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A collection of old photographs of Clyde Road together with references to some of the landmarks and local characters who once resided in this neighbourhood |
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| The origins of both the Summerhill Road and Clyde Road areas
date back to 1851 when a parcel of land was first made available for development. If you
first look at the poster to the right inviting prospective developers to an auction of the
land and then refer to a copy of the development map dating from 1851 (Below) you will see
the various Lot numbers and in some cases the names of the then current owners of the
land. Note the background image to this page shows the map from 1864 that shows some of the earliest developments . It is interesting to not that Lawrence Road was then know as Bathurst Road |
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The two photographs above show Clyde Circus prior to the building of houses in the centre of the circus |
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Another old photograph depicting the open circus but contrast it to the same scene today with houses in the middle and Jansons Road just visible in the background |
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| The above photographs show how Clyde Road once looked at
the far end (eastern End) beyond the railway line and before reaching Tottenham Green.
Picture one shows the entrance to the old Brewery yard and picture two shows the stables
at the local council yard that was once used for refuse collection. Also pictured is a
photograph of the dustmen and their carts that were used back in Victorian days. We have received from one of the former residents of Clyde Road, who was born at this end of Clyde Road, a wonderful account of his childhood and how life was like in Clyde Road prior to the outbreak of World War 2. You can read the wartime memories of Stan Wood by clicking HERE |
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| As a little anecdote regarding Clyde Road I am reminded of this extract
from a wonderful book called 'Whatever Happened to Tom Mix?' (The early life story of Lord Ted Willis who was born in Tottenham) which
I am sure will also appeal to people with memories of Clyde Road. In the book he recalls a
wonderful story concerning Clyde Road that I will now share with you. He is recalling what
the children would spend the little pocket money they had on: " I think, after all, that the simplest and best ha'porth of all, the one that I remember with the most delight, was a slice of hot, fresh bread. Once each week during certain months of the year, our teacher would lead his class down Philip Lane to the local Municipal Baths for a swimming session. On the way back we would be allowed to make a minor detour along Clyde Road for a brief stop at the local Clyde bakery. Inside the little shop. loaves of new bread, their crusts glowing, were lined up along the counter. The baker's wife, in crisp starched apron, stood there with a long knife gleaming in her hand, and as we filed past her, dropping our ha'pennies into an old bread tin, she sliced off a generous chunk of bread for each customer. If you were lucky, you managed to get a 'nobby', a crust from the ends of the loaf, and there was considerable manoeuvring to achieve a position in the queue which would yield up this coveted prize. The swimming seemed to put an edge on our already powerful appetites, and the temptation to wolf down the crisp smelling bread was a potent one. Nevertheless, it had to be resisted for we had learned that the greatest pleasure lay in picking at the bread morsel by morsel and chewing each piece as slowly as possible; the true connoisseurs, the artists among us, were those who could make their slice of bread last all the way back to the classroom. How well I remember the tantalising, delicious aroma of the oven-baked bread! Today's mass-produced. steam-ovened, ready-sliced, paper-wrapped product is ersatz by comparison, a pallid and flavourless substitute for the real thing. The French have greater wisdom in such matters, and they have demonstrated it by resisting all efforts to replace their crisp long loaves by the inferior packaged stuff. A few months ago I found myself standing in the early morning outside a little bakery in Paris, and the warm scent of the new bread took me back over forty years to the Clyde bakery and to that queue of hungry boys, each faintly smelling of the chlorine from the water in the swimming-bath, rattling their coins into a bread-tin, and clutching chunks of hot bread in their eager hands." |
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The above photographs taken in the late 1950's show a group of Lifeboys from West Green Baptist Church parading in Clyde Road |
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Like
many roads in our local community, Clyde Road had a number of small shops and businesses
that are fondly remembered by former residents of Clyde Road. Here are are a few that have
been referred to us.
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| Older residents of Clyde Road ,both past and present, will no
doubt recall two of the characters who were well known in the area. The first photographs
shows 'Harry' who lived in nearby Collingwood Road and
regularly walked the streets selling both shellfish and some salad items from a huge
wicker basket that he carried in his hands. His familiar cry of 'Hello
Lady' when greeted at the doorstep will I am sure be well remembered by everyone
living in the vicinity of Clyde road. His basket was prepared by his mother and it was
always immaculately clean with bright white linen cloths to cover the produce. Along with
his mother, he also lived with a character named 'Jacko' who also sold shellfish from a
hand drawn barrow that would often be seen outside pubs in Tottenham and through the local
streets, particularly on Sunday afternoons at a time when Shrimps and Winkles were a
popular choice for Sunday teatime. The second photograph shows the Cotton family in their back garden in 1947. many of the local children would refer to her as 'Ma Cotton' because that's what it appeared to say on the shopfront. It was in fact her initials M.A Cotton but few people appreciated that. She sold all manner of corns, straws and animal feeds at a time when many people kept chickens, rabbits and racing pigeons in their back gardens. |
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| Another former resident of Clyde Road was Jack Burkett who attended Belmont School in Tottenham. Burkett started his career at West Ham United, joining the senior team in July 1958. He played in the FA Youth Cup Final of 1958-59 alongside Bobby Moore, Harry Cripps and Eddie Bovington, and made his League debut against Fulham on 30 April 1962. Burkett made 142 League appearances for West Ham, scoring four goals. He also made 39 cup appearances, and was a member of the FA Cup winning side of 1964. He was also a member of the European Cup Winners' Cup winning team of 1965 | |
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Top Left is the aforementioned 'Lord Clyde' Public House Top Right are the houses located in Clyde Road on the corner with Bedford Road Bottom Left: The parade of houses leading along to the 'The Little Brown Jug' to the extreme right of the picture. Bottom Right: Houses located close to Clyde Circus |
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| We have been sent a mystery photograph that had been taken in Clyde Road and shows the premises of J. Betteridge. We first discovered John Betteridge in the 1901 Census living at 41 Clinton Road, Tottenham with his wife Amy and children John, Winifred and Ivy. John had an occupation of Carman but surprisingly his wife Amy had an occupation of Woodchopper. We next pick them up in the 1911 Census(pictured above) but by now they were living at 151 Clyde Road. John had an occupation of a Dealer in Rags but the occupation of Amy is now left blank,. However they now have 7 children, with Amy, James, Queenie and Nelly having been born in the intervening years. We must presume that it is wife, Amy Betteridge, driving the cart above but cannot speculate the names of the children pictured. | |
Please refer to
the following memories on this Website that have also been written by former residents of
Clyde Road and the local neighbourhood:
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Article prepared by Alan Swain - August 2011
