
A comparatively "modern" post-second world war view of the High Road which is little changed today other than for the building on the southern side of Broadlands Avenue which is now the site of a Tesco Express store.
The building seen here is the Temperance Billiard Hall which was erected in the early years of the First World War. Over the following fifty years many of the great billiard and snooker players of the day played here, including Joe Davis and his brother Fred. The hall was later acquired by the Mecca organisation who completely refurbished the property and opened it as the Golden Q in November 1965.
The hall then accommodated 17 tables, each one covered in gold baize as opposed to the traditional green cloth. The club also had a Black Jack table and numerous one-arm bandit machines. The success of these facilities led Mecca to convert the building into a gambling establishment, firstly known as the Craywood Club, and then the Albany. The Albany lost its license in 1970 and the building was converted to retail use with Tesco opening here in 2007.
(John Brown and Image Courtesy of Francis Partridge)