Comments on: The lost world of the laundrettes

By: DR CHARLES S.P. JENKINS

DR CHARLES S.P. JENKINS — Sun, 17 May 2026 16:34:40 +0000

I remember the wonderful launderette on Bethnal Green Road, just passed Valence Road. My mother got me to take out laundry there every Monday after school. I used to hate it – I was about 11 y old at the time. What I liked was the staff – they were very nice to me and one woman from Yorkshire used to get me to buy some chips while I was there and she gave me most of them. She was a follower of York City which got to the semifinals of the FA Cup that year. I still look at York’s result without fail every week and I am now 82 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!! When we moved out of London, I went to a launderette in Slough at the far end of the High Street – more fancy machines here. I liked the old Bendix of Bethnal Green.

I lived in Paris for a number of years and had to go to the launderette near where I lived. I did not like it – run by grumpy, miserable women who insisted on adding MY soap to the machine and then expected a ‘tip’!!! Thanks to them, I saved up and bought a washing machine!

I live in the US now and there is a launderette close by. I went there once – the assistant was a man who was very kind and did my wash for free including folding my stuff up. One has to be careful about going to launderettes here, so I am told, as some people dye clothes in the machine and one risks colouring ones clothes. I expect this can happen anywhere.

By: MR MARK EASTERBROOK

MR MARK EASTERBROOK — Sun, 17 May 2026 11:20:25 +0000

Where I live in Chadwell Heath, there’s a launderette call ‘Monarch’ which I’ve walked past every day for the past 10 years whilst making my way to and from the station. It’s always fascinated me as it seems a real time capsule from the past. The decor inside and out looks like the original from day one and I really hope it remains that way.

By: Stuey the time traveller

Stuey the time traveller — Sun, 28 May 2023 07:36:11 +0000

Not related geographically, but definitely by theme…

I was a young Royal Marine (17) when I was first drafted to HMS Pembroke, Chatham, Kent in 1972. It was the custom to take one’s dhobi (washing) to a launderette in Gillingham and disappear in The Monarch for the duration of the cycle to imbibe in a pint of blood (or two). A pint of blood was a concoction of rough cider that was in a barrel perched on the bar with some blackcurrant cordial added for effect and taste – the scrumpy could be quite sharp!

Well, I finally left Gillingham and HMS Pembroke behind me in 1981 and didn’t return for many years, but when I did in 2016 and entered The Monarch for old times sake I was astounded to see the same Prestige launderette totally unchanged from the outside, even with the same banner above the windows! Nothing about it had changed since those early days in 1972 even though the pub had had major overhauls. As far as I’m aware, it’s still serving residents of Gillingham.

I now have a house in the south of France as a holiday bolthole for me and my family and launderettes are also used there, but in fact they are situated outdoors at provincial supermarkets and I have to say are very useful as I don’t have a washing machine in France.

By: isa

isa — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:05:21 +0000

Yes I too have a special interest in laundrettes as I have just bought a flat above a laundrette not in London, but Eastbourne and they are still an important service for a lot of people in flatland.The Eastbourne Laundrette has free newspapers and sweeet little seats outside.i look forward to visiting the ones mentioned in the article.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:31:11 +0000

Thank you for your salute to laundrettes, or laundromats in US coinage. I visit the local laundromat whenever I have rugs or something heavy to wash, and I never fail to observe some fascinating slice of life. For ecological and space reasons we removed the washing machine from our summer cottage and I happily visit the laundromat in town. It is a lively social scene of locals and tourists, people helping each other fold up the big bed covers, grannies offering advice to young bachelors, children riding around in the baskets, and stacks of old magazines with the good recipes tantalizingly torn out.