BLACKFRIARS ROAD

Gladys Hogg from Row 139 (Paget's), married Leslie Gibbs, the son of the Butcher in Blackfriars Road. Gibbs owned the house on Blackfriars Road, looking up the Road towards the north. The shop can be seen in the picture.

The rooms above the shop were used for store rooms. Gibbs father died, and left two other sons, George and Norman, and a daughter, Joan. The other son, Norman, took a butchery business in Lowestoft. The fishmerchant, Howes, can be seen on the boat evacuating people in the flood. There was never a cellar, but the shop was flooded, and suffered some damage. In 1972, the shops and houses were all demolished, and the modern square flats now seen were erected by the council. There was another butcher across the road‑ Mays. Between them they supplied meat to the whole of the south of the town. The Gibbs also delivered meat to Belton.

Middleton's had one of their newsagent's shops in Blackfriars Road. The Blackfriars Post office, now run by Sidney and Marjorie Critoph, was started by Mr.Welch, who had the Middlegate post office until it closed. The building was owned by the Leslie Gibbs. Child's newsagents shop was at one time a butchers. The Gibbs family all stayed in the town during the war. Gladys and Leslie had one son, also Leslie, who has married Diane. They have two boys, Iain and Niall.

Fred Bultitude lived with his Aunt Hilda at 132 Blackfriars Road whilst still at school. He took an interest in the Jew's cemetery, and although only a young lad and with difficulty getting about, he voluntarily kept the burial ground clear. He expressed a desire that there should be a history of the burial ground at the site, and that it be better looked after.

Augustus Wilson (2nd.), had a shop in Blackfriars Road, his father having the shop in Middlegate. He was trained as a carpenter, and in the second war went with Boulton and Paul building the R.A.F. stations. In 1951 he was the foreman for Bovis, re-building the Marks and Spencer Store. He was photographed by P.E.Rumbelow at the bottom of the excavated hole awaiting the foundations. (described in the opening treatise) He was also on the team building Erie resistor. His father Augustus had been in the team building the Watney's maltings before 1900. His son augustus was in the construction crew re-building St.Nicholas Church in the 1960's. There are photos of all these construction crews.

Percy Brown, father of Doris, son of a lifeboatman, followed in his father's footsteps, assuming the father's position on retirement. This then meant a move to Gorleston to live near to the life-boat shed. He had to be within ready cycling distance. In those days the crew owned shares in the boat. His father, John Brown, was master of the dredger the "Industry"*3. This dredger was used in the river, and the mud dumped into "hoppers", barges that then took the mud to be dumped out at sea. In the first war he was in the navy, serving on H.M.S. Inflexible a battle-cruiser, which was in the Falkland Islands during 1916-17. In the second war he joined the merchant navy. John was married to Basilesa Bream of row 59, a beatster.

*3 photo G.Y.M., 7th.April 1989.