Hermitage Road c1905

Comment by patrick byrne on September 26, 2014 at 12:08

Lovely image of the road in quieter times. I grew up in the house on the corner just out of view on the left of the picture (left of the lamp post). At that time ( 1950 to 1964), the road on the left (Finsbury Park Avenue) was most of the time a quiet cul-de-sac. However it was also one of the main pedestrian access routes to Harringay Stadium (Greyhound racing and Stock car racing) and to Harringay Arena ( Ice Hockey, Circuses, Horse of the Year Show etc) and at those times it seemed like one of the busiest places in London as crowds surged in and out of these events. A very educational place for a young lad to grow up! The shop across the road by the post box was an Off Licence in those days and was a source of crisps and lemonade for me and for bottles of Guinness for my father.

Comment by Angela on September 26, 2014 at 19:15

Why is the post box black?

Comment by Hugh on September 26, 2014 at 21:28

Its a colourised black and white photo.

Comment by Sharon on September 27, 2014 at 12:53

Is the shop now the off license? And opposite, finsbury road where we now walk to Sainsburys?

Comment by patrick byrne on September 28, 2014 at 10:04

Yes, that off license/ shop has obviously been there a very long time and still continues as a business. There was also another family run general store in the back garden of the house on the right beside Vale Road. It was run by the Boldetti family and was very convenient for odds and ends. Originally (before the Sainsbury development) Finsbury Park Avenue was only a short cul-de;sac about 200 yards long leading to entry gates for the Stadium and the Arena, which were locked most of the time. However, the local kids could easily make their way in and spent endless days in their own "adventure playground" of the unkempt scrubland around the Stadium.

Comment by Abi on October 2, 2014 at 22:31

Interesting, know these buildings so well and the shop is still recognisable. Yup, this is also what we know as the route to Sainsbury's!

Comment by Christine Yates on October 3, 2014 at 22:02

I had friends who lived at 207 - The Reilly family.

Comment by matthew cuthbert on October 10, 2014 at 14:03

I wondered what colour the pavements were back then, anyone remember the Record Cafe?
It looked fab, and closed after the lady running it became unwell from about 1994.

Comment by Massimo on February 17, 2020 at 13:29

Hi, I've just joined Harringay Online, hence the 5+ year delay in this comment, responding to matthew cuthbert. My mum, Ada, was the lady who owned and ran the Record Cafe. You're right in that ill-health forced her to shut up shop in around 1996, when our dad became ill. Sadly, both she and our dad succumbed to cancer and passed away in 1997. We still have fond memories of the Record Cafe – but very little in the way of photographs, so if anyone has any pictures of the parade of shops including the post office on the corner, I'd love to see them!

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