Tontine Hill

It's hard to imagine today, but Tontine Hill once looked very different. Instead of grass banks and open views, both sides of the hill were tightly packed with shops, houses and stables running right down to the Iron Bridge.

Before 1937 — Two Busy Rows of Buildings

On the right-hand side (looking up from the Bridge, opposite the Tontine Hotel) was a continuous terrace:

• Bates & Hunt, Chemist — a large three-storey white building that dominated old photographs
• P. Thomas, Seedsman & Florist — remembered for its "Clay's Fertilizer" signs
• A confectioner's with a flat above
• Several cottages, squeezed close together

On the left-hand side, where the memorial now stands, were the Tontine Hotel stables, more small houses and shops.

1937 — The Unbuilt Bridge Scheme

In November 1937, Salop County Council prepared for a new bridge alongside the Iron Bridge, moving to compulsorily purchase almost the entire island block. Compensation agreed included £650 for a grocer's shop, £650 for the florist/chemist, £2,250 for the confectioner's, and £275 for cottages. The Second World War broke out before construction.

May 1946 — Demolition

In May 1946 the bulldozers moved in. The chemist, florist, confectioner's and cottages on the right-hand side were demolished. The new bridge was abandoned — but by then, the buildings were already gone.

Late 1940s–1960s — Stables and Memorial

The Tontine Hotel stables were demolished between 1949 and 1952. The War Memorial — originally erected in the Square after WWI — was resited in 1965 onto the cleared ground where the stables had been, placing it with its back to the river, a decision that was never popular. Because the ground beneath is rubble, the memorial cannot easily be turned around.

1970s — Road Realignment

The Telford Development Corporation redesigned the junction with the High Street. Pavements were relaid in York stone with Coalbrookdale cast-iron kerbs. Overhead cables were buried. The slopes were opened out and landscaped into the broad views we see today.

Shops of the 20th Century — Tufnell's and Others

Tufnell's Newsagents & Tobacconists became a familiar name from the 1950s through the 1970s — striped awning, Wills's Cut Golden Bar adverts, and Wall's Ice Cream boards. Other shops included small grocers, minimarkets, confectioners, and later takeaway cafés.