View of the Gaumont Cinema, and adjacent premises, on the east side of Edgware Road in Marylebone. Currently showing is Beyond Mombasa, starring Cornel Wilde, Donna Reed, Leo Genn, and Ron Randell. Number 278, to the right, appears to be an off-licence, which in 1956 was the only retail outlet available for alcohol for home consumption. This a four-storey building with an impressive gable on which is a large electric sign for Poppy Poppy, featuring a large wine glass bearing the number 199. Wall signs advertise Lemon Hart and Wines & Spirits, and a hanging lantern advertises Bass ales. To the right of this is Bellman’s Famous Wools, and J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. At roof level, a large sign advertises Lyons Swiss Rolls, and beyond that a sign reads Home and Colonial Stores. To the right again is Freeman Hardy & Willis, a major shoe retailer of the day. Part of Stewarts Clothing Warehouse can be seen on the right. These buildings were demolished in the late 1970s to make way for the A40 Westway flyover. Edgware Road is the local name of this section of the A5, a major arterial road of pre-Roman origins, much of which is historically known as Watling Street.