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Local Businesses Jump to: | Taylor's Garage | Wilson's Garage | The Regal Cinema | Monkseaton Banks |
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In May 1920, John Beaumont Taylor opened for business as a motor car and motor cycle repairer, trading under the name "The Monkseaton Motor and Repair Works". To accommodate the business, a wooden building was erected on a field fronting Earsdon Road, Monkseaton, which at this time was a narrow country road with hedges and ditches on both sides. The building measured 100 feet by 20 feet, and the only other buildings standing between the Foxhunters roundabout and West Monkseaton Station were Seatonville Farm, Burnt House Farm, and Monkseaton Grange Farm, all of which have now long since disappeared. In 1922 John Taylor installed the first roadside petrol pump on the North East coast. The transition from The Monkseaton Motor and Repair Works to its subsequent development of what became Taylor's Garage was particularly notable in the 1930s. In 1932, the wooden building was demolished, and a new garage was built, complete with a hydraulic lift, Tecalemit greasing bay and much of the modern equipment that was available at the time. In 1933, this led to Taylor's being appointed by Vauxhall Motors as the main Vauxhall dealership for the area. John Taylor was an engineer and in 1934 became involved in the development of a multi-cylindered rotary engine which gave great promise of future development. He made complete drawings and built a machine shop extension on the garage in order to build this experimental engine, however the advent of the Second World War meant that his engineering projects had to be shelved and the machine shop was used to manufacture tools, gun parts and hydraulic gear for battleships etc. They also trained many girls in fitting and machining for the larger factories. The end of hostilities marked the return of normal motor and repair work and in 1949 the son of the founder; Mr. John H.B. Taylor joined the firm. Steady progress was maintained and in 1955 a new showroom and parts facilities were added to the Earsdon Road premises. Two years later, Vauxhall Motors upgraded Taylor's to Vauxhall-Bedford Main Dealers status, which meant that they could deal direct with the factory for all their products. By 1959, additional premises were acquired in Park Road and Marine Gardens, Whitley Bay, to accommodate the growth of the company and facilitate a large showroom, service department, plus paint and body shops. Since John Beaumont Taylor founded the business in 1920, it became part of the fabric of the area, and Taylor's can be justly proud of the part they have played. The business ceased in 1985 when it sold out to Reg Vardy's car dealership. The front section of the garage premises were later demolished to make way for a modern petrol filling station (now a car wash). The remaining buildings were converted for use as small retail outlets. Return to top of page... |
During the early 1920s, William Skillbeck ran a motor car garage in Annfield Plain, Co. Durham, and, as his business expanded, he acquired premises in Whitley Bay. The premises became a garage and showroom, and were situated between Marine Avenue and Marine Gardens (now occupied by Featonbys Salerooms). At this time, Skillbeck employed a Mr Robert Wilson, who was well experienced in the motor trade, to take charge of the Whitley Bay premises when they opened for business in April 1925. The garage soon became a success, and Robert Wilson was granted the agencies for Austin, Morris, MG and Wolseley cars at this showroom. William Skillbeck eventually sold the business to Robert Wilson, which continued to flourish, and thereby convinced him to make it a limited company and, when directors were appointed, the business was renamed R. Wilson Ltd, and so the company was born. Expansion saw the need for new premises and, in 1929, a purpose built garage was erected at the corner of Cauldwell Lane and Bromley Avenue, which became R. Wilson (Monkseaton) Ltd. The premises at Park View continued in use as a showroom for new and second hand cars until 1932/33, when the premises were sold and the entire business transferred to the Monkseaton. During the Second World War, Wilsons Garage was contracted by the Ministry of Supply, to overhaul Army vehicles and during an air raid in 1942 the main garage premises suffered blast damage. It was during this year that Robert Wilson sold the business to a group of brothers: Norman, Wilf, Harold and Reg Craven. Because of the high reputation that Robert Wilson had earned over the years, the Craven Brothers decided that the name of the company would remain unchanged and therefore