Silver rooms and Soap & Suds, Stroud Co-op building built 1931, 1 the Cross, Stroud, Gloucestershire , England, UK, GL5 2HL

Built in 1931 by William Leah, this is a stone Art Deco building, now let as separate shops, which was formerly the Stroud Co-op department store. Once inside the front door, customers would walk up through the different departments. The main double door is now replaced by the separate doors into the Black Book café and the launderette, with a narrow blank panel in between. The windows up both Nelson St and Parliament St have the original lights and pull-down awnings (still working). The square, Art Deco, rendered panel (‘1931’) is as it was originally. The signage (Soap & Suds, etc) is modern but in a font in keeping with the age of the building. Unit 6, originally the butcher’s department of the Co-op and now a tattoo parlour – has a set-back doorway (the others in the block flush) but no awning like the others. At the back of the shop are the original butcher’s rails. The plate glass is the original Co-op shop glass. In Unit 4, originally the cooked meats department with uphill neighbour Hong Kong takeaway and now R&R books, the central black and white tiled flooring is original. Sources: Pevsner guide to the Cotswolds (The Buildings of England, Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds by David Verey and Alan Brooks)