Most photographs of the Fish Pond are taken from a different angle, with the Royal Pavilion (now the Mining Museum) as a backdrop, so this photograph is unusual as it shows the row of three shops on the opposite side of the road that are next to the Fish Pond Hotel (not in the picture). The fish food dispenser, mentioned on other pages on this web site, is on the left.

Whilst the photograph below is perhaps not showing the building at its best, as the facade is covered with scaffolding poles and boards when it was taken, it shows the shop in this parade that at one time was run by Harry Gill. Mr. Gill was perhaps better known during his lifetime as being a local photographer and collector.

In the postcard above Gill's shop is slightly obscured but was the left one of the three in the little parade, behind the man standing next to the fish food dispenser. In the 1950s and 60s the other shopkeepers were Tommy and Connie Lowndes, who sold toys and newspapers, and Mr. and Mrs. Bert Gregory who sold chocolates and sweets in the shop at the far end. Tommy Lowndes' shop was a wonderland for small children; he specialized in electric trains and for some years mounted exhibitions in the Royal Pavilion.