Photographer's note: '51 a corner building was built in 1929 as Montague Burton’s first purpose-built shop in Woolwich, after the clearance of a large outfitter’s (Thompson and Jackson) for road widening. Architecture was an important part of Burtons’ pitch, and Harry Wilson, the firm’s in-house architect, deployed here a version of one of several lively types, using faience in a neo-Egyptian mode. The builders were W. H. Gaze and Sons of Kingston. Remarkably, most of the original shopfront survives (behind shuttering), with Burtons’ usual black-granite surrounds, slender wooden mullions, and even some curved corner glass. The upper storey was probably a billiard hall, to attract working-class male customers. The shop was converted to a restaurant in the 1980s, with a bright yellow fascia. The upper storey has become a club.'
This is part of the Job: 2K/32093 Woolwich, Greenwich, Greater London; within the Volume: VF000537 High Streets Heritage Action Zone: Woolwich; within the Series: HEC01/054 High Streets Heritage Action Zone: Woolwich; within the Collection: HEC01 Historic England
© Historic England Archive
Photographer: Redgrave, Christopher: Historic England
Shop, Cafe, Wine Bar, Restaurant