Twenty-five years of change on Golborne Road
Twenty-five years ago in 1998, a photographer called Brian Rybolt completed an extraordinary photography project. Using a large-format camera, he photographed almost a every shop on Golborne Road with owners or staff in each shot.Brian knew the neighbourhood well since he taught photography at Kensington & Chelsea College on Workington Road, just around the corner from Golborne Road. In 2006 he deposited the photographs at the Kensington and Chelsea Library's Local History section.
We've chosen five of Brian's excellent images of shops which have changed over the years, and then photographed them as they are now. It's a clear illustration of how much the area has changed in the last quarter century.
Number 40 Golborne Road 1998 - Georges Golborne Fish Bar
This was an outpost of Georges fish and chip shop on Portobello Road and features George Periccos who opened his very first chip shop on Golborne Road in 1961, the one we see here. George passed away in 2015, a great loss to not just his family but the wider Golborne community. Golborne Life paid tribute to him at the time here.
Number 40 Golborne Road 2023 - Chillie London
Number 40 ceased to be a Georges fish bar and was taken over by Nick Thompson, a member of the younger Periccos generation. He ran the shop as Half Pipe selling bikes, skateboards, snowboards and equipment, and repairing bikes.
Half Pipe shut last year and the property is up for sale as you can see in the photo. For now, the shop is a pop-up called Chillie London selling vintage clothing and run by Natalie Hartley and Lydia McNeill.
Number 70 Golborne Road 1998 - J&M Electronics
J&M Electronics, also named as W.W. Carne Electric Ltd., was a general electric goods sales and repair shop that specialised in mending vacuum cleaners. That was back in an era when we actually fixed things when they broke. In another blast from the past, a sign in the shop window advertises "Fax Services".
Number 70 Golborne Road 2023 - Golborne Place
Golborne Place's website tells us that, "We are an urban escape with one simple, yet vital goal - to guide our clients towards healthier and happier lifestyles." The clinic and studio at number 70 offer a range of alternative treatments including everything from Pilates to homeopathy and from acupuncture to craniosacral therapy.
Number 96 and 98 Golborne Road 1998 - E. Price & Sons
E. Price and Sons opened for business in 1937 when Ephraim Price moved to the double shop front and the flats above. The shop, an "English & Foreign Fruiterers" closed in 2015 after the sad deaths in short succession of Ephraim Price's last surviving children. We see the three of them in this photo, from left to right, Nobby, Ronnie and Eileen.
Number 96 and 98 Golborne Road 2023 - Le Labo and The Store
Le Labo at number 96 is an upmarket international perfumery outlet owned by Estée Lauder with dozens of branches around the world.
At number 98 is The Store is "a creative collective of fashion, jewellery designers and home wear," according to its website. It stocks "new independent brands with traceable and mindful practices."
Number 100 Golborne Road 1998 - J.&C. Ewens Newsagents
J.C. Ewens was a handy newsagent where you could buy sweets, cards and toys as well as newspapers before they all went online. Photocopies were also available for a bargain 4p per page. And lottery tickets were still just a quid each back in 1998.
Number 100 Golborne Road 2023 - Golborne Deli
Local favourite Golborne Deli sells charcuterie, cheese and seasonal fruit and veg. The business stretches across to number 100, home to Golborne Bistro which serves all-day breakfast and brunch, and lunches.
Number 110 Golborne Road 1998 - Asahi
Asahi - the Japanese word means morning sun - sold beautiful silk kimonos, contemporary jewellery and arts and crafts items.
Number 110 Golborne Road 2023 - Choice Newsagents
Choice Newsagents Cash & Carry Wholesale now occupies the site of Asahi. It's a convenient general store to pick all kinds of items you suddenly find yourself short of.