A postcard view titled Coldharbour Lane Loughborough Junction, Published by Charles Martin, 39 Aldermanbury, London E.C. card number 1536. It is undated but was post franked 20th November 1906.

It look like, and it was a relatively prosperous area with many shops and services available for local shopping. To the immediate left is Loughborough Road and on the right Hinton Road.

On the left you have at number 224 the chemist shop owned by Henry Isaac Stephens, operating from at least 1880 to 1906. It was a chemist both before with Frederick Matthews in 1876 and after Mr Stephens right up to David Andrew Rees. Unfortunately destroyed during WW11, it is rather apt that in the new build of shops and apartments a relocated Junction Pharmacy now inhabits the same ground.

Behind Stephens the chemists we had at 222 Wybrow & Son, undertakers and at 220 Home and Colonial Stores, at 218 James Clark ran a fishmongers and Ranstead & Cornwell were butchers at number 216. Station Avenue was off to the left just after the butchers, also with many shops and a cafe.

After Station Avenue you can see the sign for Frederick Robert Ohlson who ran a pawnbrokers in what older locals may remember as the dentists (that’s another story) and what is now the launderette at number 214. And at number 210 James Clark ran a fried fish bar.

Plum centre of our postcard is , of course the platform of Loughborough Junction railway station. On the far side of the Railway bridge on the right hand side you can just make out the tower of the Loughborough Park Congregational Church.

On our way back from the railway bridge we have at number 209 The Imperial Stores run by Robert Harrison, then George Lambert a confectioner at number 211.

Then at 213 Ernest Gibbs & Co who were Estate Agents, the Miss Mary Jane Clegg who ran the Oil Shop succeeding her mother Mrs E Clegg who in turn ran the business after the death of her husband Samuel, who opened the shop in 1872. At 217 Benjamin Hockaday ran an Ironmongers with as you can see in the postcard a very prominent shop sign. Miss Elizabeth Hubbard had a fancy stores shop at 219 and the Reed Brothers ran a butchers shop at 221. And finally on the corner of Coldharbour Lane and Hinton Road at number 223 was AW Davies The Bakers, Andrew Davies had another shop in Herne Hill.

Here is a postcard showing the Herne Hill shop, just at the right hand edge of the card with am impressive hand cart parked outside.