Lordship Lane 1994

[Reg Smeeton]

This thread has been partially updated in March 2021. More updates will be needed. It's a snapshot of how Lordship Lane was 27 years ago, and what has happened since. (There are still several long-standing shops on LL, such as Chener Books, SMBS, Dulwich Tandoori, Bell's Kitchens, Dulwich DIY, AJ Farmer)

occasional edits to this as people add details below or correct mistakes

Key:

Today....[intermediate shops]....1994

PUBS

Bishop........ 'The Foresters Arms' (a sofa and armchair pub)

EDT ..... 'The East Dulwich Tavern' (rivalled the Magdala for LL's dodgiest customers - had a pool table)

Palmerston was 'The Lord Palmerston' (could get quite rowdy on Friday nights)

The Lordship...The Patch (lasted a year?)...The Mag....Magnolia .... The Magdala (in its later days, the late 1990s, it usually had about three customers and was a dingy place)

Plough ....The Plough (destination of the Number 12 bus), succumbed to misguided repackaging for a few years as 'Goose and Granite', so it was dropped as the bus destination which is why No.12 now says Dulwich Library.

BARS

Terroir..Toasted...Green & Blue .... Combined two stores(left side as viewed from the street had been Redgewells, before that Italian restaurant, right side was an empty shop formerly car parts)

House of Tippler....Liquorish...Camelot Travel

FOODIES

Franklins farm shop.....the Tyre shop

The Cheese Block .... was probably already the Cheese block

Next Door (fish restaurant)...Burro e Salvia....Speedo Pizza?

WINE

Oddbins...Nicolas....Earlier incarnation of Le Chandelier [or was it Melbourne Antiques?], sold antiques

Bottle Cave...Boss Man.... Unwins

Cave Bruno....Old Villa furnishing....Junction Emporium (old fireplaces)...???

BUTCHERS/BAKERS/FISH/VEG/DELI

Truly Scrumptious...Hirst....Place Bakeries

Boulangerie Jade...Luca's ....Finger Lick'n Chicken

William Rose ....Bespoke Windows....Lingerie shop...Pine furniture

Moxons.... Was this the seoncd Place Bakeries? There were two of them in the lower strip of LL

Franklins Farm Shop....Tyre shop until around 2005??

Mons....Mrs Robinson clothes boutique....Jerk Rock...something else

Arapina (No.52)...Pop up shop...Threshers...Victoria Wine

ESTATE AGENTS

Portico...(Raymond) Bushells

???....Daisylets...Target Arms (Antique military/firearms shop)

Haart ....Wates 2nd branch?...Woolwich Building Soc?/Employment Centre

Kinleigh (KFH)....???...Co-op?

Foxtons ... DSS building

Acorn (+ Property In)... ?

Ludlow Thompson ... ???

Pedder....previously called Wates....Wilson Rogers estate agents (Wates moved from the space that is now the extended section of Dulwich Carpets)

Co-op Funeral Care

Hindwood Hunter Payne....White Dent Estate Agents

Truepenny's...Your Move....Ladbrokes

???...Jacksons...Halifax...??

CAFES/RESTAURANTS

Spinach...Le Chandelier (cafe)..Le Chandelier (antiques)... Melbourne Antiques?

Kartulie(Georgian food)...Tart...Le Chardon .... Thistells restaurant

Signoria...Boulangerie/Sandwichs...Mon Petit Chou .... Binester Toys?

No.52 Cheese toasties...Sylvester...The French House...Boho??...Tivoli Amusement Arcade

Franco Manca...The Draft House...Black Cherry .... Smith's Greengrocer...

[Currently Empty]...Saucy...Curry Cabin

YamaMomo...Adventure Bar/cafe...Inside 72....Cheltenham & Gloucester

Oddono's....Sally's Florist

Meat Liqueur...The Sea Cow....Gente's Menswear

GBK .... Westons....Spaghetti Western

Franklins .... SE22 bar?

Maria's Tortilla...Swadesh...Coriander...short-lived Tapas restaurant...???

