Brampton Street

Brookend Street

Ross-on-Wye

Shop Fronts

12 & 13 Broad Street

• [2009]King Charles II
• [2006]King Charles II
• [1960]King Charles' Bar
• [1952]King Charles' Bar
• [1949]King Charles' Bar
• [1938]Charles Edwards (Late T. W. Purchas & sons)
• [1936]Charles Edwards (Late T. W. Purchas & sons)
• [1933]Charles Edwards (Late T. W. Purchas & sons)
• [1933]Chas. Edwards Ltd
• [1935]Edwards Wine Merchants
• [1923]Edwards - Charles Edwards (Worcester) Ltd
• [1900]T. W. Purchas & Sons
• [1890]T. W. Purchas & Sons
• [1790]T. W. Purchas

T. W. Purchas & Sons

T. W. Purchas & Sons advert2 Wine and Spirit Merchants (Click for a larger image)

17 Broad Street (Raglan House)

• [2009] Natures Choice
• [2006] Natures Choice
• [2006?] Nature's Choice Restaurant
• [2000] Fresh Grounds
• [1999] Fresh Grounds Restaurant
• [1971] E. and A. Caterer

E. and A. Caterer

17 Broad Street circa 1963 (Click for a larger image)

E. and A. Caterer5 (Click for a larger image)

Natures Choice

17 Broad Street on 23/11/2008 (Click for a larger image)

Natures Choice (Click for a larger image)

Natures Choice is a café restaurant and a Guest House in an elegant Grade II listed Queen Anne building. It was taken over by Dean & Anna Clarke in around December 2008. [ natureschoicecafe.co.uk ].

22 Broad Street

• [2009] Seven Seas Fishbar
• [2006] Seven Seas Fishbar
• [1999] Seven Seas Fishbar
• [????] Ross Fish & Kebab Bar
• [1950] E.Sollis?
• [1905] DE Smith. Baker

David E. Smith

22 Broad Street circa 1910 (Click for a larger image)

David E. Smith2 (Click for a larger image)

24 Broad Street

• [2009] JDs & Jaquelines Night Club
• [2007] JDs & Jaquelines Night Club
• [2006] Jacqueline's
• [1968] Fear's Restaurant & Bakery
• [1965] Fear's Restaurant & Bakery
• [1952] Fears Grill
• [1933] William J. Williams
• [1908] R.G.Wade

Jacqueline's

24 Broad Street in 2006 (Click for a larger image)

Fears Restaurant & Bakery

In 1890 Mr. Francis John Fear opened up a bakery business at Viaduct Stores, Lower Lydbrook. After Francis's death, the bakery was carried on by his wife and later passed into the hands of her son, Reginald Francis Fear⁸.

In 1925 Harvey Fear was born at the store, born into the baking business, and by the age of eight he was delivering loaves to the houses local to the store. As he grew up, Harvey assisted by shovelling coke into the furnace and by mixing the dough.

In September 1941, aged 16, Harvey joined the Merchant Navy as a galley boy where he continued bread making in between peeling vegetables and a multitude of other jobs.

Later in his career, he became a ship's baker working in the Mediterranean and also moving Americans from Southampton to Le Havre after the D Day landings.

In 1946, he left the merchant navy and returned to the bakery in Lydbrook. Four years later, on 12th November 1950, Harvey took over the bakery in Broad Street Ross-on-Wye (which was where Jacqueline's cafe is now) from William J. Williams.

The site Fear`s Restaurant & Bakery (Click for a larger image)

The site of the Top Spot Ballroom (Click for a larger image)

The bakery then became Fear's Restaurant & Bakery and this was before Sunday opening in Wales and they served coach loads of visitors who came to Ross for a Sunday outing. Because the front was the restaurant, the baking was carried out in a building at the rear of the premises. This building was demolished to make way for the Top Spot Ballroom in 1964. Harvey sold the premises to Henry Danter and it then became Jacqueline's.

