No.8 was a grocer's until the 1890s when it became a baker's. It traded as Beanland's at the turn of the century and then Davidson's until the 1960s. It was taken over by Beetie's in 1984, let to the present occupier in 1998 and remains a very popular bakery. [Don't forget that downstairs you can enjoy delicious homemade food –and a copy of the Sentinel in the Victoria Tearooms. –Ed.]

No.9 has perhaps enjoyed the most consistent usage of all the shops. It opened as a linen draper's in 1861, remaining a draper's and milliner's until the 1960s. In the 1930s it was owned by Edith Beaver, who continued trading there for over thirty years. It has been a newsagent's since 2003/4. [Last month we mentioned Mary, Alice and Elizabeth, daughters of Joseph Charlesworth, who was the great-great grandfather of Robert Welbourn, now a Sentinel reader residing in the United States. The ladies were drapers and milliners at No.9 in 1881] 

No.10 was the Village butcher's shop from 1871 – perhaps most famously trading as Feather's. Mr. Horace Feather bred his own cattle, including some Highland, off Thompson Lane and also in fields closer to Shipley. From 1995 until being taken over by architects Rance, Booth & Smith in 2003/4 the shop was the  local newsagent's.

CAN YOU HELP TO FILL THE GAPS?
Does anyone remember a cycle shop at No.8 – or anywhere else along Victoria Road?
If you recall more about any of the shops, you can help the Sentinel to record recent history for future generations. We look forward to hearing from you.

Roger Clarke