Ruth Waddle, the archivist and a former employee at the Oxford Deaf and Hard of Hearing centre in St Ebbe's, used Kelly's Directory to trace the changes on Littlegate Street during the demolitions in the 1960's. In the listings it is possible to see which properties are occupied and which are vacant (the number is still listed but there's no name next to it). In later editions of Kelly's street numbers are removed as the shops and homes are demolished. Looking through these entries which mark the transition from thriving busy street to vacant houses with the occasional lonely householder clinging on, the loss and fragmentation caused by community break up is driven home.
Below you can see pages from Kelly's showing the changes to Blackfriars Road from this busy thriving street in 1958...
...to this much reduced neighbourhood in 1966...
... and eventually to a handful of houses in 1971. By the following year the entry for Black Friars Road has disappeared completely. As Black Friars Road shrinks, Blackbird Leys Road (two entries on) is growing. Many of the residents moved to this new development where they were faced with different challenges, living in a newly formed community on the edge of the City.
As well as listings, Kelly's Directory is filled with adverts for businesses throughout the Oxford and Abingdon area. These give a sense of the types of businesses and industries in the City. Searching a directory loaned to me by Mrs Gladys Gardner to see what I could find out about St Ebbe's I saw adverts for businesses throughout Oxford, from Botley to Summertown and Cowley to Hinksey, but there were scarcely any adverts covering St Ebbe's. This seemed to confirm what had been said in reminiscence sessions about St Ebbe's isolation from the rest of the City. Tom Hassall and Elizabeth Richardson remember going as far as Capes and MacFisheries, but no further. Other residents described shops which served the local residents rather than drawing people in from elsewhere.
Local retailers and businesses did advertise in the parish magazine for St Ebbe's alongside some more up-market City enterprises. Gillian Williams saved the copy with a record of her baptism in 1944.
The adverts give a sense of the range of businesses and diversity of the area. With so little visual information about the shops - their facades, signage, the colours and the window displays - the adverts begin to paint a picture. Coopers - with it's simple functional advert 'for Household requirements' - doesn't need to try too hard. The ornate ecclesiastical font for Reeves the undertakers reflects the solemnity of their work. Grainge & Co., with their wordy advert, seems to sell everything under the sun. I imagine a shop that is as overcrowded and chaotic as the advert.
These adverts give a sense of the number of small businesses in the area. Searching through the directory listings of the major roads in St Ebbe's reveals that there were many independents, from printers and repairers to furniture shops, grocers and butchers. The demolition didn't only result in the loss of home and community, but it also had an impact on businesses and employment.
These adverts give a sense of the number of small businesses in the area. Searching through the directory listings of the major roads in St Ebbe's reveals that there were many independents, from printers and repairers to furniture shops, grocers and butchers. The demolition didn't only result in the loss of home and community, but it also had an impact on businesses and employment.
The businesses in this advert may kindle memories for some readers of this blog. I would be very interested in hearing your memories of these shops and descriptions of what they were like. You can get in touch via the comments section below.
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