Eleanor Crow’s East End Ironmongers
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Daniel Lewis & Son Ltd, Hackney Rd
As you can see, illustrator Eleanor Crow shares my love of ironmongers. “The inventive displays and signage of hardware stores make these my favourite shopfronts,” she confessed to me, “I have only to see the serried ranks of brooms, pots, latches and pans to be reminded of some useful item that needs purchasing immediately.” Alas, three favourites have closed recently but we trust the others will be fulfilling our architectural ironmongery and plumbing requirements for years to come.
C W Tyzack, Kingsland Rd
Bernardes Trading Ltd, Barking Rd
Bradbury’s, Broadway Market
Chas Tapp, Southgate Rd
Emjay Decor, Bethnal Green Rd
General Woodwork Supplies, Stoke Newington High St
Diamond Ladder Factory, Lea Bridge Rd
Farringdon Tool Supplies, Exmouth Market
Histohome, Stoke Newington High St
KAC Hardware, Church St
Leyland SDM, Balls Pond Rd
KTS the Corner, Kingsland Rd
Mix Hardware, Blackstock Rd
City Hardware, Goswell Rd
Travis Perkins, Kingsland Rd
SX, Essex Rd
Illustrations copyright © Eleanor Crow
You may also like to see Eleanor Crow’s other East End illustrations
Eleanor Crow’s East End Bakers
Eleanor Crow’s East End Fish Shops
and read about more ironmongers
At London’s Oldest Ironmongers
Receipts from London’s Oldest Ironmongers
I love a good ironmongers but, as you state here, they are a dying breed. A recent campaign has saved one in Kings Heath, Birmingham, in the region where I live. The usual toxic mix of falling footfall and rising rents. I think ironmongers are Aladdin’s caves where you can buy exactly as much as you need – if you only need 6 brass screws, you don’t need to buy a big plastic pack with a hundred in for example. And if you need fork handles, everyone knows what you mean. Thanks Eleanor and the GA for showcasing these wonderful illustrations.
Wakefield’s 680-682 Lea Bridge Rd!
I love a hardware shop, and was thrilled when I moved down here that many more survive than in the conurbations I was used to up north, where a lot of people live in out-of-town suburbs and you’re never far from a B&Q. Also, the constancy of urban houses and flats being improved in London means there are always tradespeople to keep the shops, and often a local caff, going. Obviously Amazon etc are having their impact, but long may local ironmongers (like those I know in Herne Hill and Camberwell) continue!
Ms. Crow, You have done a magnificent job of developing many techniques that allow you to portray the sites that you love. It takes a long time to learn to make the bricks look believable, to place the trellis over other objects without the underlying layers showing through. Thank you for this polished work that reflects your joy in observing the beautiful shapes and colors of the shops.
Wonderful illustrations…… sadly, Harris’s, the much-mourned hardware shop in Totnes, closed a while ago. All those useful bits and pieces, and the nostalgic paraffin smell as you walked in….
When I lived out at Upminster there was an ironmongers in a side street near the station called Jarvo’s (sadly long gone). I used to love going in there with my husband who’d buy bits for Heath Robinson type things he was banging together in our garden shed.
Jarvo’s had everything, it was a very muddled shop but the assistants knew exactly where everything was. If you wanted something like a door handle from as far back as the early 50s they’d be able to find you one, such was their extensive range of stock!