11 High Street

About the building

Source : Abergavenny Local History Society survey 1980:

Circa 1905.  Previous building said to have been stables for the house next door, owned by the iron masters Hill, Hopkins & Co (now the National Westminster Bank).   Present premises purpose-built for grocers or commercial use with a hoist at the back for lifting heavy bags to store in the loft, with very close joists for heavy load-bearing.   Brick, with much carefully detailed terracotta work

 

Recent history

Prior to Costa, this was Stead & Simpson, shoe shop  (exact dates uncertain)

Source : Abergavenny Local History Society Survey 1980:

Vin Sullivan & Son Ltd : (from 1960 to ?exact date uncertain but adverts in Abergavenny Chronicle seen up to 1982)

The building was owned at that time by Foster Estate, formerly Fosters, Hill (who were builders of Fosterville Crescent).   Sullivans  was a specialist greengrocers/fish/deli.   (A local landmark and much missed when it closed (became a wholesalers, still in existence)

From ??? to 1960 : Star Supply Stores, by then owned by George Mason.  They moved to 4a High Street

Previous occupiers

Other information

Costa Coffee : a wholly-owned subsidiary of Whitbread, now the largest coffee chain in Britain.  Founded by Italian immigrant brothers Bruno & Sergio Costa in London in 1971  (source : en.wikipedia.org)

Source : Abergavenny Local History Survey 1980:

Vin Sullivan started as shop assistant with Ruthers.   In 1926 he moved to Hereford to manage Macfisheries.   He joined up in 1940-45, then restarted with Ruthers in 1946.   In 1960, Vin Sullivan started up on his own.  The shop was run by his son John at the time of the last survey.   Vin Sullivan was also founder of Abergavenny Thursdays F A Club

There is a handwritten addition to the “previous occupiers” page on the original survey (with initials “TDS”), stating :  Herbert Smith, Linen & Woollen draper and haberdasher, 11 High Street.   1811, 1822-3,1835, 1842-4, 1850, 1852

Am not sure how the above correlates with list of previous occupiers, there is no further information as to where this information came from

From a newspaper cutting, circa 1906, now in the  Gwent Record Office “In making some excavations in the shop of Mr George Green, in High Street (where Bell’s Stores now stand), the workmen discovered a great quantity of human bones and where the main sewer was cut along High Street, human bones were found at a depth of a few feet….”

Adverts in Abergavenny Chronicle :

Vin Sullivan, Fishmongers, greengrocer – ads in 1962, 1967, 1968, 1969 (“female staff required” – 2 page advert);  1970,1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1982

Stead & Simpson, shoe shop : ad in 1989

 

 

If you have any further information about this property please email alhs@live.co.uk