# Hadleigh Garage (RJ Grimes), Coulsdon



## mookster (Sep 9, 2009)

This is more a memorial to this site than anything, to document the trip only. Back in June me and some friends had an utterly crap day exploring, with a failed trip to Colindale and a trip to Cane Hill being thwarted by firemen on the site but this little gem made up for it. Sadly this site much to mine and my friends horror was burnt to the ground in its entireity last month, too big a fire for a casual arson

From what I can gather on the internets, the garage used to belong to a Chrysler Group parts dealer, mainly Peugeot and Talbot stuff and suchlike. It appears it closed in 2002/early 2003, a planning application was made for flats on the site in 2006 but refused because of the trees and limited space. The site was made up of 2 houses (both trashed), the main garage building and much to our surprise a maze of corrugated iron and wooden sheds hidden from view, all built precariously on the sloped back garden. To say we expected to find what we saw inside would be a lie.....























































more here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157622583443010/


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## lost (Sep 9, 2009)

It was a pretty nice find. I wonder how big a part its exposure on the internet played in the fire.


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## kevsy21 (Oct 12, 2009)

wow all the spares left on the shelves,very surprising,you could make a fortune on ebay with them hee hee


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## lost (Oct 13, 2009)

Oh aye, I'm sure there are millions clamouring for Talbot indicators and Peugeot 505 steering wheels.


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## kevsy21 (Oct 13, 2009)

lost said:


> Oh aye, I'm sure there are millions clamouring for Talbot indicators and Peugeot 505 steering wheels.



saw a peugeot 505 estate the other day,must be last few left in britain and it was a heap,maybe he do with a visit there


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## mookster (Oct 13, 2009)

kevsy21 said:


> wow all the spares left on the shelves,very surprising,you could make a fortune on ebay with them hee hee



the thought did cross our mind (lol) but the chavs got to it


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## Richard Davies (Oct 13, 2009)

kevsy21 said:


> saw a peugeot 505 estate the other day,must be last few left in britain and it was a heap,maybe he do with a visit there



There's still a few 505s in Portugal, mostly estates.


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## kevsy21 (Oct 13, 2009)

mookster said:


> the thought did cross our mind (lol) but the chavs got to it



greats pic though and a good explore i bet


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## Goldie87 (Oct 13, 2009)

Interesting little place. There was somewhere similar in Leicester, dunno if its still there now though.


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## mookster (Oct 13, 2009)

ah sorry about the disappearance of the Flickr album, I was spring-cleaning my account a few months early and I think I deleted them

Will reupload them when I get the time


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## Lightbuoy (Oct 14, 2009)

Interesting looking place -loving all those un-used Avenger windscreens -all you need is a Hillman and you'll be in business! 

http://www.colin99.co.uk/avenger_pics/after.jpg

Seem to recall that the Austin allegro was similar in design -perhaps one of those "badge engineered" jobbies?


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## mookster (Oct 14, 2009)

Lightbuoy said:


> Interesting looking place -loving all those un-used Avenger windscreens -all you need is a Hillman and you'll be in business!



you can't see it in the photo but on top of one of the windscreens in that crate was the remains of a very old, very manky looking condom melted onto the windscreen


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## kevsy21 (Oct 14, 2009)

mookster said:


> you can't see it in the photo but on top of one of the windscreens in that crate was the remains of a very old, very manky looking condom melted onto the windscreen



thats what i call loving a car


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## mookster (Oct 14, 2009)

I reuploaded the pics that I deleted for some unexplained reason, here's the new album link

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mookie427/sets/72157622583443010/


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## J_a_t_33 (Oct 24, 2009)

Drove past a Peugeot 505 van last night an thought, blimey thats gotta be one of the last ones on the road.


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## newposter76 (Oct 25, 2009)

RJ Grimes is still going by the looks of it, still in Coulston but on a smaller scale:

http://www.speedyspares.co.uk/n1stpage.htm


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