Schools
Four more schools became necessary. On January 14th, 1904 Sir Ralph Littler, CB, KC, officially opened Clifton Road School. It was very modern, built to hold 800 pupils. It cost £9,500, and was a two-storey building, each floor having a central hall 64 ft. by 28 ft. and seven classrooms but no phone or electricity until 1950. It actually opened September, 1903 — Miss Beck, Headmistress downstairs (Infants) and Miss Wilson, Headmistress of the Girls upstairs. On January 12th, 1904 the staff and scholars of Norwood Bridge School were transferred to Clifton Road. Thus one school opened and another closed. Mr Monk was caretaker.
An adjacent school – Talbot Road – was built in 1907. Originally for boys it merged with girls to form a Junior Mixed School. The Headmaster was Mr R. R. Elias with a staff of eight. He retired in 1933.
Over the years many changes have taken place — it became a Special Backward School at one time and in 1980 became a Special Language School. Caretaker — Mr Shaw.
Southall County School (Villers), Boyd Avenue, was built in 1906-7 at a cost of £15,115. The first Headmaster was Mr Pollitt. When opened only three free scholarships were granted to each of the senior schools. All the rest were fee paying. Built at the same time was a Woodwork and Cookery Centre which was also used by other schools. The caretaker’s quarters were on top. The first caretaker was Mr Albert Perkins who employed me when I was 91/2, doing errands for 1/- (5p) per week.
Tudor Road School was built in 1906-7 and opened as Tudor Road Infants on 8th April, 1907. Miss A. Woolford, Headmistress, with six staff. Built to take 250 pupils, it had gas lighting until March 1952, and a telephone was installed November, 1948. Many of the children were transferred from North Road School. Mr Colman was caretaker for ten years.
In 1904 the old White Swan, which was at the end of Pluckington Place, closed down and licence transferred to the present White Swan which had been built at the junction of Adelaide and Norwood Road, taking the place of two small cottages and a blacksmith’s. The brothers A. & G. Stanley were licensees. They had a great reputation as cyclists and one of them used to ride a penny farthing bicycle. A bowling green was constructed at the side of where the Southall Bowling Club used to play.
In 1903 eight very well built shops came into being on the right hand side of King Street between Dagmar Road and Pluckington Place. The leases were granted so that only one type of trade was carried on per shop. Thus, Quinions (Furnishers), Simmons (Confectioners), Owen Barnetts (Fruiterer), Hoopers (Butcher), King and Hutchings (Gazette Office and Stationers), Keevils (Hosier), Heaths (Bakers) with a bakery at the rear. Except for a few years the King Street Sub Post Office has been in this block of shops.