The Humer Unbeam Interesting Filling Stations Thread
Discussion
gforceg said:
My dad has been taking his cars there for MOTs for about 30 years. Although the petrol station and shop slowly withered, the redoubtable owner still does MOTs round the back. It seems he starts early in the morning and just works on through. As far as I know (I'll ask my dad when I see him at the weekend) he's still working there.
That explains it. I spotted what I thought was a deserted garage on the way to drop off a car and stopped to take photos on the way back. But as I wandered round the back I realised I wasn't alone...They won't get much passing trade, that's certain.
When I first saw it I thought it was the Old Turnpike Garage in the way that The Old Post Office pub used to the Post Office. In fact it was always Old Turnpike Garage because it was the garage on Old Turnpike.
The garage in the village I grew up in was Thompsons, known to us as "The Lazy T" on account of the initial letter hanging off for as long as anyone could remember.
The garage in the village I grew up in was Thompsons, known to us as "The Lazy T" on account of the initial letter hanging off for as long as anyone could remember.
If I leave the A303 at Andover I can cut the corner to Newbury by going up the A343 through Enham, Hurstbourne Tarrant and Highclere. This avoids the A34 entirely and is a lovely run but it makes the journey longer I so don't do it very often. I should have done. The filling station at Enham Alamein* that used to have flowers between the road and the pumps has closed down.
You can never have too many potted plants at garages. In the past there were rectangular containers that looked like raised flower beds. It was very attractive.
Another filling station gone, but there is hope.
It seems as though the maintenance and repair department still functions. Or will when they return from their holiday.
.............................
I've often wondered about the Alamein part of the village name. Apparently Enham was one of the "village centres" set up to rehabilitate soldiers wounded during World War 1 and to help them learn new skills. The village was renamed after World War 2 when it received a huge donation from the people of Egypt thanking Britain for helping rid North Africa of Axis forces.
You can never have too many potted plants at garages. In the past there were rectangular containers that looked like raised flower beds. It was very attractive.
Another filling station gone, but there is hope.
It seems as though the maintenance and repair department still functions. Or will when they return from their holiday.
.............................
I've often wondered about the Alamein part of the village name. Apparently Enham was one of the "village centres" set up to rehabilitate soldiers wounded during World War 1 and to help them learn new skills. The village was renamed after World War 2 when it received a huge donation from the people of Egypt thanking Britain for helping rid North Africa of Axis forces.
I remember them being used in the High Street in Camberley.
The pumps were against the wall of the garage and cars stopped on the road outside and the boom allowed the cars to be filled up without interrupting the passage of pedestrians walking underneath. I don't imagine it would be allowed now.
and Safety.
The pumps were against the wall of the garage and cars stopped on the road outside and the boom allowed the cars to be filled up without interrupting the passage of pedestrians walking underneath. I don't imagine it would be allowed now.
and Safety.
The story so far:
Driven past this garage in Cold Ash near Thatcham a few times recently and, even though it had obviously become a car sales site with no fuel, I thought I'd stop and ask if they had any pictures of the old days.
Glad I did. The pumps were still there.
The manager kindly agreed to me taking a few pics and said the garage belonged to the Wheeler family and I should take a look at their website. Although I'm not Newbury born and bred, I remember Wheelers on the London Road on a site that is now an Aldi. The website has quite a bit on the history of Wheelers in Newbury but no old pictures of the Black & White Garage in Cold Ash. The pictures I was interested in carried an invitation to not copy the images, so you'll have to take a look yourself.
http://www.bwgarage.comUnable to leave it alone, I emailed James Wheeler via the Black & White Garage website and asked if he had a photo or two for inclusion in the thread. On Sunday I received a marvellous email back from him which included a raft of photos of Wheelers of Newbury from the early days. He went on to say he shares our interest and has taken photos of filling stations over the years and will send them on when he finds them.
I was just bowled over.
In addition to the Wheelers' businesses in Newbury, James's father, Duncan Wheeler, formed other garage businesses locally, but not too locally out of respect for the established company. Included are photos of the Black & White Garage in Cold Ash and Rockwell Garage in Wantage.
EC Wheeler, 74 Cheap Street, Newbury 1904.
Mansion House, 1912. Motorcycles in evidence. The bridge, just out of shot on the left, is single track and was the only river crossing for vehicles in Newbury until the Second War.
Jack (on left) and Batty Wheeler at EC Wheeler Cycles The Broadway September 6 1923. Wheeler's moved here in 1918, the premises was formerly Hewsons Clothing Store. 'Motorcycle Engineer' included on the shop sign.
Photo undated but showing a major update of the building and business as the Wheelers moved into motor cars.
1934. Notice the building on the left and how well it is altered in the next photo.
Wheelers (Newbury) Limited, October 15th 1959. This was presumably superseded by the London Road premises.
Wheelers, London Road, under construction in 1956. This was the Wheelers premises I remember when I came to Newbury in 1991.
Petrol pumps at Wheeler's, London Road, 1956.
London Road, Newbury, December 15th 1956. Fully functioning, by the look of it.
