castle street

Redfearns Castle Street Hastings 1995

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photo © Hastings Public Library

Merv Kennard… I remember this shop well fishing tackle, maggots, lugworm.

Andy Hemsley… I started my fishing journey here. I still use the porcupine quill floats that I got here nearly half a century ago.

Steve Cooke…I was a customer for many years for both freshwater and sea fishing in local rivers (when they were fresh water) and the sea, mainly off the pier. Happy days.

Andrew Clifton… I used to get, maggots in there.

Sid Saunders… I was told Mr Redfearn the owner was a prisoner in a Japanese prison camp during WW2. I was into sea fishing and got lots of bait etc from him. Lovely man.

Julian Deeprose… Many tales (fisherman’s) to tell. Stan Redfearn was a wonderful man and when I was a teenager I used to dig lug for him, it was a wonderful family business with the twin sisters and Stan’s wife running it. A proper family business. Stan even allowed me credit when I bought a then hugely expensive rod from him. I paid it off at £2 per week

Micky Erends… I spade dug Lugworm for Redfearns

 

 

Mastins Castle Street Hastings – sold sign

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photo © Hastings Public Library

John Gale… What a lovely old building that was .what a horrible replacement too.

Angela Frances Gardner… My mother brought me my first bra there she was very optimistic as I never grew into it .

Tony Court-holmes… my mum worked there in the late 50s early 60s

Colin Bell… My Uncle George managed menswear, when i was a kid, very Grace Brothers!

Gerry Fortsch… I had completely forgotten about this shop.

Mike Mitchell… I have a memory of seeing Father Christmas there…. Long time ago

Carol Paffett… Lovely shop , always had Father Christmas

Karen Towner… Loved you Mastins – from my young self

Amanda Hilton… I have a photo of me with Father Christmas in Mastins circa 1965!!!

Linda Gowans…  My main memory is trying to wait patiently while my mother tried on what seemed like every hat in the shop, gradually reducing the choice until she finally came to a decision!

Gary Benton… Loved going to Mastins as a kid.

Linda Turnbull… Remember it well.

Jasper Bitter… I hadn’t realised that the older of the two office blocks had gone up whilst Mastins was still around. I don’t recall ever going there. When did it go? Was it another unexplained Hastings phenomenon aka spontaneous ignition leading to a major fire?

Sandy Max… Jasper, no it was sold off when the council wanted to ‘renew’ the area. Shame, the old building was so much nicer

Sandy Max… We cared for Ron the last owner of the store in one of the rest homes I worked in. Lovely man, he had a wealth of stories about the place and it’s people

Chris Meachen… I loved going in Mastins at Christmas, it was brilliant, especially the huge & spectacular light fitting which hung in the grand stairwell. When they started to demolish it I snuck in & stood very still in one of those big display windows, waiting for people to notice me, when I would suddenly move. All jolly good fun…

Kevin White… Wasn’t that the shop that had a model train in the window and you dropped a penny down the shute and it went round the circuit?

Jane Hartley… Kevin, no that was along Marina. My God mother worked in Mastins. I remember the Christmas grotto, was the best ever.

Steve Holland… My Auntie Francis Frazer worked there a very smart Lady .

 

Mastins Castle Street Hastings – Toy Fair November 1965 and 1966

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Who remembers Mastins?

Nicola Dobson… I do…went in there a lot and when young used to like Father Christmas and the decorated paths to get there

Steve Cooke… Remember Mastins very well. My grandparents both worked there, boarded there on the top floor in the men’s and women’s quarters. They met each other there, married, had two children and remained in Hastings all their lives.

Alan Esdaile… Remember a very impressive Christmas grotto and seeing Father Christmas with my sister.

Shaun Pont… I remember Father Christmas’s Grotto downstairs. Where Iceland is now?

Jane Hartley… The best grotto ever. My God mother worked in Mastins

Andy Davies… Childhood memories loved Mastins

Lynn Graham… A family friend was the manager in the sixties.

Graham Sherrington… such memories

Brenda Cruttenden… A lovely shop. My sister in law worked there for years. It would be lovely to have these shops back again

Milletts Hastings Top Ten – 1978

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milletts

Thanks to Pete Fairless for finding this commercial…

Jim Breeds… Bonjour matelot!

