Heather House

Heather House

Address	No 5, Browgate
Postcode	BD17 6BP
Built	????
Built by	????
Style	????
Primary Use	Pharmacy
Photo
Open Street Map
Other Links	Google Maps

General

One of the distinctive buildings on Browgate is No 5 which has been a pharmacy since 1881 when Harry Robinson started his business there. The photo below is reproduced with permission and shows the building as Wm Hutchinson, Pharmaceutical Chemist. It shows the building with 3 doors. The left seems to be completely separate to the centre chemist. It advertises Kodak - possibly selling Kodak film and offering a developing and printing service. The right hand door just seems to be that - a door, probably leading to the upper floor. A red and white internally illuminated sign of the right says CHEMIST

H. Robinson advertised in the Baildon Hospital & Charities Week Official Programme on several occasions:-

• 1929, Penetrol for Flu.
• 1930, Rubber Hot Water Bottles from 2/6 (12.5p).
• 1931, Rubber Hot Water Bottles. Est over 50 years.

No 5. Hutchinson Pharmacy. 1988

Directory and Census Listings

The Post Office and Kelly's Directories for 1883 and 1888 list Harry Robbinson as Chemist on Browgate. The 1893 directory adds ...agent for W & A Gilbey, wine & spirit merchant

The 1898 and 1912 Post Office Directories list Harry Robinson as chemist and Bradford Old Bank, 5 Browgate. The 1898 directory also lists Banks and under that section a relevant entry reads Bradford Old Bank Limited, 16 Market St; James Gordon, Manager. London agents, Lloyd's Bank, Limited. Local branches at Baildon, Gt. Horton, Idle, Shipley, Thornton and Wilsden.

The Baildon Parish magazine of 1937 has an advert for Dunlop Hot Water Bottles from 2/3 at H Robinson, M.P.S., Dispensing Chemist, Baildon, Tele: Shipley 534. Established 1881.

The 1911 Census lists Harry Robinson, Bank Manager, aged 54 living at 5 Browgate with his wife Harriet (53), sons Arthur, Pharmaceutical Chemist Manager, (27) and Harold, Stationers Assistant, (22) and daughter (18).

Harry Robinson was born 21 October 1856. He was apprenticed to a Dewsbury chemist in 1874, and qualified at the Westminster Pharmaceutical College in 1881. He opened the shop at Heather House, 5 Browgate soon after qualifying and around the same time opend the first bank in Baildon. For many years he was the only local dentist and would remove a tooth for 6d. A staunch Conservative and an Urban District Councillor from 1923 to 1932. He also sat on the Otley Bench of the West Riding Magistrates for more than 20 years, retiring when the age limit was introduced.

Bradford Old Bank

A Edwick's notes, made around 1980, mention that Harry Robinson was the first Baildon agent for Barclay's Bank and was operating out of No 5 Browgate. This fits with the entries above about Bradford Old Bank. Bradford Old Bank was founded in 1803 by Edmund Peckover and his nephew Charles Harris, both of Bradford. It grew and during this growth it would appear that one of their sub-branches was at 5 Browgate, Baildon. In 1907, the bank amalgamated with the Birmingham District and Counties Banking Co. to form the United Counties Bank Ltd. and then in 1916 United Counties was acquired by Barclay and Co Ltd. and so became part of Barclay's Bank.

The main business is as a pharmaceutical chemist with Harry's son Arthur helping with that.

Also in the A Edwick notes is the mention that the safe used for the bank was still in the cellar - again this note will date back to late 1970s early 1980s. In 2019 it is apparent that the cellar has been worked on with what looks like replaced floor joists, supporting RSJs and a concrete floor. There is also evidence of changes in layout. On the right hand side of the cellar, when viewed from the Browgate front, are steps going up but no way through the floor above. This would be in line with the exterior door on the right of the building that can be seen in the photo from 1988. Was a continuation of this a way up to the doctors surgery that used to be on the first floor? There is also access from the rear of the building to that level as can be seen in the rear view photo shown further down the page. Dr Cooper was one of the GPs that used the upper floor around the 1950s.^{Dates needed.}

