Throbbing Commercial Road – the place to be on Saturdays | Nostalgia

Here, we are of course looking north along a very busy Commercial Road in 1964 with the Arundel Street junction on the right.
By Bob Hind
Published 23rd Feb 2020, 20:00 BST
When Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. This was 1964. Picture: Mick Cooper collectionWhen Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. This was 1964. Picture: Mick Cooper collection
When Commercial Road, Portsmouth, was the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. This was 1964. Picture: Mick Cooper collection

The crossing was so busy with traffic and pedestrians a policeman had to be on duty to get everyone across the road in safety.

The open-ended buses were great for jumping on and off and passengers used to travel on the platform when the bus was full although quite illegal of course.

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Look at the hundreds of people crowding the pavements. John Collier (the window to watch) on the corner has a sale on. There was an Evening News stand on the corner where I – as a 10-year-old, I kid you not – sold papers on a Saturday.

A look along the much-loved and much-missed Lake Road towards Kingston Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Mick Cooper collectionA look along the much-loved and much-missed Lake Road towards Kingston Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Mick Cooper collection
A look along the much-loved and much-missed Lake Road towards Kingston Road, Portsmouth. Picture: Mick Cooper collection

• In the second picture, we are looking down Lake Road when there were a multitude of shops.

Pete Cross, a true Buckland boy he says, says the third shop on the left was a pet shop and it always annoyed him when they put animals in the window in full sunlight even with a blind.

In the distant corner is the Tramway Arms, the only surviving building. It’s now an Indian restaurant on the corner of what is now Turner Road.

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