Wendy Weaver… I don’t remember the advert I remember Millets – not in Hastings though. Graham said the Hastings Millets was where Argos is now?

Peter Fairless… Yep, it’s on the right…

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Sue James… Used to always buy my Levi’s from there

Roy Penfold… Did they move over to the end of Queens Arcade at some point?

Peter Fairless… Probably, when their shop was demolished?

Alan Esdaile… I used to like Huckells.

Pete Fairless… Flash git!

Dave Nattress… Yes Alan, in the (my) smart stage as the hair got slightly neater and slightly shorter, Huckells and Fab Boutique were the places to go to to buy the horrendous flares, smart shirts with weird designs and platform shoes.  The disco’s of the day beckoned.  Milletts was also a good place to go to.  In Bexhill there was only Peter Jackson’s clothes shop on the corner of Sackville Road and Wickham Avenue.  Good for Levi 501’s and Dickies jeans in very dark Blue only and stiff as boards and it took lots of effort and washes to get them to begin to fade. The other must have were dark Brown suede type ankle boots called “fell boots” I think – distinct from the lighter “desert boots”.  Then for the military great coats, ex. US Forces combat jackets, (Korean war vintage I think), and general army surplus it was of course the trading post.

Tim Moose Bruce… Remember Baldocks in George Street?

Tony Court-holmes… allways got my jeans at Baldocks

John Beeching… Baldock’s for jeans, Malcolm’s boutique for most everything else.

The Trading Post Castle Street Hastings

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photo: Leigh Kennedy

David Martin… I remember when Terry Ransome owned it

Alan Esdaile… Dave, so do I remember Terry. Always nice and helpful. He built the first lot of disco gear for Colin Bell.

Teresa Mary Ann  Mercer… David, my uncle was Terry Ransom

Lee Twigge… The Trading Post….70s/80s version of Aldis. All sorts of crap you never knew you needed

Harry Randall… the Indian shop near Warrior Square was Priti Novelties,I think. The other two shops – the Trading Post and Malcolm Mitchell’s – were both great shops that I loved but neither liked kids in there. I was always being told not to touch anything

Peter Houghton… Harry, I loved shopping in the Indian Shop

Richard J Porter… Howard Bates, wasn’t it? South East Computers and the cake shop across the road. The upstairs over those shops were his too

Judy Atkinson… Richard, yes, it was his wife that ran the Trading Post. My husband used to work for South East Computers

Bill Boydell… One of the best shops in Hastings was Butlers Emporium at the end of George Street. The range of goods they sold was outstanding.

Reid McDuffie… LOVED The Trading Post

Phil Thornton… Reid, likewise !

Roger Simmonds… Loved the trading post !

Tim Moose Bruce… The other Trading Post that sold the electronic stuff was one of my favourite shops. They sold electronic kits by an Italian company called Amtron. Built my first stereo from these kits when I was at school. ( 1974). Got a pair of Grundig twin cone speakers from them and built the cabs at school woodworking lessons with acoustic wadding from a shop in Bexhill that did Kef speaker kits. Great times.

Angela Frances Gardner… A great shop to get anything!

Toker Tokin… Great place to shop

Sharon Sellens… in the 70s my Dad told us that if you couldn’t get what you were looking for in the Trading Post or Butler’s Emporium then it probably didn’t exist! Mum added Mozeley’s & Vale Hardware to that list xx

Nigel Ford… bought many odd tools & DIY items there over the years, also camouflage jacket & trousers, hence why you don’t often see me…..

Chris Fitzgerald… Can anyone remember the name of the cafe that was next to the Cafe Royale. It became the Kingfisher. I worked there washing up during school holidays in 1981.

Eileen O’Toole… Anyone remember Austin’s China and glass shop along there

Nick Prince… I am pleased to say the the Cafe Royale still exists in name and still has it’s Steak Pie and 3 Veg on it’s menu.

Candy Clark… So miss trading post. Brilliant shop. Still got tins that I use. Quality

Will Edmunds… I worked there in the late 70’s

Tony Hughes… I would love looking for bargains in this shop, brilliant

 

 

Who remembers Green Shield Stamps?

