John Oram's photos with the keyword: Closed

The former premises of Car & Van Sales, 204 Hall Street, Offerton. 200_4_P1020220E

The former premises of Car & Van Sales, 204 Hall Street, Offerton. 200_4_P1020220EM

India Gate Restaurant (closed), Bognor Road (A259), Merston, near Chichester. I deduce from the internet that this business moved to the centre of Chichester (St Pancras) as the smaller restaurant there has the same logo style. TZ70_P1020296CE

Lloyds Bank (closed), 1 Victoria Road, Woolston, Southampton. In viewing this, another closed bank, it occurred to me that the salvation of areas like this, left without a bank after this closure, might lie in the operation by banks of more utilitarian, less ostentatious buildings. On the corner of Victoria Road and Portsmouth Road, this is a grand building indeed but, like so many other closed banks, it stands empty more than two years after its closure on 5 March 2018. 200_3_P1120795CE

This former branch of HSBC at 45 Commercial Road, Totton closed as long ago as 2 June 2017 and one might reasonably assume that it has been vacant since thus underlining, once again, my displeasure with banks for their branch closures and landlords and local authorities for allowing commercial property to stand empty for extended periods. For the banking historian, it is of interest when modern day fascias are removed to reveal evidence of former identities, in this case Midland Bank. I think a more correct address for this bank would be 45-47 Commercial Road as Photo Solutions (right) is no. 49. 200_3_P1120757CE

The branch of Lloyds Bank, 2 Winchester Road, Basingstoke (corner Church Street) closed on 7 January 2019. Unlike in many towns there remain in the immediate area a number of other bank branches. The rather splendid building has presumably been vacant since closure. TZ70_P1010796

280 High Street, Cheltenham. Every time I thought I'd got it made It seemed the taste was not so sweet [Changes, David Bowie] The face of Britain's High Streets today, not so hunky dory. A symbolic noose of wire hangs above the word sweet. Every picture like this tells a human story. 200_3_P1120215RE

280 High Street, Cheltenham. Every time I thought I'd got it made It seemed the taste was not so sweet [Changes, David Bowie] The face of Britain's High Streets today, not so hunky dory. A symbolic noose of wire hangs above the word sweet. Every picture like this tells a human story. 200_3_P1120215RM

Ben's Flavours, 100 High Street, Lee on Solent. The retail and commercial malaise in Gosport, which I have so poignantly illustrated, has not left neighbouring Lee on Solent unaffected. Its High Street puts on a brave face and has, by my calculation, a smaller proportion of vacant properties but several of the extant businesses have limited operating hours. Niche restaurant Ben's Flavours had recently posted such limited hours but, by the end of 2019, had succumbed completely. Although I was, for personal reasons, not a fan, the restaurant had been favourably reviewed and on the few occasions I ate there the food was very good and certainly of excellent quality. TZ70_P1010653CE

Former McDonald's, 57-59 High Street, Gosport. It is nearly eight years since I started documenting the state of retail and commercial business in Gosport. I have visited High Street, Gosport from time to time, not always taking photographs and it has wearied me. Businesses there have not fared well. This is representative of the uphill struggle faced by Gosport. The large McDonald's, of all businesses, closed in November 2018. One might imagine McDonald's to be nearly omnipresent but, inexplicably in my opinion, the company decided that the opening, also in November 2018, of their 24hr restaurant at Gosport's Brockhurst Gate Retail Park was sufficient reason to close the town centre location. I would argue that there is a clear case for both as there is some distance between the two, the closed restaurant in a pedestrian zone and the new site more easily accessed by car. The result is that Gosport's dreary High Street has to endure another stark facade for more than one year. TZ70_P1010652CE

Hays Travel, 95-96 High Street, Gosport. It is nearly eight years since I started documenting the state of retail and commercial business in Gosport. I have visited High Street, Gosport from time to time, not always taking photographs and it has wearied me. Businesses there have not fared well. This, though, is a special case. The shop was a Thomas Cook until September 2019 and, after their collapse, this along with many others nationwide was taken over by Hays Travel. With their existing branch almost opposite at 62 High Street, it was probably inevitable that some consolidation would occur. The property shown appears now to contain just a few pieces of equipment and will, presumably, become another hard to let unit. TZ70_P1010651CE

Warrens Bakery, 66 High Street, Gosport. It is nearly eight years since I started documenting the state of retail and commercial business in Gosport. I have visited High Street, Gosport from time to time, not always taking photographs and it has wearied me. Businesses there have not fared well. My visits have, perhaps, not been frequent enough because I was not aware of the arrival of Warrens Bakery much less its demise announced by the poster on the door. Gosport has maintained an unacceptable number of vacant commercial properties and new businesses on the High Street have often been short lived. TZ70_P1010650

Sun Luen, 214 Caledonian Road, London, N1. (Corner Copenhagen Street). This property or, at least, its sign caught my eye as a potential closed Chinese restaurant but, according to my research, it used to be a bakery shop. TZ70_P1000318CE

Bank closures are, I believe, worldwide and here was another example in St. John's, Antigua. The building of this ECAB (Eastern Caribbean Amalagmated Bank) branch seemed substantial and in good order but notices around the outside, of which three can be seen in the picture, report the closure, nearly three years ago, of this High Street branch and the night safe (far left) although machine withdrawals could still be made. 200_3_P1100441CE

The Swan Inn in Old Orchard, Poole has joined the long list of closed pubs. It is a beautiful building, especially as seen in the May sunshine, with its simple brick complementing the attractive green, glazed tiles. It appears that there was a dispute as long ago as 2006 about plans for its demolition and development of the site. An article from the Bournemouth Echo (below) quotes some controversial and, in my opinion, very wrong comments about the property. www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/851346.Opposition_grows_ov... There was more positive news in the same publication as recently as 4 April 2018. www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/16135770.Richard_Carr_reve... 200_3_P1050855CE

Our hedgerows and verges contain some of the most beautiful sights of the countryside. Taken in Slip Lane, Alkham on an evening walk. 200_2_P1110116

Recently, and to my surprise, I discovered that the branch of The Co-operative Food at 163 Wych Lane, Bridgemary, Gosport which I photographed on 20 December 2015 , has closed. I had been under the impression that the Co-op was expanding as their distinctive, if not especially attractive, green colours are seen everywhere in the South. Nevertheless, the crumpled poster on the door states, unequivocally, 'This store is now closed'. This development contrasts starkly with the media release of a couple of days ago which announced the return of the 'clover leaf' logo from 1968. This photograph also shows the very faded sign for the Wych Way Inn which I completely failed to notice on my 2015 visit - although I did successfully research the previous identity of the building. 200_2_P1100634

I have already documented the recent demise of the Fareham branch of London Camera Exchange but, today, I reinforce my sentiments with an unobstructed shot of the vacated premises. The closure of this shop led to job losses which are a tragedy for people I really liked. The staff here were courteous, helpful and knowledgeable. The UK needs its specialist camera shops and this closure was a loss to those and to Fareham town centre. 200_2_P1040706