Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Before Waitrose...before Woolies

Before Waitrose and before even Woolworths, on the corner of Crouch Hall Road stood the James H. Wilson Department Store.

The first image above is from the Hornsey Journal in 1899. The second is from about five years later. By the 1930s, the store stretched from 23 - 39 Broadway. By the time it closed in 1970, it occupied 21 - 35. Numbers 37 and 39, on the corner, had been knocked down and a bank of phone boxes stood along Crouch Hall Road in the footprint of the rear of those two shops.

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Albums: Historical Images of Crouch End | 2 of 2

Comment by David Adrian Grant on November 10, 2023 at 22:36: Hi,

As a treat after shopping, my Mother "Took Tea" in the restaurant, It was the real thing, the waitress was in black & white uniform, the table was laid up exactly as you see in "Miss Marple" on TV. The choice of tea or a "Mineral" for me and a plate of cakes was the usual. My mother always had tea and a Chocolate eclair. This was in 1951/2. I remember the tip of 6d left under the plate would seem pretty mean now but was acceptable at the time