Wood Vale shops and facilities - where have they gone

[malumbu]

I was surprised to find that many places had gone, the Moore Park Hotel and Moore Park Garage had been turned into residential, and similarly the sub post office and hairdressers.

Why did these go?

Wood Vale supermarket and Libretto butchers still flying the flag.

Friends in Forest Hill have discussed the garage going: https://www.se23.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=11858

[jazzer]

Thought you said you lived in Underhill Rd? Cause if you did you'd have known about the decline of the parade of shops in Woodvale.

Moore Park Hotel, well that ceased being a pub, I'd guess 30 years ago

The post office/newsagent went at least 20 years ago

The office licence went probably at a similar time

What is Woodvale Supermarket was previously owned and run by an Italian family before it changed hands and has been several reincarnations

And the what is it, is it a Butchers or is it a junk shop with all the clutter in the front window, irregular opening times, closed at lunch, closed for a month to five weeks in August, Actually I have no idea how that runs as a business, seems more like a vanity project. If it went, personally it would not be missed. 

 

 

  

[Penguin68]

I think it was me saying I lived in Underhill and then pointed out things that were no longer there. Mal appears to have picked up on that and started a new thread. But he only ever claimed to have passed through Underhill I believe. 

  On 22/03/2025 at 22:06, jazzer said:

And the what is it, is it a Butchers or is it a junk shop with all the clutter in the front window, irregular opening times, closed at lunch, closed for a month to five weeks in August, Actually I have no idea how that runs as a business, seems more like a vanity project. If it went, personally it would not be missed. 

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Librettos is probably the best butcher in ED. It opens on very declared hours. It shuts over a longish break in August because most of its customers are away enough to make opening loss making. It was open throughout lock down and a life saver then. Kim Libretto has served the district for 40+ years when he bought the shop as a going concern. As it very much still is. As a sole trader with no staff he closes for lunch for obvious reasons. 

[jazzer]

Wouldn't shop there, needs to clear the junk so you can see his produce and from memory I don't think there are any prices displayed. Not for me. 

[George Orwell]

I think the sub Post Office closed in 2014 - my photo is dated 2015. There's a plaque high up on the wall calling the parade - Moore Park Terrace. Many. many years ago there was betting shop in the extreme left end premises too.

The garage sometime in 2014.

[Penguin68]

There was also an off licence I think in the 1980s. Indeed the whole row was shops, now only two left. The CTN couldn't survive once it lost the sub post office trade. 

[jazzer]

Can't remember if the off license was independent or a chain, don't think it was Unwins. 

[malumbu]

  11 hours ago, George Orwell said:

I think the sub Post Office closed in 2014 - my photo is dated 2015. There's a plaque high up on the wall calling the parade - Moore Park Terrace. Many. many years ago there was betting shop in the extreme left end premises too.

 

The garage sometime in 2014.

 

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Thanks George.  The sub post office sold penny sweets - a blast from the past.  They were happy to let the post office go as they told me there had been some serious robberies - with menace.  But it didn't last much longer

Roy operated from very old coach house building from the adjacent hotel, he sold these and built a brand new facility, he had to use yellow brick, but then some personal stuff meant that he had to let it go, and there was no reason to keep a garage there so were turned into apartments.  There were some very shacky and old buildings on the other side (to the left as you look from the street) and a mobile mechanic used to work from there, but they went I think after Covid.

The coal sheds from the branch line would have been behind as well.

I phoned Robert Elms up on his programme when he was asking about a London pub which had doubled up as an undertakers.  It may have been the Moore Park Hotel but I was more interested in Elm's views as he doesn't recognise that SE London exists, Well, begrudgingly Peckham, as one of his kids lives there.

We did a local pub crawl many years ago starting with the hotel, which had been turned into flats by then, but we had some home made stout and made our own pub sign for a bit of fun.

Of course this side of the road is Lewisham, so we shouldn't be discussing it here, but I wont tell anyone.