Channell’s, 54 Church Street, Gloucester

Henry James Channell was a hairdresser in Sydney with two salons in Park and George Streets.¹ In 1907 he and his brother Arthur bought land at the Waukivory Subdivision,² and by 1909 he had moved to Gloucester and erected two brick shops on the corner of Denison and Church Streets.³ Apart from the Commercial Hotel these shops were the first brick buildings in Gloucester.⁴ It was here that Channell opened his hairdressing and tobacconist business.⁵

Between 1913 and 1916, Channell handed over his business to August G Reichert Senior and Channell appears to have dropped out of Gloucester town life for a while.⁶ However in 1916, Channell took back his business and renamed it ‘H J Channell: Hairdresser, Tobacconist, Fancy Goods & Newsagent’.⁷ Channell was among the early newsagents in Gloucester and was thought to be the one of the oldest family owned newsagencies in NSW.⁸ 

Since the shop’s original construction, there have been many alterations to accommodate changing business ventures and modernisation. In 1929 Channell built a brick billiard room at the rear of his barber’s shop which proved to be very popular.⁹ 1934 saw a major renovation with a new shopfront and verandah and the removal of a central interior wall.¹⁰ Further major renovations occurred in 1962 and again during the 1980s.¹¹

Henry Channell and his wife Jessie both died in 1962.¹² By that time the business was being carried on by Channell’s son William James ‘Jim’ and his wife Doris, and then later by their son Peter and his wife Marcia. On 2 December 2018 Peter and Marcia sold to Lovey’s Grocers ending 109 years of a family business – one of the oldest continuous family businesses in Gloucester’s history.¹³

Author: Janine Roberts