retained the well-established name of R. Wilson Ltd. In the early 1950s, a site was acquired on the corner of Cauldwell Lane and Woodleigh Road to develop as the showroom and after sales facilities. This site had outlived its usefulness by the early 1960s and a further plot of land was purchased opposite the main garage, on the corner of Front Street and Bromley Avenue, where a purpose built two-storey showroom was erected, and opened in 1967. The now defunct site at the corner of Woodleigh Road became Monkseaton Branch Library. Next to the main garage building on Cauldwell Lane, a small shop was acquired, which served as a parts and accessories department for the garage. With the advent of large out of town car dealerships, the 77 year old business began to suffer and was forced to close in 2002. The garage site and showroom were later replaced with controversial apartment blocks. Return to top of page... |
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The Regal Cinema Built in Art Deco style, typical of the period, the Regal Cinema occupied a site at the top of Cauldwell Lane. Its imposing frontage curved neatly around the corner into Seatonville Road, where it backed onto Paignton Avenue. Regal Cinema was a limited company formed by three local men; Donald Gilbert, G.H. Bates and H.S. Dixon, along with Edward Hinge who ran a cinema circuit throughout the north-east. Designed by Dixon & Bell (Architects), the construction contract was awarded to Thomas Clements of Newcastle upon Tyne. Building work commenced in 1935 and the doors were first opened to the public on 4th November 1936 with the first picture to be shown, 'Anything Goes' starring Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman. The cinema building incorporated three adjoining single storey shops which were situated on Cauldwell Lane. The auditorium had a seating capacity of 1,014 and was a very popular venue for many years, drawing large audiences from all over the area. Children's Saturday matinees and performances also proved to be an extremely popular attraction.
By the early 1960s, television audiences had probably cut into the market causing a significant decline in attendance figures, and so on 11th August 1964, the cinema closed with its final film, 'The Longest Day'. Afterwards, the building became a bingo hall for a period of just over seven years. By the early 1970s, public demand seemed to have changed, and the building underwent extensive renovations and internal modernisation work including a full refit, to reopen as the 'Classic' Cinema on 2nd April 1972. The first film to be shown in the new cinema was 'Waterloo' starring Rod Steiger. In July 1977, further alteration work took place to convert it to a twin-screen theatre, which later operated under the name of the 'Cannon'. With the advent of modern multiplex theatres, and declining audiences, the cinema which had once again been renamed, this time as the 'ABC', closed its doors for the last time on 15th April 1999. The grand old building with its landmark corner frontage was demolished in August 2000 to be replaced with studio style housing apartments. Return to top of page... |
Monkseaton Banks
The convenience of 'Plastic Money', Credit and Debit cards, the introduction of ATM machines and, of course, Internet Banking has meant that there is no longer a need for a physical banking service in the village. It is quite sad that all the established banks which once formed a major part of the daily business in Monkseaton have gradually disappeared. Five banks once existed here, and their place has now been taken by an automated cashpoint machine, at the corner of Front Street and Chapel Lane. As we look at these buildings, starting from West Monkseaton, the first bank was Barclays, which stood at 42 Earsdon Road from the 1960s until its closure in the 1990s when it afterwards become West Monkseaton Post Office. Following the main road into Monkseaton, the next bank was situated at 42 Cauldwell Lane. This was the National Provincial (later to become the National Westminster or NatWest), which existed from the 1960s to the 1990s. A little further down the road, the Trustee Savings Bank (TSB), stood on the corner of Front Street and Pykerley Road from the 1950s to the early 1990s. Moving further east onto Front Street, Lloyds was a modern purpose built detached single storey building which stood between Monkseaton House and the Monkseaton Arms at No. 54 Front Street, and was also the last one to close down (1960s to the late 1990s). The oldest and longest established bank in Monkseaton however, was Martin's Bank, situated at No. 24 Front Street which existed from about 1927 to the 1970s. |
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