Firezza Pizza...Cafe Noodle ... Free Range, got a good Time Out review and then became a greasy spoon

Caffe Nero .... Edwardes Electrical suppliers

Olivelli...Mediterranean Restaurant (Koz??)...Dos Amigos....Cafe El Passo (sic)

Memsaab...Veer Zara...Pistachio Club....another Indian - Last Days of Raj (or something else earlier)

Dulwich Cafe...Starburger

Rajah Rowing Team....Bombay Bicycle...Curry in a hurry

Italian deli by library...Electrics shop (maybe wasn't called Plough electrics in those days)

500 Pizza...Empty...Jaflong....Tulip Cafe

???...Platform 1...Sorsi & Morsi...(SMBS Indian restaurant)....Chopsticks, was something else before

Dulwich Picturehouse (Cafe)....St Thomas More Hall (community; line-dancing classes etc)

Tandoori Nights....unchanged (but closed for a long time after fire 2019)

Dulwich Tandoori...unchanged

[No.42 empty]...As Nature Intended...Surma Curry House

Kanella (cafe)....Pop up shop...Soup Dragon - ?

OPTICIANS

Woodfall....Tanna's Pharmacy

Paine & Hunter...unchanged?

CLOTHES

White Stuff ... Walsh Glazing

Jojo Maman Bebe ....Maudsley CMHT

Shelter Boutique...Sugar (Goose Green Roundabout) A video rental shop, privately owned....Western Capital?

Iris Fashion...Question Air...Give and Take...Ralon stationers (with the infamous Indian owner)

Sweaty Betty....half of East Dulwich Deli...The second hand pram shop

Really Maria...the other half of East Dulwich Deli...see above.

GIFTS, NICK-NACKS ETC.

Marys Living & Giving...Moos....Mobile phone shop

Mrs Robinson .... was it still the second hand car place?

Empty [No.7 LL]...Green Cuisine ... Sandwich shop run by that friendly Chinese guy

Celestial .... Jewellers [Celestial was previously in Blackwater Road]

Rouiller White ... Guys'N'Dolls Beauty salon

Karavan .... had possibly just opened in 1994

Oliver Bonas....part of Walsh Glazing

Lilas jewellery...Callow Locksmiths (rent rise forced them to Melbourne Grove)...Granada TV shop

FOOD/SUPERMARKETS

Marks & Spencer....Iceland...Sainsbury Freezer Centre

Co-op....Somerfield....Gateway

Payless Food & Wine....

Organic Village....[Greek? delicatessen]

As Nature Intended...Surma Curry...unchanged

PHARMACY/CHEMIST

Superdrug...Empty...Londis...Budgens....7-Eleven

Sogim Pharmacy....Lush Designs...Kodak shop...Callow Locksmith??

Loyds North Cross

Vale Pharmacy...Care Chemist

Empty [115 LL].....Sogim pharmacy....Co-op pharmacy

OTHER

Aesthetics by Lauren Turner...Property In...Hey Diddle Diddle toys and clothes shop

Little Mynx...Bonnies flowers

Mrs Feelgoods...The Beauty Place..??

Bet Fred....Ludlow Thompson (previous location)...???

Lordship Flooring...Dulwich Carpets

Dulwich Barbers...[Photographer]....[Nurse agency] ....in 1994 it was an empty newsagent

Porters...Dulwich Village Residential...Was a cash converters previously, but before that it was The Institute of Engineers

St Christophers Hospice store...Filmnight...Apollo video rental .... A bed store, went with the bedding shop

Bloomers...Pink Frog design....Dry Cleaners

Solicitor? next to them....TV Repair shop

ESPH (physio gym)....a catering company making sandwiches

ADZ Dental Care...newsagent

Vape shop...Nina Christie...Callow Locks???

Headnizm...Piers Hairdressers

?????....Paulo's Hairdressers

Village Way hairdressers....unchanged since 94

Jazz's Barbers .... Fashion & Leisure (sports shop)

Mr Simms sweet shop...Jolie a Pied ....Sound & Vision, and before that Darrah Arts?...was this also Haart at some point???

Bet Fred.... ?sports and trainers shop (name was 'Fashion and Leisure' or something equally bland)

Just William....Osborne Stewart, estate who were involved in an infamous episode on the EDF...before them were?

PearSpring (house plants) [closed in 2020 then re-opened] - refurbishment of the dress shop Marie Claire(?) that had been closed for decades.

Vet...HSBC...Midland Bank

[Mick Mac]

Brillian Reg - I have only been here 9 years but I'm impressed with your summary. Franklins was already here when I arrived, can't imagine it not being part of LL.

Pool table in the EDT - could that make a comeback - the Gowlett pool table is fab.

[Alan Feedlebra]

Dulwich Tandoori - Dulwich Tandoori.

[LuLu Too]

The Adventure Bar was a Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society in 1994.

Green & Blue was a cafe called Redgewells - can't remember if that was as far back as 1994 though.

