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High Street Dining Rooms, Victorian times

The property is brick-built, three storeys and appears to have cellars. There are doors on either side of the window, the one to the left may be a private entrance or (less likely from appearance) access to a yard? The one to the right appears to be the entrance to the dining area. The property to the left is painted white.

I agree with Maurice the photo appears to be from the late Victorian era so checked trade directories from 1890 and 1913 for references to 'Dining Rooms' and 'Coffee House':

• 9: coffee house in 1890 & 1898 (James Stevens)
• 36:coffee shop/rooms in 1890-1901 (Richard Gardiner)
• 118:coffee house 1898 & 1901 (John Offer); corner site with Bradshaw's Yard
• 127:dining rooms in 1890 (Arthur Overton); corner site with Boars Head Yard (and possibly subsumed into the Magpie and Crown at 128)
• 144: coffee rooms 1913 onwards (Mrs F Beck)
• 177: dining rooms / coffee house 1898 - 1907 (Mrs Adelaide Tucker)
• 233: coffee rooms 1890 ownards (Arthur Bacon); corner site with St Paul's Road, later photos show a different building to that in the photo
• 263: dining rooms from 1913; a 1945/5 photo shows a different property to that in the photo
• 297: coffee house, 1891 (George Hearn)
• 331: coffee house / dining rooms 1898 onwards (John Dean); photo from 1945/6 shows different property
• 337: dining rooms from 1907 (Albert Green, Thomas Shannon)
• 354: dining rooms in 1913 (Mrs F M Ballard)
• 361: dining rooms in 1907 (Walter Kilford - next to the Barge Aground)
• 379: Will Geo Hancock, coffeehouse keeper (1891 census); at no. 376 in 1898 directory
• 395: Mrs Jane Stevens, coffee shop (1901): photo in 'Brentford As It Was' shows different property
• 408: William Coltart, dining rooms from 1913
• 21 Kew Bridge Road: coffee and dining rooms, 1898 (Jim Halstead)
• 33 Kew Bridge Road: coffee room, 1898 (James William Woolcott)
• 31 London Road: coffee rooms in 1898 (George Herbert Mallage)

In October 2015 Mick Read wrote with a possible location: near to the Magpie and Crown and Motorwise, around 128 High Street. A photo published in Autocar, 1905 shows an oblique view of this part of the High Street. The detail at the pavement level and the wood over the shop window looks very similar, also the area under the window, although on the Autocar photo there seems to be an extra pillar in the centre of the window.No. 127 High Street was identified below as a possible location. Has anyone any postcards of photos which might confirm the location? If so please get in touch.

Published November 2010; updated October 2015