Fulwell was the place to be for your fab fish and fancy goods
NORMAN KIRTLAN’S LOOK BACK ON FILMS AT THE MARINA CINEMA AND A TRIP TO FULWELL FISHERIES
From ticking on to the arrival of the big screen. Fulwell’s changing face has come under the spotlight.
Keen historian and researcher Norman Kirtlan began his look into Fulwell’s past in last week’s Wearside Echoes.
This week, he concludes it with a focus on how Fulwell became a shopping area of choice.
And that includes the days of the little community battling on as German planes did their worst during the Second World War.
In the early years of the 1900s, shoppers in the rapidly growing village of Fulwell had very little choice when it came to places to spend their pennies.
For groceries, it was either John Stores shop which was at the junction of Sea View Lane which later became known as Sea Road. The alterMr native was KIlner’s grocery store at number 31, and they were pretty much the only ports of call.
Mr Ruddick had a butcher’s shop here, and for fancy goods, there was always the Fulwell Bazaar which stocked everything from wicker baskets to tables, and chairs to broomsticks.
There were of course, farms on hand for dairy produce and a shoemaker in Dene Lane.
But those apart, only the clatter of Uncle Tom’s horse and cart disturbed tranquillity of this pleasant little village.
The first handful of cottages to be built in Atkinson Road and Lee Street were already occupied by the time that the new century had been rung in.
And others, spreading eastwards, would soon follow along with fine two storey dwellings in and around Sea Road itself.
One by one these houses would pack out their windows with goods and open their doors as an enterprising owner branched out in business.
By the mid 1930s, with Fulwell now a part of the Borough of Sunderland, Sea Road had been transformed into a busy and popular thoroughfare. It could boast dozens of retailers who all catered for the villager’s every need.
And to the great delight of Fulwell folk old and young, on July 31, 1935, the Marina Cinema opened up its doors for the first time. It was an exciting new world. And it was standing room only as Cicley Coutnedge
starred in “Things Are Looking Up”, which indeed they were for Fulwell.
Sadly, this beautiful Art Décor building would grace Sea Road for less than 30 years. In July 1963, following Kenneth More’s last performance in “We Joined The Navy”, the cinema was demolished in favour of a new supermarket.
Many of the older locals tell tales of disrupted films as air raid sirens sounded during the Second World War, and indeed Fulwell would suffer badly at the hands of the Luftwaffe.
There have been many popular shops on Sea Road over the years, but without doubt, one of the all-time favourites was the fish and chip shop owned by Mr Trembath.
The Fulwell Fisheries provided many a nourishing supper for local folk, and long queues would form on a weekend after the last showing at the Marina.
Another popular shop on Sea Road, was Howard’s. For decades, this was the place to buy all of the latest radio and electronic goods.
Back in the mid 30s, schoolchildren could buy a crystal radio set for a few shillings, and by the mid 1950s, locals could tick on for a brand new black and white televison set.
By this time, there were four banks on Sea Road and every kind of shop you could imagine.
Today, Sea Road remains as popular as ever, and older locals still refer to this stretch of road as The Village.
Our thanks go to Norman, from the Sunderland Antiquarian Society, for his latest look into the history of the city.
We want our readers to help us with even more nostagia about Sunderland.
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It may be a favourite event, or a particular street, a pub, a restaurant or a shop from times gone by.
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“Locals could tick on for a new black and white television” NORMAN KIRTLAN