The Tower of Babel – Shop of the Day no.21
A dear friend is staying with us at the moment, first time in London. I told him he should go to Brixton today. have a look at the market wander around – look up! (as you must always do when wandering around town) So here is the Reliance Arcade, one of my favourite facades in the whole Tower. One of my best shops inside the arcade is the Holy Shop, one stop shop for anything christian and religious a veritable feast of religious icons for me to plunder.
Built in 1924 the Reliance Arcade goes from Brixton Road to Electric Lane. It incorporates the original Georgian house and has a beautiful Egyptian tomb facade to Electric Lane; it was extended forward by Ernest J Thomas in 1931. Inside there are small shops no larger than market stalls and a glazed roof provide the light.
The antipathy of the bland chain stores that make areas so utterly soulless and boring, these are true gems of London that must be protected from the sterilisation of the high street.
©Barnaby Barford 2015