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Hastings Tesco advert 1964

Leigh Wieland-Boys… Yep! Bought a porcelain horse!

Flanko Fin Barr… yep i still got a panda my mum got me back in the 60s.

Lucy Pappas… I remember filling up books and books of greenshield stamps. No idea what we swapped them for!

Alan Esdaile… Remember going for an interview for a warehouse job in the Green Shield Stamp shop in Castle Street. Queued with others for about a hour and when it was my turn, they said I was too young for the job but gave me a cigarette for waiting!

Mark Gilham… I remember getting into huge trouble trying to cash these in at Wadhurst Post Office when I was about 8

Jim Breeds… As far as i recall the first supermarket in Hastings was Victor Value, and when it closed G S opened their shop there. Now Argos.

Pete Fairless… We used to go to Fine Fare in Queens Road

Mick O’Dowd… Yes!

Angela Frances Gardner… Got them from Tesco’s and petrol stations! My mum exchanged loads of stamps for all sorts of stuff !

Mark Randall… Have I posted my ‘The Book of Saliva’ comment before?

Diane Knight…  Used to love filling these books …no idea what for ..but my mum always had a bag of books !!😂

Barry Upton… Bring it back. Bloody sight better than life today

Dave Nattress… I think….there was once a rival S and H Pink Stamps – genuine I think. Also did not the small Green Shield Stamps eventually change size – becoming bigger and having a different design.

Sarah Harvey… I remember playing a ‘Green Shield Stamp’ Fruit machine down at the Hastings Leisure Centre (Beneath Aquarius). Rather than pay out money when you won, it paid out Green Shield Stamps……. there was an S&H Pink Stamp Fruit Machine too. The exchange for Green Sheild Gifts in Hastings was the shop that is now Argos.

Jan Warren… used to love them, saved them all the time for things, much better than the “reward” cards we get now

Eugene Hughes… What about pink stamps too! Weren’t they from Fine Fare?

Hastings & St Leonards tourism bizarre advert at the time…

Stylus Record Shop – Castle Street Hastings 1973

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Outside Stylus Record Shop, boss ‘Bob McKenzie’, ‘Leif Ohlin’ and Alan Esdaile. Poster on the door for the Steamhammer gig and Gary Glitter’s taking over the other window!

stylus record bag

lp record bag supplied by Nigel Ford

supplied by Linda Boiling

Tony May.…Oh wow! What a find this is! Way before my time working there but brilliant to see a pic of Bob and amazing also to note the GG displays in the other window. I used to have to do the displays myself (best I could) towards the end of my stint at the shop because we weren’t able to buy big enough quantities of the top new releases from the record companies to qualify for a visit from their display teams.

Peter Howard… Is that you with the kipper tie Alan?

Alan Esdaile… Yes but can’t understand why I’m wearing a tie?

Peter Howard… Pretty groovy look 🙂

Mick Mepham… Nice poster for Steamhammer supported by Crimson Earth on the left side of the door Alan.

Kevin Burchett… Bob Mackenzie used to organise the E.F student discos in Scalliwags in the 70s nice bloke. Am I right Alan?

Alan Esdaile… Yes he did Kevin, probably with Bill Loveland from E.F.

Jonathan Nurse… Brilliant snap

Kevin Burchett… remember Bill Loveland to

Darren Johnson… Great picture. I’m actually trying to think if I actually went into the shop now. I came to Coombe Haven holiday camp in 1982 with the family and I remember coming into Hastings and buying a new copy of Slade’s Old New Borrowed and Blue from a record shop – it was actually quite hard to get hold of at the time and I could never finda copy for sale back home.

Meryle Adki… My friend Charlie worked there in 80’s. Shame I lost contact with him. I’d love to know how he is. I met the drummer of the Big Country at the shop. I was looking for Blancmange in the B section and he lent over and picked his record out. Saying he was the drummer.

Merv Kennard… Bob booked me to do the ef student disco’s in various hotels and the pier ballroom twice a week for a couple of years in the mid 70s. I always got on well with him.

Karen Riggs… Does anyone still remember the Disc Jockey in Queens Road ?

Alan Esdaile… Loads of posting of The Disc Jockey on the website, if you use the search box Karen. I will move a few to the top, soon.