24 Broad Street circa 1972 (Click for a larger image)

Fears Restaurant & Bakery6 (Click for a larger image)

25 Broad Street

• [2017] The Ross Bakery
• [2016] Golden Crust Bakery closed
• [2009] Golden Crust Bakery
• [1984] Golden Crust Bakery (Richard Pearce)
• [1973] Golden Crust Bakery (Harvey Fear)
• [1960-1965] Ross-on-Wye Radio Ltd.
• [1949] Ross-on-Wye Radio Ltd.
• [1948] Browns Fish and Fruit Market

The Golden Crust Bakery

25 Broad Street in 2006 (Click for a larger image)

In around 1973 Harvey Fear took over the premises next door and started The Golden Crust Bakery where he continued to hand make bread although the premises had solid brick gas-fired ovens⁸.

On the 12th November 1984, aged 59, he retired and sold the business to Mr. Richard Pearce, of Tewkesbury who, with his wife Lorraine, moved to Ross to run The Golden Crust Bakery; both of whom had previously work in other high quality bakeries and had worked in the bakery trade for 34 years⁷.

Prior to the move Richard was foreman baker in a large family bakery in Cheltenham and Lorraine had specialised in cake decoration in another bakery in Cheltenham. She joined Richard and this made The Golden Crust a complete Family Bakery.

They met each other whilst training at the North Gloucestershire College of Technology in Cheltenham; this was regarded as the best bakery school in Europe at that time. Their family were also very involved in the bakery with Adrian, their eldest son who had been trained by his parents, bringing lots of creative ideas to the shop window. Their other son, Nicholas, also joined the team, working weekends as he still at John Kyrle High School. On Friday 12th November 2004, exactly 20 years after taking over the shop, the bakery celebrated 20 years of supplying quality baking to Ross with a 25% discount day.

The Golden Crust Bakery (Click for a larger image)

50A Broad Street

• [2009] Phones 4U
• [2007] Phones 4U
• [2006] Under development
• [2005] J Benjamin
• [1905] J Benjamin

Benjamin Cash Chemists

50A Broad Street circa 1910 (Click for a larger image)

Benjamin Cash Chemists2 (Click for a larger image)

The Lamb Inn

The Lamb Inn c.19384 W. Davis - Accomodation and cuisine (Click for a larger image)

55 Broad Street

• [2017] Mervyn James - Closing down sale in November
• [2009] Mervyn James
• [2006] Mervyn James
• [2003] Mervyn James
• [1999] Mervyn James Ltd
• [1975] Mervyn James Ltd
• [1971] Mervyn James
• [1965] Mervyn James
• [1960] Eltome & Son
• [1923] Eltome & Son
• [1914] Eltome & Son
• [1910] G. Eltome
• [1905] George Eltome
• [1900] G Eltome
• [Est 1893] Eltome & Son

George Eltome

55 Broad Street circa 1910 (Click for a larger image)

George Eltome2 (Click for a larger image)

George Eltome advert3 Hatter, Hosier, Glover. Shirt & Collar maker. (Click for a larger image)

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¹ Burrow's Wye Valley Illustrated Hereford to Chepstow - 4th Edition (circa 1950)
² The Wye Valley Illustrated from Hereford to Chepstow
No.323 Burrows Royal Handbooks [Fifth Edition c.1910]
published by Edward J. Burrow (1)
³ Ross The official Guide of the Ross Urban District Council
No.287 The "Borough" Guides [c.1903-1914]
printed by Lawrence & Fowler, Market Place, Ross (2)
⁴ Ross - The Gateway of the Wye Valley - Ross-on-Wye Chamber of Commerce [c.1938] (3)
⁵ Ross - The Gateway of the Wye Valley - Ross-on-Wye Chamber of Commerce [c.1963]
⁶ Ross - The Gateway of the Wye Valley - Ross-on-Wye Chamber of Commerce [c.1972]
⁷ Ross Gazette - 11th November 2004
⁸ Ross Gazette - 15th November 1984

Brampton Street

Brookend Street