Bossman was Unwins.

Can't remember if Acorn or Soupdragon was an Undertakers - but one of them was.

Was The Chandelier - The Junction emporium then?

Franklins used to be The SE22 bar - but not sure if it was that in 1994?

Pistachio was called "Days of the Raj".

JoJo Maman Bebe was a Southwark Libraries book depository that became an NHS/Social Services office.

GBK was Spaghetti Western.

Budgens was 7/11.

And the HiFi store has been there forever.

[Mick Mac]

Fantastic - I can't believe how little of these I could remember (until reminded).

[Reg Smeeton]

Thanks Lulu, I've made some corrections based on your comments. Melbourne Antiques and Junction Emporium were close to each other, don't remember which was where. What was Moxons in its previous life, lots of people should remember that but I can't. Which was the mirror shop? I thought that was on a corner.

[LuLu Too]

I think the mirror shop "on a corner" was part of Walshes glaziers - where both White Stuff/Oliver Bonas are. I remember buying a mirror from there!

Maybe Moxons was The Junction Emporium? Or Sally's Flowers?

Maman JoJo Bebe (or whatever it's called) was never a library - it was a book depository. It became a S.Services building in mid 1990's.

[Andystar]

i used to go to the SE22 bar all the time with my bro...

[zephyr]

Binester toys was not as far up as Ludlow Thompsons. I thought is was nearer if not where Mon Petit Chou is

The gentlemans clothes shop was down between the bakery (Place/Hirst) and the Black Cherry. there was also anith chinese restaurant there called China China (they did a fantastic Yu Hong Beef)although that may have been a little later. The chiken shop is there now - the gents clothes shop was there or next door

[????]

Cheeseblock was there

Curry Cabin was still Curry Cabin

I don't think SE22 Bar was there

On Northcross, Blue Mountain was open, Thai Corner Cafe opened that summer? Or was it '95 and Graces opened aroundish then...basically that year was the 'cusp'

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

My desk is from the Junction Emporium. The chap who ran it (who specialised in glass) has a restoration business now. It was taken over by Erica and then became The Chandelier.

[????]

Seema Thai was there but lay out different, old school without the extension but just Thai people

[SimonM]

"Free Range" was next door (I think) to where Franklins is - it later became the Noodle place. It was a bit classier han a greasy spoon, especially in its early days, but the standard soon dropped pretty alarmingly.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

The video shop ( near to Dulwich Cafe etc) was the bedding shop, I remember because my mum used to pop down there and pay off for a bed!

[Cassius]

Nicolas was an antique shop at some point - same owners as Melbourne Antiques, and Moos used to be an T-Mobile shop at some point (but not sure if it was in 1994).

[fatfightersforever]

Can't remember the name but Property in Dulwich was a children's toyshop/clothes/equipment run by a lovely woman who arranged midwife drop ins etc (before yummy mummies invented.) Anyone know what happened to the lovely owner of Free Range? Heard she won the lottery so hope that's true!

[Keef]

Memories. I think it was SE22 bar in those days. God, I'd have just gotten my GCSE results, and went out for dinner on Lordship Lane to celebrate.

[steveo]

Long ago, Franklins used to be a chemicals business. There were vats of bubbling acids in the back yard. The owner was a bit of a ladies man and had built a private club in the basement with a little dance floor and a bar where he 'entertained'. I visited once with my girlfriend but the bar only served scotch and things became very hazy very quickly so we scarpered.

He closed that business and turned the shop into a greasy called Get Stuffed.

[Jah Lush]

Days Of The Raj/Pistaccio Club was Bells Fish & Chip shop or was that before 94?

[matthew123]

..and East Dulwich Police station used to be an M&S

[SeanMacGabhann]

It's not in the Lounge yet Matthew

[Reg Smeeton]

On topic please chaps. Don't let this factual thread degenerate, lots of good local history coming out here.

Jah - Bells Fish & Chips must have been before 94 as I have no recollection of it. Were they related to Bells kitchens?

Holman the electrician was somewhere in the Moxons vicinity. His brother had a model railway shop for a while, which used to advertise in the pine shop (now William Rose) but operated from one of the units in Blackwater Road. That was still going in the mid 1990s.

[Keef]

There was a video shop down near the roundabout called Dumas or something. Nice bloke called Geoff, used to have all the pirate videos under the counter.

[TAP]

The travel agents was called Camelot Travel and i think is where GBK is today...

[Keef]

There was a tv rental place on the corner of the parade where Farmers is if memory serves.