BenForrest in lights

I thought that I had finished covering the extensive refurbishment of BenForrest on Ham Parade and then I got off a 65 late at night and saw this.

BenForrest make-over

BenForrest arrived on Ham Parade in 2014 and had a refresh in 2019. The recent make-over has given it a very different look with white tiles, green paint and a fake plant background to the shop name which makes it rather hard to read.

BenForrest refresh

I have been keeping an eye on the former Rowleys shop on Ham Parade as work continues to bring it back in to use and while this is happening BenForrest (or is it Ben Forrest?) next door is getting a refresh. 

This is not unexpected as BenForrest arrived on Ham Parade in 2014 and was last refreshed in 2019.

Two empty units

While the unit that used to be Rowleys seems to have found a new owner at one end of Ham Parade at the far end two units have become empty.

In June last year there were for sale by auction signs up and more recently a sold sign appeared, but far too briefly for me to photograph it. Whatever the new owners have in mind does not include the two businesses that were there.

Personally I will not miss Taylor Made having had various animated discussions with some of their drivers over their frequent pavement parking.

With the Hand and Flower closed and the former Gate House also looking for a new tenant, the top end of Ham Parade looks grim at the moment.

Rowleys replaced

It is almost a year (somehow!) since Rowleys on Ham Parade closed and now it looks as though the unit has found a new occupier. That should be good news but that rather depends on what that business is.

KP Dry Cleaners

What used to be ROYAL Dry Cleaners (in Ham Street opposite Grey Court) has morphed into .KP Dry Cleaners. "KP" is my reading of the logo but it could be "KR" or even just "K".

This comes almost exactly a year after K S Dry Cleaners morphed into ROYAL Dry Cleaners.

Harris Beauty Clinic

After two years, the unit that was once a Chinese takeaway called Chef for You has finally found a new tenant and is to become Harri's Beauty Clinic.

Cavan Bakery coming to Ham Parade

Cavan Bakery coming to Ham Parade reusing the unit that used to be Le Look Image and replacing the service that was provided by Rowleys.

Cavan will be familiar to many people as they have shops just across the river in Teddington and others further afield in West London. I worked in Teddington for a couple of years and Cavan was my regular lunchtime stop and I look forward to renewing that relationship in Ham.

b.t.w. The way this blog works is that I usually write the entries some time after the photos are taken and they get published some time after that and so, if you read this regularly, you will see me apparently commenting on the unit being prepared after we know what is coming. News can age quickly!

Changes at the former Le Look Image

Le Look Image was on Ham Parade for just over thirty years and when the owners retired in April 2025 the unit was left empty for several months but now it looks as though it may be coming back into life as the careful dismantling starts.

Ham Village Pharmacy

What used to be Kanset Pharmacy in St Richards Square has changed ownership and has become Ham Village Pharmacy. The branding tells you that is a partner to both Ham Parade and Ham Common Pharmacies.

Unstoppable

The unit on Ham Parade that Mervyn Smith used as a temporary location (while their original was repaired) is being brought back into life quickly as Unstoppable Training Studio,

Mervyn Smith swap

After an extended stay two doors down, Mervyn Smith is now back in its original home on Ham Parade.

 

Meanwhile the temporary home is being reworked, either just to remove all traces of Mervyn Smith or to prepare for a new tenant. Hopefully the latter as there are already several unused and underused units on the struggling Parade.

Full refurbishment at Mervyn Smith

It was last autumn that the roof gave way at Mervyn Smith forcing them to move quickly into an empty unit two doors away. Refurbishment on the original site while slow to start has picked up in recent weeks and it looks as though it will soon be ready for occupation.

Rowleys Bakery is now closed

I have literally bought thousands of loaves of bread from Rowleys on Ham Parade over the years, plus lots of mince pies and hot cross buns, so it has come as something as a shock to read this notice to say that they have closed suddenly.

With hindsight there have been signs with recent short-term closures for things like no flour, but it is still a shock.

Of course this may prove to be another temporary closure or somebody else might move in and make use of the ovens. I can but hope.

Freeholds for sale

The "For Sale By Auction" signs are not an immediate worry but the auctioneer website says, "The lots offer a variety of potential different uses/further developments" and "The site has previously had a positive pre app commercial, residential & mixed use development with an additional 2.5 stories."

The threat is not immediate as both tenants have leases running to 2029 but that is only four years away.

Ham Hardware

This shop on Ham Parade had been operating incognito for a couple of weeks until the arrival of a sign announcing, to nobody's surprise, that it is called Ham Hardware.

New shop on Ham Parade

A new shop has come to Ham Parade, sandwiched between the two Mervyn Smiths in the unit last occupied by a Princess Alice Hospice shop.

It is clear from the unobstructed glass frontage what it sells, though its name is still a mystery.

A new look for Jaflong

Jaflong in Ashburnham Road has had a major revamp most of which is inside so I cannot show you that, however, it was the external change that alerted me with the grey frontage becoming black, and I can show you that.

Sometime over the years the shop sign changed too, from what it was in 2008, but I failed to record that change at the time, despite visiting there regularly to get a Vegetable Ceylon.

CYCLE FiRST

CYCLE FiRST has opened where Ashburnham Carpets used to be in, unsurprisingly, Ashburnham Road.

It is always good to see an empty unit come back into use and it is even better when the new shop is something different and when it looks as attractive as this.

ROYAL Dry Cleaners

What used to be K S Dry Cleaners (in Ham Street opposite Grey Court) has morphed into ROYAL Dry Cleaners.