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145 Bath Road (formerly 1 Westall Buildings)In the 19th century, before the modern street numbering, this row of shops was known as Westall Buildings, named after the former Westal Common Field through which the Upper Bath Road was built in 1813.
One of the earliest recorded inhabitants, in the 1841 national census, was John Jiles, a tailor. He was one of six members of this family and, being the eldest at just 20, we can surmise that they were all siblings and that their parents were either deceased or absent from home at that time. In 1894 this and the neighbouring property, forming 1,2 & 3 Westall Buildings were offered for sale by auction following the death of the owner Mr George Winstone. He had, for 30 years, conducted his Building and Builder's Merchant business from these premises. Altogether the sale consisted of three modern double-fronted shops, a dwelling house and a builder's yard with a double-door entrance from the Bath Road. Mr Winstone had advertised the property the year before, as he was retiring due to ill health, but died before finding a purchaser. The first quarter of the 20th century saw Robert Welch occupying these premises. Born about 1860, he was the son of Robert Welch and his wife Elizabeth and, like his father, was a master boot-and clog-maker. In the late 19th century Robert Welch senior had a boot making business in the High Street.
Known as Bob, Robert junior was a keen cyclist and a popular member of Cheltenham Road Cycling Club, taking part in many competitions both on the track and on the road. A moment of drama entered his life in late 1907, when he was the witness to a shooting and attempted murder in Painswick, arising from a matrimonial dispute between Ambrose Webb, a fishmonger of 140 Bath Road, and his wife Nelly Webb. Bob died, aged 59, here at his home in Bath Road, on March 5th 1919. For a short time from the mid 1920s this was a hardware shop belonging to Robert Harris.
The end of the 1920s saw the first of three confectioners and tobacconists here, Mrs A Yeates, who was also a collector for the football pools. Mr A.E. Gutteridge and Mrs C.H. Deeks were also both here during the 1930s. When Mrs Deeks left in 1935 the shop fittings were sold off and it seems the premises were then empty for a few years. In May 1937 the property was sold by public auction to the butcher Mr Leigh James for £350.  1950
After the war this shop was taken over by Mr George Bert Tucker and his family. Mr Tucker was an electrical engineer and this was just the place to go for the repair of your radio or, for the few who had them, televisions. The television service had been closed down on 1st September 1939 and was re-opened in June 1946, when it was broadcast by the BBC from Alexandra Palace in London. The effective range of the transmissions was only about 50 miles, so reception in Cheltenham was somewhat sporadic and subject to fade. Before the war the only place to receive pictures near the town was at the top of Cleeve Hill!
 c.1991 (photo courtesy of Cheltenham Local History Society)
The Tuckers also sold small electrical items and the usual batteries and bulbs. In 1948 they advertised reconditioned battery or mains-operated radios, at a bargain price of £6/15 shillings.
The shop changed trades in about 1950 when Mr W.R. Cambridge took over. Mr Cambridge was an antique dealer and well respected in Bath Road. The shop still later became an office of the Chelsea Building Society, and then the charity shop Age Concern. Researcher: Marilyn West
Updated: Stuart Manton (May 2018) |
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