epw053676 ENGLAND (1937). St John the Baptist's Church and Station Road, Harrow, 1937

The building must have gone through several changes of use in its life. I have a friend whose father ran a plastic recycling business there in the 1970s and 80s. He said that it was at one time a dairy (very close to the United Dairies place, so perhaps the stables for the rounds horses). It all went some years ago and public conveniences were built there. These too have already now gone.

I believe that the old Havelock building is a smaller building to the right of your marker nearer St Ann's Road and on the other side of the Harrow Observer building. The building you have indicated is the North Thames Gas showroom.



The original Havelock pub was a small old fashioned pub that was demolished and rebuilt in about 1960.

I take the Lairds comment, I'm inclined to agree with him here.

Quite right, it was LLoyd's Bank.

Yes, I agree, Lloyds Bank was on this corner. My mother worked there in the seventies.

Yes this is the Natwest Bank but at the time the photo was taken this was the Provincial Bank.

I don't know, but the Union Jack on The Popular Stores (Co-Op) in High Street Wealdstone was flying that day too. Sure that would not be common in middle of the war.

Spanish Civil War?

I grew up in Harrow in the 1950's and I believe this building was the register office so it might have been a wedding!

I think that this was actually the Gayton Rooms. These were function rooms and hall run by Wright Coopers, Bakers & Confectioners. It was at one time the main function venue in this part of Harrow and did good business. It also hosted local masonic lodge meetings - probably before the masonic centre in Northwick Circle was inaugurated in the early fifties. It can be seen that the building at the rear towards Greenhill Crescent was quite extensive. The building was demolished in about 1967 and replaced by a new building housing Universal Stationers. I believe that Superdrug now occupy this building.

What lovely big houses there were in St John's Road, Lyon Road and Gayton Road at this time. Starting from about 1960 on, Harrow began to go mad and proceeded to tear them down and replace them with stark office blocks and blocks of flats. Several of these were council offices! I remember that one of these revoltingly ugly blocks in Lyon Road was occupied by the National Coal Board...in Harrow!

This was a chain of chinaware shops.