5 Browgate cellar

The work being done on the cellar probably required the safe to be moved. The safe is still at the property but has now made its way to the ground floor. It was not easy to move because of its weight and, as of 2019, is upside down in a side cupboard. The lock still works so it can be confirmed that it was emptied of money on closure of the bank's business. The plate on the safe is for the company S. Withers & Co. West Bromwich. In 1900 S. WITHERS & Co. were iron safe manufacturers at Park Works, West Bromich and in 1909 Samuel Withers retired and the business was transferred to his 3 sons. It is therefore likely that the safe is the original one used by Harry Robinson. The Withers family had been associated with safe making since at least 1855.

Safe at 5 Browgate

Brass safe plate

Heather House Carved Stone

Originally Heather House had a carved name & date stone on its front. Photos from around 1970 show that the front did not have a central small window and the rear had a loading door on the first floor. The quality of the photo of the front is enough to show that there is no window but not good enough to show the stone. The photo above, from 1988, shows that the front then had a central window. Sometime between 1970ish and 1988 the first floor was converted to two flats.^{<Date needed>} The loading door was replaced with a window and the date stone and the small central window added at the front. The name/date stone is very badly worn and difficult to read.

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  Blurry detail showing front of Heather House c1970

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  Loading door at the rear of Heather House c1970

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  Rear of No 5. Heather House. 2018]]

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  Rear view of Heather House. 2018]]

Building use

1881- . Harry Robinson, Chemist. Later helped by his son Arthur.

1970s & '80s. Willie Hutchinson pharmacist. His wife Helen had a corner of the shop behind a little curtain with little toys made of wood and wind up Tin toys etc.

2002 - .. Browgate Pharmacy Ltd. Registered 2002. Pharmacists: ? - 2017, J P Gaston, T M Gaston Company directors 2021: Sheraz Khan, Shahzad Khan. Manager: Mr Atiq Rehman. Part of Numark Pharmacists.

Though the main consistent use of the building has been as a chemist there have been other uses for parts of it; Harry Robinson was both Pharacist and Bank Manager.

The upper floor was a Doctor's surgery but, as mentioned above, the floor was later split into two flats.

Doctors using Heather House :-

• Dr Penn. Before Heather House his surgery was at 87 Baildon Rd. Dr Penn held his surgery in a room of this semi where he lived. Patients entered through a door at the side of the house. He practised as a doctor there in the 1950s on his own. Dr Tong came out of retirement to keep Dr Penn's practice going during WWII while Dr Penn was away. On his return his surgery was moved to Heather House.
• Dr Cooper
• Dr Ken Heywood
• Dr Charles Lynch
• Dr Seth Jenkinson

In 1975 planning application 75/00614/FUL was granted for a Doctor's Surgery at Newton Way. Later The Baildon Medical Practice moved across the road to 10 Newton Way and the old Newton Way surgery became a day nursery. Planning applications in 2020 and 2021 were submitted for converting the building to self-contained flats. 21/00310/FUL was granted for converting to 5 flats. A 2012 planning application (12/00783/FUL) was granted for the building of the new medical practice at 10 Newton Way, BD17 5NH.

June Clegg was receptionist around the mid 1960s

A Dr Pratt had a surgery at the bottom of Collier Lane. (?Cecil Ave.?)

The left hand side of the building viewed from the front was used as a Post Office. The first time was by Mr Brook but he did not hold the position long. The Post Office then moved to Westgate House which was also Verity's Confectioners under Post Mistress Mrs James. The Post Office then moved back to Heather House under Mr Corby but he then moved the business to Westgate into one half of what had been Driver's Grocery Store. He retired in 1972.

Mrs James was Post Mistress for several years and she is mentioned in the evacuee diary of Joyce Coutu. Putting the info from Joyce Coutu together with the A Edwick notes suggests that the Post Office was at No 9/9a Westgate.

Serving in WWI

Heather House gets 2 entries in the WWI list of those serving:-

• Robinson, Arthur, Heather House.
• Robinson, Harold, Heather House.

The census lists their ages as 27 and 22 in 1911.

References