Shopping
Shopping
Today’s Ilford Lane is one of London’s major South Asian shopping districts. However, it has been a retail centre since the early 1900s.
Many of Ilford Lane’s shop premises were built around 1900 to serve the local area’s rapidly growing population.
 William Bush outside his grocery shop, 42 Ilford Lane, 1930s Redbridge Heritage Centre p9193 |
 Bottle sold by J. Patterson, M.P.S, Chemist, 52 Ilford Lane, about 1911-27 Redbridge Museum 1997.1760 |
 Ration book for Sibley Butchers, 77 Ilford Lane, 1940s-50s Redbridge Museum 1997.1847 |
 Record sold by D. Woolfman, Wireless and Gramophone shop, 76 Ilford Lane, about 1939 Redbridge Museum 2008.4266 |
 Bag from Partap Textiles, 123-125 Ilford Lane, 2005 Redbridge Museum 2003.3738 |
The first South Asian grocery shops opened in the early 1970s, followed by fabric shops and small restaurants. Today, there are over 100 South Asian shops with new ones opening all the time. Ravi and Rani Uppal ran Partap Textiles on Ilford Lane from 1988 to 2022:
“There were only a few Asian fabric shops when we moved to Ilford Lane. After 12 years hard work, we moved across the road to our larger shop in 2002. When we first started it was mostly local trade, more recently we got a lot of customers from outside Ilford. You get a good variety in Ilford Lane, you can eat here, the supermarkets are here but more parking would really help. We did a wide range for special occasions or everyday wear. Bollywood movies can influence styles and colours.”
Ravi and Rani were interviewed by Redbridge Museum in 2005.
Redbridge Museum made this film about shopping in Ilford Lane in 2005:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p57_2KrKOH0
 Pioneer Market, 1950 Redbridge Heritage Centre p11302 |
 Bag from Ron’s Music Shop, Pioneer Market, c1950s-60s Redbridge Museum 2023.6249 |
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“You could not stand in the Pioneer Market [in the 1970s], it was bustling with people.” Bill Matcham and Harry Chittick, formerly of Frank’s Butcher’s, Pioneer Market. Quote from the film A Pioneer Perspective, 2008 The much-loved Pioneer Market opened at the top of Ilford Lane in 1921. It was built in what had been the garden of a 17th century house called Melcombe Lodge. The house had been bought by Ardeshir Kapadia, an Ilford Councillor and barrister, with the intention of creating a permanent market in the town. Kapadia was a Parsi born in Bombay (now Mumbai) and had come to England to study law in the 1880s. Kapadia wanted to find a home for street traders in Ilford and accordingly helped to create the Pioneer Market. The Market had a variety of stalls including butchers, greengrocers, and clothing. Pioneer Market closed in 2004 as it judged to be out of date and was replaced by high-rise flats known as ‘Pioneer Point’. |
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In 1984, shops at the top end of Ilford Lane were demolished for the building of Winston Way. This took traffic away from the town centre and enabled the High Road to be pedestrianised. Shops and houses at the top of Ilford Lane were compulsory purchased by Redbridge Council and demolished. At the same time, the former Ilford Limited factory was demolished and replaced by a Sainsbury’s supermarket. The photograph shows the construction of an underpass and roundabout at the top of Ilford Lane, which is to the left. The roof of Pioneer Market is on the right. In the centre background is the empty site of the former Ilford Limited photographic factory which closed in 1976. |
 Winston Way, junction of Ilford Lane, 1984 Redbridge Heritage Centre p12253 |
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This shows 18 and 20 Ilford Lane (west side) shortly before they were demolished for the building of Winston Way. The Kohi-Noor takeway also sold all-butter Indian sweets as well as catering for weddings and functions. South Asian shops gradually started to open on Ilford Lane from the 1970s. The Kohi-Noor moved further down Ilford Lane. |
 Kohi-Noor Indian takeaway, 20 Ilford Lane, 1983 Redbridge Heritage Centre p12843 |
 Ilford Lane, 1950s National Library of Scotland |
 Ilford Lane, 2020s National Library of Scotland |
This map and modern satellite image indicate the dramatic changes to the layout of the northern end of Ilford Lane during the building of Winston Way in 1984. In the 1950s map, Pioneer Market can be seen at the top of Ilford Lane. This closed in 2004 and were eventually replaced by Pioneer Point whose two towers can clearly be seen on the satellite image.
Opposite the Pioneer Market was a row of shops including the Kohi-Noor Indian takeaway shown above. Behind these shops were the ‘Works’ of Ilford Limited photographic company. On the east side of Ilford Lane is Scrafton Road which completely disappeared when Winston Way and a row of flats for older people were built in the mid-1980s.
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