Cafes
Lupin, Little Chef, Jolly
Tea Rooms, Dolly
Varden,
Bert's Gone Mad, Wickham's, Whittle's,
Connie's on Bridge Street,
Queen Anne House ...
and more
Steve, who has contributed
several items to this website, is researching the local cafes along the
A30 and, would like to get in touch with the former owners of the
various cafes, and anyone else with knowledge about them, and/or with
photos of them, especially those taken before the M3 opening in June
1971. Any general A30 road views as well. 643.108
Prompted by various references to transport vehicles Sue wrote "I used to walk along the A30, between The Jolly Farmer and Yorktown, to school between 1954 and 1958. I remember my brother and I 'spotting' a fleet of lorries that had the names of nursery characters on the front of each lorry - I remember one was called Mother Goose. I wonder if anyone knows which company these lorries belonged to. {Apr 11}
Lupin Cafe
The Lupin cafe was on the A30 just beyond Waterers Nursery. I
am told that it closed in the summer of 1973, two years after the M3
(J3-J8) opened in June 1971. It is now the site of Lupin Close.
[643.0306] The location can be seen [620.0106]
Roy Draper replied:
At one stage in the sixties it was owned by the Whittle family. My first truck (lorry) driving job was with EH Whittle, who were sand and gravel (and later bulk fuel) carriers. We started carting fuel to Broadmoor prison at about the time the "mad axe man" Frank Mitchell had escaped, all our trucks within Broadmoor boundaries were stopped and searched - three days later he was found hiding in the roof of a warden's house opposite the main entrance to the institution. When I worked there the cafe was run by Vera (who I think was EH's daughter), Les Taylor was the transport manager and 'Ginger' Whickens was forman . The truck depot was at the rear of the cafe. Also out the back was a huge truck park which made it one of the most used truck stops in Bagshot. ref 615.0206x2
From David Good: There is feature film footage of the Lupin Cafe. Stanley Baker starred in it. ''Hell Drivers'"was the name of the film and contains scenes of the Lupin Cafe how I remember it. xii08
Sylvia tells us: During the war and in fact for some time afterwards the Lupin cafe was managed by my family. My mother Zena Champion (then Daniels) also worked there with her sisters, Phylis, Muriel and Edna. Later my Aunt Phylis married Jack Dyer and he became the manager. Jan 10
Steve
provided the photo alongside which he thinks is of Bagshot's Lupin Cafe
and asks if anyone can confirm this. He thinks that the cafe
was used as a location in the 1963 film "The Hi-Jackers" [Aug
11]
Brian has confirmed that this is indeed the Bagshot Lupin Cafe and that it was used in the film that featured Anthony Booth as the truck driver who had his truck hi-jacked. [Jul 15]
Ken P has written to say that the Lupin Cafe featured in a "Dixon of Dock Green" episode in 1973. [Jul 17]
Little Chef
Another reader tells us: Between Bert's and the garage was a Little Chef, one of the smallest in Britain, seating about 10 from memory. The site can still be traced. ref 643.iii6
I remember the Little Chef in Bagshot, writes Diane Draper (Wilson) My Mum's friend, Ella Fogarty worked there. It was small, but you didn't really think about that when you were in there. I did not realise that it was the smallest one in Britain. How's about that then. One day when I was in there with my Mum seeing Ella, a famous gentleman came in, he had big blue eyes. My mum is trying to remember who it was. Any ideas from any one who he was?? Also the Beverley Sisters were in there one day too. They probably had come for a nose at the smallest Little Chef around. iii6
It straddled the Windle Brook on a bridge that is still there and can be seen in these 2007 photos. location
Several readers have written that they remember eating in the Bagshot Little Chef . Does anybody has a photo of it?
I worked there every Saturday and Sunday (age: 14yrs) writes Rita Stevens (Puglisi) . It was the smallest, and the Branch No was 007..!!!! my Boss at that time was related to Jimmy Tarbuck and she had to go on 'This is your life'. I remember Ella working there too.. Great fun and enjoyed working there. (Oct 11)
Alan Woods : I remember the Llittle Chef. I was in the navy and travelled past every weekend. I called in for a coffee, and a smile from Pina. [Jul 17]
From 'Bagshot Boy': Bagshot's Little Chef actually had yet another, rarely mentioned claim-to-fame in that apart from only seating a maximum of 10 customers and being the smallest in the country, it was also the only Little Chef ever to be built and located above water on a concrete platform specially built for it.
The restaurant was small, cozy and very well laid out, and also had bar stools at the counter facing the two staff working there frying the onions and cooking the burgers ... these were the best burgers in Bagshot!
