Old UK Petrol Stations.

[BaZa®]

These days, filling up, is, at best, a bland business. Seen one forecourt and you've pretty much seen it all.

But in the earlier days of motoring it could be an exotic experience - you might find yourself pulling up at a quaintly thatched service station and even having your fuel dispensed from pumps with their own thatched roofs.
Alternatively, you might find your fuel being pumped from a novelty lighthouse.


Starting off with the famous Ace Cafe London:

The Ace Cafe soon attracted motorcyclists.



Once the cafe was established, the owner's thoughts turned to the motor trade. In 1939 he opened a service station with a battery of 10 pumps on adjoining land, with a spacious washing bay, showroom and repair shop.














Staff wore oriental robes at the 'Chinese garage' in Beckenham, Kent


Blashford, Hampshire, 1930, Renault Type NN Town Car


Old Brompton Road, London, 1935. Labour MP Tom Williams fills his

Rolls-Royce Phantom II with Coalene - petrol made from coal



Coupons are used to top up this tourer in 1945
Or, if passing through Beckenham in Kent, you might be tempted to try its

'Chinese garage' designed to look like a pagoda and staffed by attendants in Oriental silk robes.
English Heritage expert John Minnis has set about making an exhaustive list of the

remarkable old filling stations still standing in Britain, scouring dog-eared motoring magazines in his bid to track them down.



Shell pumps in North Wales


Heartbeat's 'Aidensfield garage' in North Yorkshire


An old shell pump in St Mawes, Cornwall
Sometimes - as in the case of Beckenham's Pagoda - he finds the buildings still standing,

though they have long since stopped selling petrol.


An unsmiling attendant with a 1934 Singer Sport saloon, 1934


Using a long petrol hose to fill up a mid-Thirties Standard


Futuristic canopy over a Blue Star Forecourt, 1958


Colnbrook, Berkshire, 1929, French-made Delage

[English Steve]

These days you spend 1/2 hour standing in a queue behind people doing their weekly shopping

On a lighter note, the old petrol pump is still standing outside what was our local general stores and pub. Unfortunately it is in a poor state of repair, and it's probably only a matter of time before it disappears.

[andy real ale]

got a lovely old one just down the road from me in Stockbridge , hampshire !

[Kernow]

Isn't there an old pump at Talgarth, near the Rugby Club?

[Tony Cross]

The Mulliner Phantom II BLL666 is still going strong in Switzerland. Not bad for a car registered in Sept 1934.

[English Steve]

Andy, I remember that garage in Stockbridge - we used to stay at the Three Cups (?) occasionally.

Tony, they don't make em like they used to

[mucka]

happy days..........empty fore courts up here are taken over by immigrants and will wash your motor.prices vary as well...........

[Natra]

or this one in America

[the_monster]

er, do you think it's wise putting a picture on the net of showing your old pump to a minor ?

[Natra]

Originally Posted by the_monster

er, do you think it's wise putting a picture on the net of showing your old pump to a minor ?

TWAT