Last year I wrote about some shops near Highbury & Islington station and the loss of a lovely tiled interior that was evidence of its previous life as a Unigate Dairy.
More recently, whilst checking a route for walking tour I was going lead for the Stroud Green Women's Institute, I was standing opposite The Old Dairy at the junction of Crouch Hill and Stroud Green Road and I took some photos, including the one below.
The Friern Manor Dairy Company, of East Dulwich, installed this marvelous red brick entranceway in 1891, complete with the impressive scraffito panels, and managed the site until 1919 when it became a franchise of Premier Dairies. I recalled that by the mid-1920s it was under the Unigate Dairies umbrella. Hmmm, I thought... is there any evidence of this? So I went to look closer.
Shown here is a screengrab from Google Streetview of the corner section at 1-3 Crouch Hill, before the pub reopened in Spring 2024. This would have been the shop where customers could have bought their milk, butter and other dairy products. Under a few layers of dark paint, hints of 4" tiles and chevroned border panels can be seen peeping through either side of the door. You'll have to take my word for it, or go and see for yourself, because it's very hard to photograph.
The interior of the shop would have also have had tiled walls in the same design, as per the Highbury shop, and I am convinced (or possibly deluded) that I recall remnants of those tiles in there when it first opened as a pub in 1997. But today the walls are all panelled and painted dark green. Considering that it’s called The Old Dairy, making a big deal of the building’s heritage, you'd think they would have retained as much visual history as possible.
Please do let me know if you have further info or pics of this Stroud Green shop – [email protected] or add a comment below.
This has now got me thinking about other tiled dairy outlets across London that have been converted for other use and how I really ought to pull a collection together. I'm surprised that I haven't already done this – watch this space, though don't hold your breath!