A tradition at the restaurant for visitors leaving, was to stop outside and drop a small coin into the stream below while making a wish.
At the weekends, during the summer months it was extremely popular with the classic car and biker petrol heads who often held their meetings on a Sunday in the carpark of Bert's Café next door.
Over the years many celebrities have been seen and served there while they were staying and entertaining at the local Pennyhill Park Hotel.
After its closure and demolition, the concrete platform was left untouched and is still there today for all to see! Sadly, it is now all gone, and hardly any photographic evidence remains detailing its existence. [May 20]
Jolly Tea RoomsLynda asks, "Does anyone remember the Jolly Tea Rooms on the A30, next to Sparks Garage and opposite the Jolly Farmer pub ?" ref 697.706 Alan does "I well remember the Jolly tea rooms - we used to have a coke there and play the juke box .When was it demolished I wonder ?" 260.906 Neil wrote that he has a picture of the Jolly Tea Rooms (see at right) on his website www.camberleyarchivephotos.com. He also has an aerial photo of the Jolly Farmer taken late 1970's which shows that the tea rooms had by then been demolished, but the site not yet redeveloped. [re 7072.907] Another Neil writes: The Jolly Tea Rooms backed onto our garden when we lived on the Maultway North. I think it was owned by an Italian family, I only remember his name as being Tony and his dog which never stopped barking, we used to scrump all of his apples which hung over our garden. [ref 9019ii9] The location can be seen here |
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![[Image]](JollyTeaRooms.jpg)
Dolly Varden cafeThe former Dolly Varden on the bypass now has a page to itself with an authoritive history. Bert's Gone MadBerts Gone Mad was the name of a transport cafe on the bypass, almost opposite the Dolly Varden. It became "Jack's" fish and chips outlet. It was demolished in 2021 to be replaced by a care home. Terry Hatchett writes: I used to deliver to Bert's in the early 50's for Telfers meat pies, sausages and cakes. I remember Bert as a large man with a hearty laugh and sense of humour. I remember staying there one night when the fog came down a peasouper and we couldn't move. We roughed it with the truckers, we were packed in like sardines. It was just Bert's cafe then. It was one Christmas when he laid on special Christmas dinner at a very special cheap price and he put a large sign in the window saying "Bert's gone mad". He later did another promotion saying "Bert's gone mad again", and from then on the name stuck. Nov 09
More about the Bert's Gone Mad is included in the
Dolly Varden
story. The location can be seen here
and a 2019 photo is alongside. Violet Tea Rooms
Only seeing this picture a few years ago and not being from around the Surrey area I had no idea where it was let alone it still being around so it was just a picture to me. On a very recent trip to visit Bagshot to have a look around as I am researching the Draper side of the family we walked past Jacks and from the front it looked very familiar to me, so on my return home I compared the picture I had to one of Jacks. They were very similar but I couldn't be sure, also the road was called London Road. On doing some research and looking for old photos I came across this website and clicked on the cafes heading. After reading about the Dolly Varden cafe and Bert's Gone Mad I was still unsure as there was no picture so I scrolled back and clicked on the Photos heading on the main page and there was a link to some photos of Bagshot circa 1980 that Lee McComish of Camberley had put on flickr. So I clicked on that and saw 2 pictures of Bert's Gone Mad Cafe. It was definitely the same cafe but minus the chimneys now and a few alterations but I had found my Nan and Grandad's Tea Rooms. After doing a bit more research of the Electoral Rolls I have found that Ernest and Constance were there from 1927/28 - 1931/32 then it changed hands and name and was known as By-Pass Cafe owned by a Henry Grant and his wife Laura, then in 1937 Herbert George Rundle purchased it and it became Bert's Kitchen, changing to Bert's Cafe in 1939 and again after 1950 to The Bert's Gone Mad until it changed hands again and became Jacks. [Sep 19] Comparing Angela's photo of the Violet Tea Rooms with my 2019 photo (above) taken from as near the same spot as I could, there can be no doubt that this is the same building, now extended. Wickham Tea Rooms
The Wickham Tea Rooms and Gardens were at the foot of Church Road. The property later became Fortuna's Ice Cream Palour. An enquiry about Wickhams and pictures of it are on the Fortuna page. Yaverland
Tea Rooms
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Doug Beales writes : 
The
precursor to Bert's was the Violet Tea Rooms. Angela provided
this photo and wrote: 
Queen Anne House
Data provided only for personal background information. While every effort has been made to provide correct information no assurance as to its accuracy is given or implied. Check any facts you wish to rely upon.
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