A Brief History of 58-59 Devizes Road

In 1893 the Dodgson family bought number 59 Devizes Road and opened Dodgsons Barbers. The family, with their 9 children, lived in the flat upstairs.

In 1957, a young barber by the name of Tony Holmes began his career in barbering at the still trading Dodgsons until, in 1958, Mr Dodgson decided it was time to retire. He sold his business to Tony who ploughed every penny of his savings into taking it on. He renamed his new unisex hairdressers “Talk of the Town”.

In 1977 Tony purchased number 58 and expanded his salon into the unit next door. In 1995 he expanded further, into number 60 (now Lucy Humphries Hair and Beauty) on the other side of his original building. Finally, in 2014, after cutting hair for over 60 years, in one of the most unspoilt and unaltered buildings in Old Town, Mr Holmes called time on Talk of the Town and hung up his scissors for the last time.

After two years of the building lying empty, a new chapter in its history was written as, in November 2016, The Tuppenny opened its doors for the first time, serving the finest craft drinks to the now slightly less well-coiffured population of Old Town.

This story continues…