Three Colts Lane in the 50’s/60’s called ‘Vikki’s’. I think it was primarily a grocers. On the opposite corner of Corfield Street was Ron’s the Barbers.
Thank you Lesley, i can see i’m going to need an updated or second post on the local shops !
Yes the shop was Vicky’s she had a dog called Timmy and my mum and dad (Win and Harry) worked in the shop when Vicky went on holiday.
My name is Belnda Harman. I am the current admin of the FB Group The renamed The Streets of the Waterlow Estate and Bethnal Green. I took it over when it was about to be closed down a few years ago when it was called The Waterlow Estate and named all the streets of the Waterlow Estate.
It is still based on those streets but I have widened its area to include Bethnal Green. Which has led to many new members and the gathering of some great photographs and information. We even have a member who was in a 1950s TV documentary based on a Bethnal Green family. I am happy to archive all these memories, and hope to exhibit them at some point in the future.
John Mossell the original founder and I have very special memories of the Waterlow Estate. I started life in Wilmot Street in 1961 I’m a little older than John, I remember going into the corner shop which I knew as ‘Phylise’s’ as a small child, I remember the smell of the sugar as you walked into the small but clean and friendly shop. I think Pete and Phylise must have been there earlier than 1966 as I have vivid memories of spending my sixpence a day pocket money in there as a very small child in the early 1960s. They had machines on the wall outside selling cigarettes and cartons of Milk for when they were closed.
I recently posted some modern day photographs of Bethnal Green Road and members recounted their memories of some of the shops that serviced the tenants of the waterlow estate and Bethnal Green back in the day.
There was previously a grocery shop on the corner where where Tesco’s now stands. I think if you check out photographs from the early 1900s you will see the building I’m talking about, with the two doors on the corner.
Before the Key Markets were there at the end of Wilmot Street, a member of our group recently told of what was on the site of the Key Market supermarket now MacDonalds. The original shops on that site were bombed out in the WW2. Please check out the conversation and info which you can add to your great website.
I am wondering if Pete & Phyllis’s newsagent/grocer shop was previously the Shephard Shop.
This has brought back many memories from my youth we lived in Wilmot street no 275 and 275 top floor we had two flats with a door through to the bedrooms, and when the tally man knocked at one door we opened the other and said they had moved , I got married from that flat walking down those winding concrete stairs in my wedding dress trying not to trip, my youngest sister was born there in October 70 and I remember the doctors from the London hospital running up to the top floor with the gas and air completely out of breath and my mum walking round the room telling them what they could do with it, they were student doctors and never attended a home delivery before they just stood there until she was ready to deliver then one felt unwell when my sister was born. We spent many happy times in Wilmot street when I was at school in 66 my friends family owned/worked in that shop his name was Ron chambers their children were Christine and Keith. On another note the photo of the lady outside the shop looks remarkably like my nan. Thanks for bringing back lovely memories
Hello Sue,
Thanks for your kind comments. I’m really pleased that the site has brought back good memories of living on the Waterlow Estate. Those winding concrete stairs still exist in the blocks on the East side of Wilmot Street, although they’ve been upgraded in the Barrett blocks on the Western side.
Does anyone recall The Shephard Shop in Bethnal Green, or Derek SHEPHARD living at 225 Wilmot Street, Bethnal Green early 1960’s
My SHEPHARD family lived in many streets in BG, too many to mention all but a few of them were 308 Corfield Street, 451 Bethnal Green Road, Waterloo Road Workhouse, Seabright Street nos.12,16,42,68+84 when families stuck together.
Gill nee SHEPHARD
In the 1950s Neils Sports shop was a tobacconist and news agents named Allens run by a Jewish family.The shop next to to Lamb Pub Osbournes ( Ossy’s ) was not a cafe it was a sweet shop were the cat used to sleep on the sweets in the front window.There was also a fresh fish shop next to The Good Shepherd called Wasstles in Three Colts Lane again a Jewish owner. I lived in 99 Corfield Street where on the corner opposite Ron’s Barbers was Vikky’s a fruit and veg shop now demolished. In the arches opposite was a cat meat warehouse where horse meat was stored.
still remember the rats running out of there michael
Hello, yes you are correct, Ossy’s was a sweet shop. He’s my Great Grandad. My Grandad’s Son’s were boxers. Buster was pretty good I believe.
Kim
Sorry, I meant my Great Grandfather’s Sons
Kim
Hi Kim,
I’m the grand daughter of their youngest (Vic) nice to know us Osbornes are still around 🙂
A little bit away from Corfield Street, I know, but does anyone remember Lou’s Cafe in Bethnal Green Road near the rail bridge in to the early 70’s?
My Nan was Lou who served behind the counter for many years in the 60s. Her name was Louise Pellicci though the name ‘Lou’s’ was attributed to Lou Napolitano the cafe owner. I am related to the Pellicci’s of Roggio, Tuscany Italy.
My grandparents had Osborne cafe which later became a sweet shop. My dad and his brothers were all boxers and uncle buster lived in the same street until he passed away
Hi, I am busy researching my family history & know that my nan & her family grew up on Viaduct Street. I have the original letter from the council basically telling them that they need to move from here…it was demolished to make way for Weavers Fields. My great grandfather was Italian & sold ice-cream locally at the arches I believe, I wondered if there was any mention of him anywhere in your research perhaps? His surname is Guiliano & they lived here through the second world war until they were forced to move on. Thank you! Great website 🙂
Hello Corinne, Thanks for your comment. No it’s not a name I’ve come across I’m sorry. I did write up a detailed post on the clearance of the Weavers Cottages, I would love to include your letter if you would allow me and have a scan ?
My Weavers Fields post is in three parts and starts here – https://wilmotst.com/584-the-lost-streets-of-weavers-fields/
I am so sorry, I never got to see this (or had a notification!) I am just going through tapes that I recorded in the 90s of my nan & great aunt who lived on Viaduct Street and surrounding areas during the war – some details of using Bethnal Green tube as a bomb shelter but also that my Great Grandad also had a fruit shop under the arches up near the Salmon & Ball, also that the shop (I think this one) was set alight during the war as they were Italian. I am busy transcribing the tapes which will take a while! Yes you can use my letter – where should I send it to? I have read your WF posts – it’s so interesting and I cam across alot of information that I never knew, so thank you!