Anyone who lived in Stanmore during the 1980s will probably recognise plenty in these photographs.
The Broadway was already a busy shopping area, but it looked very different to the street we know today. Independent shops filled much of the parade, banks still had prominent branches on the high street and cars were parked almost everywhere.
The pictures also capture Stanmore during a decade when some fairly big changes were taking place.
A Broadway full of independent shops
In the photographs, you can spot names including Lloyds Bank, Alan Keller jewellers and J W Adams opticians, alongside smaller shops, cafés and food businesses.
Alan Kelle, a watchmaker, traded from 36 The Broadway and is one of those names that long-time residents may remember. J W Adams was another established local business, while banks had a much bigger physical presence on shopping streets than they do today.
Rather than being dominated by national coffee shops and restaurant chains, much of the Broadway was made up of independents.
The buildings were a mixture too. Older properties sat next to relatively modern counterparts, giving the street a slightly mismatched, distinctive appearance which is still noticeable in parts of Stanmore today.
Big changes arrived during the decade
Parts of the Broadway were being redeveloped in The 1980s. At the beginning of the decade, plans were being considered for new shops and offices along sections of the street, replacing older buildings.
Perhaps the biggest change, however, involved the Automobile Association. The AA had been a major presence in Stanmore for decades and was one of the area’s best-known employers.
Its large headquarters had stood close to The Broadway since the 1950s, handling thousands of calls from motorists across London and the South East.
In 1986, the organisation moved into a new office building nearby. To make way for the development, another row of shops disappeared. Local memories of the parade include a supermarket, patisserie, fabric shop, antiques business and other smaller traders.
Some of those buildings had only been constructed around the 1960s, meaning parts of Stanmore’s shopping centre were already being redeveloped again little more than 20 years later.
The old AA building was left behind
The AA’s move created another sight that many people will remember from late 1980s and early 1990s Stanmore. Its former headquarters was left empty.
Over time, the building became increasingly run down and plans to redevelop the site failed to get off the ground.
Years later, the land would become home to Sainsbury’s, which opened at the end of the 1990s. For anyone looking at the area today, it is quite a transformation. A site once occupied by one of Stanmore’s biggest employers is now part of one of its busiest shopping areas.
More cars and a busier Stanmore
Another thing that jumps out from the old photographs is the traffic. Cars line both sides of the street and fill parking areas around the shops, these spaces still remain but you’d get a ticket pretty quickly for parking directly on Stanmore Hill in 2026.
By the early 1980s, traffic around The Broadway was already enough of an issue for changes to pedestrian crossings and parking arrangements to be discussed by Harrow Council.
Stanmore had grown considerably since the arrival of the Underground in 1932, and by the 1980s it was firmly established as a busy north-west London suburb rather than the small village it had once been.
Yet the Broadway still retained something of the traditional local high street.
How much do you remember?
Some buildings remain recognisable today. Others have disappeared completely, while many shopfronts have changed several times since these pictures were taken.
What shops do you remember on Stanmore Broadway during the 1980s? And is there anywhere you wish was still there today? Let us know in the comments on our socials.
NOW READ:
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
Harrow Online reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each month and has a social media audience of more than 200,000 followers.
For news tips, press releases or enquiries, contact Chris at info@harrowonline.org.
