NOSTALGIA: Another one bites the dust: do you remember Rumbelows?

The junction of London Road, North End, and Gladys Avenue, 1976.

In the older photo we are looking down Gladys Avenue, North End, from London Road in 1976.

In the distance is the former tram shed which was then being used as a bus depot.

The large building on the right was formerly a house called The Poplars.

North End junction 2016. The tram shed was demolished in 1983 and Whites Court built in its place.

It was the home of Mr AW White the general manager of Portsmouth Tramways. In the mid-1970s it was a well-used travel centre, particularly for those who needed timetables for the legendary 700 bus when it ran all the way to Brighton.

Rumbelows, on the corner of Angerstein Road, was an electrical goods shop which also sold records.

The all-functional classic Mini works its way around the roundabout.

And so to the modern picture. Forty years have passed since the first photograph and the tram shed has been demolished (in 1983) to make way for White’s Court, named after that former Portsmouth Tramways boss.

Another photograph from the late Helen Mabel Smith showing Flathouse Quay in 1958.

Rumbelows has also gone, along with the entire chain. That building is now home to a gaming centre. The travel centre has become offices.

The junction is basically the same as in the previous photograph although the street lighting has been updated since 1976.

However, there is one feature which points to 21st century living – high on the post on the far traffic island is a CCTV camera.

The remaining two pictures are the latest from the late Helen Mabel Smith’s collection.

Camber Dock1958 with
The Bridge Tavern on the right. — Camber Dock1958 with The Bridge Tavern on the right.

The first is a view of Flathouse Quay in 1958 long before the health and safety brigade took control of our lives.

Compared to today it looks a positive death trap with rubbish piled high and a distinctly dodgy road surface.

Although low tide and the hull cannot be seen, the masts are of a Thames barge.

In the distance are ships of the reserve fleet anchored off Whale Island. And on the left is the 250-ton hammerhead crane in the dockyard, a distinctive landmark for many years.

The final picture shows a large cargo ship tied up in Camber dock, Old Portsmouth, in 1958.

Where the bows are would have been where the bridge was when walkers could cross the Camber. On the right the walls of the Bridge Tavern record this fact.

On the left is the cupola of the Anglican cathedral.

• Bob Hind’s latest book costs £9.99 and in Portsmouth you can buy it from Blackwells; Waterstones; Portsmouth Cathedral bookshop; Reilly’s in Locksway Road, Milton; New to You Books, High Street, Cosham, and the front office of The News at Lakeside. You can also pick up copies from Denmead Egg Farm, Hambledon Road; Belmont News, Bedhampton, and Park Lane Post Office, Bedhampton.