Leonard Bentley
Duke Street Hill
This is a Magic Lantern slide showing a London General Omnibus Company horse drawn bus discharging passengers at Findlaters Corner at the junction of Borough High Street and Duke Street Hill. The shop on the corner was owned by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Company who were a Wine & Spirit merchants, they occupied the site from 1863 until the private company was sold to Bulmers in 1967. Generations of local people and London Bridge commuters knew the location as Findlater's Corner for over 100 years. The warehouses in Duke street Hill, then known as Duke Street, have gone and have been replaced with Colechurch House, a mixture of offices and shops with an area containing flower beds and seating in front. The lease of the premises was subsequently taken by other off licence chains, the last of which was Oddbins who were refused an extension of their lease by Network Rail in 2018 due to the rebuilding of London Bridge Station, so ending 155 years of continuous use as an off licence. My own connection with the premises was in the late 1980s when I was Licensing Sergeant at Southwark Police Station. There had been a number of complaints from members of the public that drunken vagrants had been accosting them for money and making lewd comments to women walking by and there was no possible chance of members of the public using the seating in front of Colechurch House because of the continued occupation by the vagrants. It was obvious where the vagrants were getting their drink from, just across the road at Findlater's Corner then being leased by an off-licence chain who shall remain nameless. The offence of selling alcohol to drunken persons not only applies to public houses and clubs but also to off licences. Just by chance whilst walking passed the premises I saw a drunken man go into the shop and exit with a couple of cans of tenants, I arrested him for being drunk and disorderly (he was very disorderly) and took him back to the shop and reported the staff for selling alcohol to a drunken person. I have no doubt that the staff exercised more care over the coming weeks, but I think it was only temporary. Drumalban Whisky appears to have been a Findlater's own brand, it first appeared on the market in 1892, so the slide is after this date, probably 1900 or maybe a few years earlier. Best viewed with the zoom feature.
Duke Street Hill
This is a Magic Lantern slide showing a London General Omnibus Company horse drawn bus discharging passengers at Findlaters Corner at the junction of Borough High Street and Duke Street Hill. The shop on the corner was owned by Findlater, Mackie, Todd & Company who were a Wine & Spirit merchants, they occupied the site from 1863 until the private company was sold to Bulmers in 1967. Generations of local people and London Bridge commuters knew the location as Findlater's Corner for over 100 years. The warehouses in Duke street Hill, then known as Duke Street, have gone and have been replaced with Colechurch House, a mixture of offices and shops with an area containing flower beds and seating in front. The lease of the premises was subsequently taken by other off licence chains, the last of which was Oddbins who were refused an extension of their lease by Network Rail in 2018 due to the rebuilding of London Bridge Station, so ending 155 years of continuous use as an off licence. My own connection with the premises was in the late 1980s when I was Licensing Sergeant at Southwark Police Station. There had been a number of complaints from members of the public that drunken vagrants had been accosting them for money and making lewd comments to women walking by and there was no possible chance of members of the public using the seating in front of Colechurch House because of the continued occupation by the vagrants. It was obvious where the vagrants were getting their drink from, just across the road at Findlater's Corner then being leased by an off-licence chain who shall remain nameless. The offence of selling alcohol to drunken persons not only applies to public houses and clubs but also to off licences. Just by chance whilst walking passed the premises I saw a drunken man go into the shop and exit with a couple of cans of tenants, I arrested him for being drunk and disorderly (he was very disorderly) and took him back to the shop and reported the staff for selling alcohol to a drunken person. I have no doubt that the staff exercised more care over the coming weeks, but I think it was only temporary. Drumalban Whisky appears to have been a Findlater's own brand, it first appeared on the market in 1892, so the slide is after this date, probably 1900 or maybe a few years earlier. Best viewed with the zoom feature.