Comments on: Notable & Lost Buildings Of Columbia Rd

By: Denyse Southcott

Denyse Southcott — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 04:25:31 +0000

Hi all , I’ve commented on this site earlier, but wanted to share a bit more about our family. We lived at 98 Columbia Square. All 11 of us, there were my parents Louisa and James, plus 9 children. Starting from the eldest, Maureen, Alan, Janet, Olive, Denyse, Sheila, Pauline, Lesley and Deborah. We all lived in a 2 bedroom plus a living/kitchen room, except for Debbie, she was born when we moved to Brady St. We shared a scullery on the landing which comprised of a long trough with 2 taps, a bath on the right side of the room and 2 toilets opposite as you walked in, all shared between 3 or 4 flats. I don’t think the bath was ever used. We always had a tin bath in front of the open fire.. There were drying/airing rooms on the top floor. We used to play hide and seek up there, especially when it was raining and we couldn’t go outside. I remember it was pretty creepy up there. As kids we had a pair of roller skates, just 1 pair between us , we had to take turns with one skate each And we used to go across the road to the fountain, it was a wide alleyway that ran between Columbia rd and I think it was Virginia rd, it had a really good slope to it and was great fun with roller skates and scooters. I remember spending time at the Mildmay hospital, once when I had my tonsils removed, and another time when I was bitten by a dog. I also remember there was a tennis court on Hackney Rd almost opposite Columbia Rd, where I used to watch people playing tennis and feeling that it was way out of my league, but enjoyed watching them. I was only 7/8 at the time. We had a lot of freedom back then as kids, mum never seemed to worry too much as long as we home before dark. We had a neighbour at the first flat who scared me one day when I was coming home from school, She was standing at her doorway which I had to pass to get home, and she was mumbling something and trying to give me a piece of paper, I’d never seen her before so I ran pass her and told my mum. It turned out that she’d had a stroke and couldn’t speak properly, she wanted me to get some shopping for her. Once or twice a week I’d get her some shopping, and she’d give me a threepenny bit. Remember those coins? We used to get one in our stocking at Christmas too.

By: Pam Wright

Pam Wright — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 06:37:04 +0000

I worked at Columbia Road School in the early 1970s…my first teaching job. I loved it…the children were a delight and grandparents who I met were both interesting and kind. Nothing was too much trouble…they helped me whenever they could. I remember taking a group of children to the jousting at the Tower of London with my then boyfriend, when we got back to Columbia Road the Frogeye Sprite which he drove had been completely cleaned by older children as a way of saying thank you. I remember the names of only two teachers…the head was Miss Abbinett and the deputy head Gordon Tremain. One of my class who lived opposite the school was Sandra Hacker. I would love to hear from anyone who knew the school or has photos, try as I might I can find very little online.

By: Lisa Maflin

Lisa Maflin — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 15:15:48 +0000

Watch a film called The secret place. It is on YouTube, and it was made in 1959,it has Ravenscroft buildings,plus all the old georgian/victorian buildings and you can see shops etc and also george loveless house and james hammet house being built

By: Brian Smith

Brian Smith — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 10:08:01 +0000

I lived at 144 Ravenscroft Building until 1952. I went to Columbia Road School. My grandad Mr. Lee owned the wet fish shop in Columbia Road. My friends name was Barry Gad who lived in the next block to me. We used to play in the bomb out buildings opposite . I have lots of fond memories of these times. I would like to hear from anyone who knew my grandads wet fish shop.

By: Robert Wells

Robert Wells — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 23:22:18 +0000

I used to play inside the derelict Ravenscourt buildings in the early to mid 80s when I was around 8 to 10 years old. Part of them had been demolished so we would enter a flat and the living room wall would be gone and we would be looking down onto the street below. It was my playground with my friends Jamie Fullerton,Mark Ali and Ricky Debuse. A childhood of exploring and doing things that todays nippers don’t and won’t ever experience. When the East End was really just that,a place full of cockneys. Nowadays it’s full of people who will never know that history,on the other hand it has become a vibrant multicultural place to be,that will change one day and another chapter will begin because as always it is a wonderful place that draws in people from far and wide.

By: Syd Grisley

Syd Grisley — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 15:39:47 +0000

Lived at Ravenscroft Buildings with my mother in a 2 room flat, across the landing was Michael’s Glenn’s place, he was a few years older than me, but we had great times in the early 1950’s, going over the “bomb sites” left by the war.
My mother Rachael(Ray to everybody) was a dinner lady at Virgina Rd infant school from the age of 5.
My mother married Dave the milkman, when I was 5 in 1950. We moved to Jones Dairy in the early 60’s.

By: Lionel Clarke

Lionel Clarke — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:34:21 +0000

We lived in 3 Angela street, in the 50’s, I went to Columbia Road school, then on to Shoreditch Central Hoxton Street. However, I delivered papers to the area, including the Black Buildings (as they were called then), it was vey dark inside those flats narrow corridors, there was waste ground around them as well. The flats, across the road (still going up C.road), were fairly modern and had a courtyard. the area was featured in a film “A Kid for Two Farthings”. When the old market was demolished (had been used for storage), all the rats legged it and were everywhere, including Angela Street. we were compulsory purchased in early 60’s. I knew the area quite well as I went all over with the crowd from school. My two sisters were born in Mildmay Mission Hospital, I attended Shoreditch Tabernacle on Sunday mornings

By: Pauline Taylor

Pauline Taylor — Sat, 18 May 2024 23:13:25 +0000

I was looking at this interesting article again and see that I left an early comment which makes very little sense so I will try to explain. I am very interested in all the buildings and markets associated with Baroness Burdett- Coutts as she was a great friend of my grandmother’s cousin, the Frederick Greenwood that I mentioned, and he, as the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette and a lifelong journalist, helped her with all her endeavours. She died on 30th December 1906 and the burial took place at Westminster Abbey on 5th January 1907, attended by a vast congregation. The inscribed stone was laid down in April 1908. One of the pall bearers at her funeral was Frederick Greenwood although he was by then a rather elderly man himself and died a few years later.

By: Marilyn Lane nee Moffatt

Marilyn Lane nee Moffatt — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 18:34:56 +0000

I lived in the prefabs in Ravenscroft street from 1945 to 1964 I went to Columbia road school
The picture of carol court I remember her from school days

By: Jeffrey Klipp

Jeffrey Klipp — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 15:08:24 +0000

My parents and grandparents lived in Ravenscroft Buildings in the 1940’s.

My mother’s parents were Joe & Sarah Leckstein, my mother was Esther and had two brothers John & Mickey and two sisters Bella & Gertie.

My father’s parents Mark & Jesse. My father was Dave and had a brother Charlie.

Jesse ran the ‘bagwash’ on Columbia road.

Does anybody remember any of them?