This is interesting. The photo of the pumps on the London Road was given to Wheelers by someone who came across it while working at local solicitors, Pitman & Bazett. During the First World War, Pitman joined up and did his bit for King and Country. When he came back from the war he found the business was now Bazett & Pitman. He and Bazett had words and the name was restored to Pitman & Bazett. The company has been taken over by a larger solicitors and the name is now lost. In addition to Wheelers of Newbury there were also:
Rockwell Garage in Wantage, later Wantage Motors, bought by Duncan Wheeler in 1964, and:
Black & White Garage in Cold Ash bought by Duncan Wheeler in 1979 and taken over in 2001 by his son, James Wheeler, who turned the Black & White Garage into an Alfa Romeo specialist.
There is a bit more information on the Black & White Garage website: http://www.bwgarage.com
..............
I am indebted to James Wheeler for the time and trouble he has taken to contribute to the thread and for permission to reproduce the photos. Any errors, particularly in the comments and excursions into Newbury history, are mine.
DickyC said:
Driven past this garage in Cold Ash near Thatcham a few times recently and, even though it had obviously become a car sales site with no fuel, I thought I'd stop and ask if they had any pictures of the old days.
Glad I did. The pumps were still there.
The manager kindly agreed to me taking a few pics and said the garage belonged to the Wheeler family and I should take a look at their website. Although I'm not Newbury born and bred, I remember Wheelers on the London Road on a site that is now an Aldi. The website has quite a bit on the history of Wheelers in Newbury but no old pictures of the Black & White Garage in Cold Ash. The pictures I was interested in carried an invitation to not copy the images, so you'll have to take a look yourself.
http://www.bwgarage.com
I was just bowled over.
In addition to the Wheelers' businesses in Newbury, James's father, Duncan Wheeler, formed other garage businesses locally, but not too locally out of respect for the established company. Included are photos of the Black & White Garage in Cold Ash and Rockwell Garage in Wantage.
EC Wheeler, 74 Cheap Street, Newbury 1904.
Mansion House, 1912. Motorcycles in evidence. The bridge, just out of shot on the left, is single track and was the only river crossing for vehicles in Newbury until the Second War.
Jack (on left) and Batty Wheeler at EC Wheeler Cycles The Broadway September 6 1923. Wheeler's moved here in 1918, the premises was formerly Hewsons Clothing Store. 'Motorcycle Engineer' included on the shop sign.
Photo undated but showing a major update of the building and business as the Wheelers moved into motor cars.
1934. Notice the building on the left and how well it is altered in the next photo.
Wheelers (Newbury) Limited, October 15th 1959. This was presumably superseded by the London Road premises.
Wheelers, London Road, under construction in 1956. This was the Wheelers premises I remember when I came to Newbury in 1991.
Petrol pumps at Wheeler's, London Road, 1956.
London Road, Newbury, December 15th 1956. Fully functioning, by the look of it.
This is interesting. The photo of the pumps on the London Road was given to Wheelers by someone who came across it while working at local solicitors, Pitman & Bazett. During the First World War, Pitman joined up and did his bit for King and Country. When he came back from the war he found the business was now Bazett & Pitman. He and Bazett had words and the name was restored to Pitman & Bazett. The company has been taken over by a larger solicitors and the name is now lost. In addition to Wheelers of Newbury there were also:
Rockwell Garage in Wantage, later Wantage Motors, bought by Duncan Wheeler in 1964, and:
Black & White Garage in Cold Ash bought by Duncan Wheeler in 1979 and taken over in 2001 by his son, James Wheeler, who turned the Black & White Garage into an Alfa Romeo specialist.
There is a bit more information on the Black & White Garage website: http://www.bwgarage.com
..............
I am indebted to James Wheeler for the time and trouble he has taken to contribute to the thread and for permission to reproduce the photos. Any errors, particularly in the comments and excursions into Newbury history, are mine.
Edited by DickyC on Tuesday 6th September 22:37
In East Hagbourne in Oxfordshire:
Post Office, car maintenance, community shop and Free Range eggs. And, in the past, petrol:
S.K. Passey. It may well have been Mr Passey I spoke to. He asked where I worked and, when I said Hermitage, he said he had worked near there in the Black and White Garage in Cold Ash which was featured in here a couple of weeks ago and led to the series of Wheeler's photos. He worked at the Black and White when they were Alfa specialists.
Post Office, car maintenance, community shop and Free Range eggs. And, in the past, petrol:
S.K. Passey. It may well have been Mr Passey I spoke to. He asked where I worked and, when I said Hermitage, he said he had worked near there in the Black and White Garage in Cold Ash which was featured in here a couple of weeks ago and led to the series of Wheeler's photos. He worked at the Black and White when they were Alfa specialists.
Interesting. I shall be the thread's eyes and ears in Wash Water awaiting developments. I know it says Curridge on the sign but it's actually a few miles south of Curridge village. Plus, the garage actually in Curridge is still in business and always busy selling fuel and cars and acting as a convenience store. I'll ask if they are or were related.
I would like to say I'm developing a sixth sense that helps me to find small out of the way filling stations. The truth is I have sat nav with a warped sense of humour that keeps taking me to out of the way places, some of which have interesting garages. Taking a course parallel to the M4 yesterday, hoping to get around Bath, I came across Nettleton in Wiltshire.
Sorry about the passing car in the foreground, I usually take two shots of everything to avoid this sort of calamity.
I may go back, the pub opposite looked lovely.
Sorry about the passing car in the foreground, I usually take two shots of everything to avoid this sort of calamity.
I may go back, the pub opposite looked lovely.
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