Memories of Cressy Place

Lorraine Mitchell tells me: ‘I think Cressy Place was off Hertford Street, which was off Sultan Road. My grandfather had a grocer’s shop (AG Matthews) in Hertford Street, which I think was on the corner of Cressy Place, with a pub on the opposite corner.

His shop was bought out under compulsory purchase in 1961, when the area was undergoing redevelopment. So many of these roads are no longer there, except Sultan Road.

Lorraine adds: ‘I was very young at the time but have a faint recollection of a long curved wall along what was called The Rope Walk. Could that be the wall in the scene you published?’

Local DJ Pete Cross grew up in the area and also sent me another photograph. He told me that Cressy Place ran from 127 Hertford Street to 67 Church Street, Landport. And, yes, he believes the wall was part of the rope-making factory.

Pete also sent me this photograph of the Queen Alexandra pub which also shows the shop belonging to Lorraine’s grandfather AG Matthews.

The Queen Alexandra was demolished in the early 1960s and another pub built on the site. This was demolished in 1971 along with the rest of the area.

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queen alexandra = Cressy Place at the junction of Hertford Street, Landport. Picture: Pete Cross