Comments on: Bearmans

By: paul

paul — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 19:42:55 +0000

i am 38 now still rem bearmans it was agreat place to go; use to love x mas and the lego games each year , it has changed so much thay have a matalans there now not the same as it use to. leytonstone was a good place to live safe and clean i lived on richmond rd ell what happened? and where has all the real eastenders gone , i now live in ireland

By: Jeremy Thompson

Jeremy Thompson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:14:18 +0000

I spent my childhood in Leytonstone and I always loved going to Bearmans. I remember the Rocket ride which used to be near the stairs and I used to save my pocket money so I could go on it. It looked a bit like an old motorcycle side car and there was a lever to make you go up and down. We visited Santa every year and the carriage that took you to the Grotto was fantastic.

By: Simon White

Simon White — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:07:03 +0000

I was brought up in Walthamstow in the 60′s and 70′s and remember visiting the store lots of times. My parents dining room furniture came from Beamans I think. I remember the Christmas Grotto well, and the ‘ride’ that took you there. They had a great toy department. We also used to visit the cinema next door, but would never have remembered the name. Rialto doesn’t sound familiar though…did it change ?

By: ian mitchell

ian mitchell — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:23:25 +0000

I used to go in Bearmans all the time during the 60′s and early 70′s. The pop music dept was upstairs in the rear, with some listening booths. Toys next to that and at Christmas who could forget the Grotto, sheer magic. I can still picture in my head the interior of the ‘ride’. Used to mainly buy gifts for myself or famliy. There was a side passage that led to the Rialto cinema .used to go there alot too. saw it get demolished during the summer of 1984. Have a photo of that unhappy event. Such a pity its gone but glad it made a lasting impression on us.

By: Suze

Suze — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:13:36 +0000

My grandparents lived in Leytonstone and I remember going to Bearmans regularly. I particularly remember going to visit Father Christmas there when I was small. Wonderful memories and its so sad to see how run down Leytonstone High Road is these days. I’m so surprised at the lack of info about Bearmans on the internet too.

By: Di Shaw

Di Shaw — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:06:57 +0000

My Mum was fostered by a couple in Leytonstone from 1917 – 1929. Her fostermother’s daughter Violet May Ellis worked for Bearmans all her working lifef & lived at 7 Kirkdale Road which I understand was a house bought by the store owners for their shopgirls.
If anyone else has more information I would love to know it.