This is a view of Stockton Riverside in 1980.
Courtesy of Martin Spires.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
This is a view of Stockton Riverside in 1980.
Courtesy of Martin Spires.
My Father (Ian Whitehouse) worked for Lever Industrial based here as one of the ‘Van Sales’ men. He travelled around the North East delivering Lever cleaning products to businesses in the area. I often used to go to work with him and travel in the van, and I have vivid memories of Christmas parties in that building where the kids of the workers came and got presents from Father Christmas. He was made redundant by Lever Brothers around 1972 and then went to work for SPD for short spell before working for Cleveland County Libraries driving a mobile library. He once told me that the building had to close as it was slowly slipping into the river!
Thanks for refeshing my memory regards to the goods that SPD delivered to Asda. I do remember now the Persil and Radiant washing powder cardboard cases, also the Batchlor”s Bigga Peas that came in a open tray that held 24 cans. The warehouse in Asda was in the basement and had a chute that the goods went flying down and the warehouse lad, like myself, would catch the boxes and stack them onto a pallet. The new Asda has a roll-on, roll-off loading bay. The building was demolished years ago and is now a car-park.
I worked for SPD from 1963 for about ten years, it was a distribution centre for Lever Bros, Batchelors, Birds Eye Foods etc. It stood for Speedy Prompt Delivery. I transferred to the Lincoln Depot in about 1965 and worked there until it closed, is the old building still there does anybody know.
Yes, SPD was a distribution depot. When I used to work in the Asda, West Row, I would unload the delivery from SPD, this would be mainly grocery goods. There is a link to this building being constructed, t1982. I remember I used to cross this road before the footbridge was put in place, the road then was not so busy as it is now.
I think SPD was some type of distribution company. I remember they had a fleet of white vans. However the warehouse predated this company by some time, and I would like to know what was the building”s original purpose. I also have a vague recollection if Initial IS, the towel service company, using the site.
What was the SPD depot? That area is now the Riverside carpark.
This picture shows the SPD depot and note that there is no footbridge.