Last week we featured a picture of the Cross Hands Hotel, Chepstow Road, Newport.

TODAY’S photo shows the Cross Hands Hotel on the corner of Chepstow Road and Somerton Road.

Over the years this building has seen many changes and alterations, 80 years ago the opposite corner was occupied by Spencer’s the grocer and next door to that was the Cross Hands Post Office and Telegraph Office.

Just across the road is Eveswell School much altered in recent times and a little further on is Batchelor Road where at one time there was a drinking fountain at the foot of the road, this was demolished when a lorry hit it.

Dave Woolven, Newport THE Now and Then picture is the Cross Hands Hotel. I worked there as a barmaid for 30 years in the sixties.

It was a lovely place to work, customers were more like friends.

Next door there was an off-licence, a gents hairdressers and a newspaper shop.

At the end of the block there was a house that belonged to the off-license and another house that belonged to Wayfarers Cafe.

Across the road from that, going towards town, was Spencer’s Stores, a post office, greengrocers and a Spa shop if you walked along a bit towards Beechwood Park.

Directly opposite the Cross Hands Hotel was lots of guest houses from which we had lots of customers from.

Milian Brickvell, Ringland Comments from last weeks Now and Then picture: The houses on the site of the former Bassaleg Junction railway station front onto what is now Western Valley Road, Rogerstone, not Viaduct Way, Bassaleg.