Basildon - Regional Shopping Centres - Kibcaps, Lee Chapel South

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Regional Shopping Centres

Lee Chapel South Neighbourhood Centre: Kibcaps



Location: The Knares Photographer: J.C. Photography Year of photo: 09/11/2006 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: Shops at Kibcaps, The Knares, Lee Chapel South.	Location: The Knares Photographer: J.C. Photography Year of photo: 09/11/2006 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: Shops at Kibcaps, The Knares, Lee Chapel South.	Location: The Knares Photographer: J.C. Photography Year of photo: 09/11/2006 Copyright: Basildon History Online Comments: Shops at Kibcaps, The Knares, Lee Chapel South.<

The neighbourhood shopping centre at Kibcaps in Lee Chapel South was constructed in the early 1960s with the first units opening for business in 1962.

Eight units were built and given numbers 1 - 8. The first seven form a single parade and no. 8, which adjoins a single storey residential property, is directly at the head of the main paved area.

A sub-post office was established within Smith Bros. newsagents at No. 7 but this was controversially closed around 1990 when the post office implemented a series of cost cutting measures.

Within the neighbourhood centre is the Community Centre, opened in September 1962, the Castle Mayne public house and off licence (opened 1963), public toilets and a dental surgery.

The council maintained toilets were later closed and in the 2000s converted into a cafe and the off licence was later closed and the area incorporated into a larger public bar. The shops are served by a 17 space car park.

Some of the past and present traders to have occupied the units.

Kibcaps			Open	Closed
No. 1	Vic Sanders Co-op Pharmacy	Chemist Chemist	c.1962 c.1990s	c.1980s
No. 2	Harrington the Butcher Fish 'N' Chick'n	Butcher Traditional Fish and Chip Shop	c.1962 c.1990s	c.1980s
No. 3	J.G. Cottis Tasty Buds Bakery	Bakers Bakers	c.1962 c.2000s	c.1980s
No. 4	Steer's - Murdoch Norton China Palace	Supermarket Take-away	Pre 29/12/1962 c.2000s	c.1980s
No. 5	Peters Hair Fashions The Cut Inn	Hairdressers Hairdressers	c.1962 c.2000s	c.1981
No. 6	Townsend Big John's Discount Angling Centre	Greengrocers and florist Sports Equipment	c.1962 c.2000s	c.1970s
No. 7	Smith Bros. (Charles and Don Smith) Sub-Post Office Costcutter Spar (Ravis Basildon Ltd.)	Newsagents and confectionery Post office services Convenience store Convenience store	1962 c.1960s 2000s 2016	c.1980s c.1990 2016
No. 8	F. Plume (Frank Plume) L. Leader (C.J. Sketton) Hardware Shop Gily's Lilys	Cobbler. Shoe repairs and sales Wools and Haberdashery Hardware, fastener, tools Florist	c.1963 1960s c.1970s 2000s	1960s c.1976 c.1990s

Page added: 2013

Other points of interest:

1) Townsend at No. 6 had previously traded in High Road, Laindon from around 1937 onwards, as did Cottis, who also had a shop in Langdon Hills and at High Street, Billericay.

2) Peters and Harringtons also had shops at other centres within the town.

3) The Castle Mayne public house is named after a former farm house with distinctive crenallated features. This stood in Lee Chapel and had been a dairy farm until the 1950s when the property was demolished during the development of Lee Chapel South.

4) Smith Bros. Post Office and Newsagents in unit 7 previously traded from 1924 at Butlers Grove House, High Road, Langdon Hills.

5) Frank Plume in unit 8 was previously based at High Road, Langdon Hills on the corner with Osborne Road - now roughly the Valence Way road junction. His shop there was demolished in the early 1960s.

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