Butler - Washbrook Service Station, London Road, Copdock, Suffolk IP8 3LA June 1998 3
Here are the last of the photos I have of this lovely open forecourt garage, it still looks like this even now, never had a canopy! This is one of the sites for which I have the most extensive branding and historical record. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a National branded site, as a result of this I am guessing prior to that it would have been a Shell BP site. Quite when it changed from National to Little David, its next brand, I'm not sure but around 1989 seems likely as that's roughly when the National name finally disappeared. It was Little David branded for a few years before changing again to Butler as we see here. By the earliest Streetview it was a Gulf site and that didn't last for long before it was rebranded again to be a Pace site, which it is to the present day. It may have been branded Power for a few years in the early part of the century but no photo of that as so far surfaced so it may gone straight to Gulf.
The garage was once located on what was then the A12 but the road was re-routed and this section became effectively a minor road despite being dual carriageway for much of its length. As it reaches Copdock it switches to single lanes with a central reservation and then, after the final junction where one must turn off to head into Ipswich, it becomes a dead end with just a footpath and cycleway completing the journey under the A14 and onto the site of the Ipswich Park and Ride. That means the garage here once had a lot more passing trade than it does now, and it is pretty amazing that it continues to trade. However quite a lot of traffic does head this way still as I'm sure there are times when the A12/A14 junction is super busy and backed up.
Below you can see it as National, Little David and Pace but for the Gulf era you'll need to look on Streetview.
www.google.com/maps/@52.0359169,1.0886297,3a,75y,265.83h,...
Butler - Washbrook Service Station, London Road, Copdock, Suffolk IP8 3LA June 1998 3
Here are the last of the photos I have of this lovely open forecourt garage, it still looks like this even now, never had a canopy! This is one of the sites for which I have the most extensive branding and historical record. In the 1960s and 1970s it was a National branded site, as a result of this I am guessing prior to that it would have been a Shell BP site. Quite when it changed from National to Little David, its next brand, I'm not sure but around 1989 seems likely as that's roughly when the National name finally disappeared. It was Little David branded for a few years before changing again to Butler as we see here. By the earliest Streetview it was a Gulf site and that didn't last for long before it was rebranded again to be a Pace site, which it is to the present day. It may have been branded Power for a few years in the early part of the century but no photo of that as so far surfaced so it may gone straight to Gulf.
The garage was once located on what was then the A12 but the road was re-routed and this section became effectively a minor road despite being dual carriageway for much of its length. As it reaches Copdock it switches to single lanes with a central reservation and then, after the final junction where one must turn off to head into Ipswich, it becomes a dead end with just a footpath and cycleway completing the journey under the A14 and onto the site of the Ipswich Park and Ride. That means the garage here once had a lot more passing trade than it does now, and it is pretty amazing that it continues to trade. However quite a lot of traffic does head this way still as I'm sure there are times when the A12/A14 junction is super busy and backed up.
Below you can see it as National, Little David and Pace but for the Gulf era you'll need to look on Streetview.
www.google.com/maps/@52.0359169,1.0886297,3a,75y,265.83h,...