I notice that the building that once housed Lloyds Pharmacy on the Blue Boar Row in Salisbury has now been sold. This building has quite a history and at one time it was known as ‘The Parade Coffee House’.

Inside the empty chemist on Blue Boar Row © Frogg Moody

Back in 1784 it was supported by subscribers who used it as a club. Here the members could indulge in all the gossip of the day whilst reading from their newspapers and puffing on a cigar or two in luxurious comfort.

The old staircase which climbs to three floors © Frogg Moody

Many people back then referred to the Blue Boar Row as The Parade because of its popularity – indeed, it was one of the chief meeting places in the city. Gentlemen could also lodge in the house where the powering closet housed a bath which was reached by lifting up the hinged floor boards – the water was heated by tossing in hot bricks! This ancient relic still remains in an upstairs room as do the tiled fireplaces, wooden panelling and wonderful staircases. It is little wonder that for many years the establishment was used as lodgings of the High Sheriff of Wilts at the Assizes.

The gentleman’s hinged bath                               One of the tiled fireplaces

Photographs © Frogg Moody

The Parade Coffee House was also used for lectures. In 1792 Dr Graham presented ‘Health, Very Long Life and Happiness’. He introduced his newly-discovered system of earth-bathing “as a cure for all the ills that flesh is heir to.”  By way of illustration he exhibited himself, and some credulous people who had been his patients, buried to the chin in the garden of the establishment for two hours at a time!

I consider myself lucky to have visited this property when I was a Salisbury City Councillor. The building had been empty for some time and as it was still owned by Salisbury Council, I was able to use my credentials to look all over the old establishment. These premises must be some of the oldest on the Blue Boar Row and during my visit it was easy to visualise our ancestors gathered there and enjoying life from a bygone era. 

After the demise of Parade Coffee House, the lease was eventually purchased by Mr Robert Squarey who was born at Teignmouth in 1779. He served an apprenticeship with a chemist in Torrington before coming to Salisbury in 1801 where he commenced business in Oatmeal Row before moving into the Parade Coffee House premises in 1802. Robert Squarey died in 1851 and James Read acquired the business later joining up with Edwin Orchard – the partnership became an important pharmaceutical business selling drugs all over the country. It was Orchard who sold the business to C Higgins in 1912 for the sum of £700. Higgins continued the business for many years taking his son Norman into partnership in 1944 when the business was known as Higgins and Son. Norman Higgins retired from the business in 1977.

Mr Robert Squarey who set up as a chemist in 1802 © Universal

The view from the upstairs window overlooking the Guildhall Square © Frogg Moody

The back outhouses of the Parade Coffee House / Chemist © Frogg Moody

Now that this building has been sold by Salisbury City Council we will have to wail and see what happens to this historic building. I hope the ghosts of times past are not disappointed….

* As I was preparing this article I had an email from a Mr Michael Mounter who informed me that whilst he was cutting back some brambles on his river bank, he found a bottle stamped ‘Squarey and Son.’ This just goes to show that artefacts from old Salisbury are still out there so keep on looking folks!