Buildings in Union Street
Buildings in Union Street
Record No
116407
Title
Buildings in Union Street
Description
Looking north-east at the front elevations of 102-112 Union Street (evens), Southwark. These were known as 57-62 Union Street (consecutive) until the 1860s, and as 45-50 Queen Street (consecutive) until 1813; all numbering from right to left. The already decrepit eighteenth-century buildings have become derelict with air raid damage. The cornices, facias, and straight flat Doric pilasters of numbers 104 and 106 are contiguous, indicating that they were retro-fitted at the same time. Number 104 has a single front door next to a shop window covered with removeable shutters, the central one secured with a plank. A hatch in the centre of the stallriser gave access under the shop window display shelf to the basement, a grill in the pavement lit basement windows, and a hatch in the pavement next to the grill provided for deliveries and dispatches. Small advertising signs project from the pilasters. "Taff's General Store 104" is almost illegible on the facia; that spelling of the name was probably adopted to avoid suspicion of being German when John Taaffe (Snr) started trading from the shop during World War I. The two shop windows and wide dual-panelled front door of number 106 are separated with pilasters. The remains of a gas light fitting above each ground-floor window survives from occupation by a gas fitter for about forty years prior to 1910. Below the panelled stallrisers shallow grills lit basement windows. The ground floor of number 108 had housed no commercial activity since the 1870s and was converted back to residential use. The shop at number 110, most recently Florence Sampson's drapery, has a stable door which possibly dates from when it was a dairy in the late nineteenth-century. A window box survives at the second floor. Remaining glass panes above Ernest Rabaiotti's former "Cosy Cafe" at number 112 bear World War II blast tape. A vending machine adjacent to the cafe door dispensed individual cigarettes for one pre-decimal penny each. Many ground-floor windows in the row have been barricaded with corrugated steel sheets by Southwark Borough Council. The globe of the belisha beacon outside number 112 conforms to blackout regulations. A carbon arc light hangs from an ornate lamp post that has been painted white with black stripes to aid visibility during the blackout. The carriageway is paved with wooden blocks. The buildings remained derelict until demolition in 1950-51. The ground was used as a car park until redevelopment as blocks of flats in 2013 and 2017.
Date of execution
1947
Section
The London Archives
Collection
LCC Photograph Library
Notes
- Updated 2010 10 28
Medium
photograph
Catalogue No
SC_PHL_01_377_F4002
London picture map location
Exact
Subjects
Buy this image

You can obtain a high-quality print of this image to hang on you wall at home using the form below. The frame you see in the photographs is for illustrative purposes. We only sell the print or poster. You can also purchase a digital file and a usage licence from a wide range of options including editorial and academic uses and product sales.

We aim to process all orders within 5 working days.

Once you have selected your options, the total price will be displayed at the bottom of the page. This includes the cost of the print or digital file, and the cost of the usage licence you have selected (where applicable).

If your usage is not listed, please contact us.

Please note that all licences obtained from the London Picture Archive are subject to our Image Usage Licence Terms and Conditions. Please read the terms and conditions before proceeding with your purchase.

Required information
Media options

Please select your required print size or digital file format. If you require a larger print or file size please contact us.