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17 Suffolk Parade (formerly 3 Suffolk Parade South)In 1830, at or shortly after the time that Suffolk Parade was developed, number 3 was probably occupied by a shopkeeper called Richard Claridge, although it is not clear that he actually ran a shop from these premises. By 1838 this had changed to a Miss Matthews, who was listed as being among the "resident gentry" of the town.  1859
The commercial development of this property had certainly occurred by 1850, when Richard Lamb had a chemist shop here. He left Cheltenham in 1855, after which the premises were taken over by Mr Edward Gregory, a surgeon-dentist. His advertisement of 1859 may cause us to be thankful for modern dentistry! He soon sold it to Mr Edmund Wood who resumed the chemist's business until about 1870.
By 1881 John Sims had acquired these premises, and number 2 next door, for his bakery business. John, born in Wotton under Edge in 1830 where his father was a baker, was married to Matilda and lived here with their 5 children and various apprentices and servants. He not only baked bread here but was also a corn factor, or corn dealer. In 1892 Sims was already an institution in Suffolk Parade and they were then trading as bakers, corn factors and seedsmen from the double-fronted shop. They also had a branch at Montpellier Exchange, advertising themselves as confectioners, producing fancy goods such as wedding cakes, ices, jellies and blancmanges. John Sims' son Frederick was born in Cheltenham in 1861, becoming an assistant to his father in the 1880s and then progressing to master baker and shopkeeper, eventually inheriting the business.
Fred Sims owned this 1903 Oldsmobile dogcart, registered to him at 17 Suffolk Parade. It had a smart curved dashboard to keep splashes off the drivers legs and was a revolutionary car when it was introduced - silent, light, easy to drive and reliable. Steering was by means of a tiller, on which was mounted the horn. A one cylinder engine, generating 4hp, occupied the space under the seats, previously used to carry dogs. The top speed was 20 mph. Typical of the type, the slim, high wheels resemble those on a bicycle. The bodywork was painted black, with details picked out in red and the sidelamp and headlamp were oil-filled. Although fitted with a hood, the car would have provided little protection from inclement weather.
 1943
Fred Sims died at the age of 66 in 1926, at his home in Montpellier Terrace, passing the shop to his son John Fred Sims, but not before Fred had founded and become managing director of the Daffodil cinema next door. The Sims business closed in the late 1930s and these premises were divided back into two shops, this one remaining a bakers and confectioners under Mr Tom Banks. He was here throughout World War II and passed the business on to Walter Raven in about 1950.
 1950
The bakery trade finally ended here in the late 1960s and by 1975 this property housed one of the many antique shops that have graced Suffolk Parade, called A.Brook, Antiques.
In the early years of the 21st century this was the home of White Room Images, which produced wedding and portrait photography and was owned and managed by David Dare.
In February 2015 the shop changed hands once more to become The Suffolk Anthology, a popular independent bookshop and cafe owned by Helene Hewett. This in turn closed on 8th January 2022 and was replaced by a cafe called Suffolk Coffee.
Researcher: Stuart Manton (Jan 2023) |
Suffolk Coffee
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