SHOPS often have many different owners and uses through the decades, as can be seen by this picture of 50 Lapstone Road, Millom.

Outside the building – which has been hotel, café, fashion shop and takeaway – is Jimmy Miller and Sandra Edwards in the late 1950s or early 1960s.

It was then the Corner Café, with an entrance on the corner of Lapstone Road and Crown Street.

Outside the café can be seen a YZ fruit chewing gum vending machine which took old pennies and cigarette advertising.

Jonty Troughton ran a taxi service from the Corner Café.

The café had a juke box and was often packed with territorial soldiers from regiments based all over Britain.

They would have been based at the former RAF camp at Haverigg for several weeks on Civil Defence training.

The picture was kindly provided by Terry Wilson, of King Street.

An advertisement in the Whitehaven News on May 18 in 1899 invited travellers to try out the facilities of the newly moved Deacon’s Commercial Hotel.

It notes: “Mrs Deacon desires to heartily thank her numerous customers for past patronage and intimates that she has removed to the new and commodious premises, opposite the Conservative Club and Co-operative stores, No. 50 Lapstone Road, Millom.

“Every comfort and accommodation for commercial and other visitors; dining, tea and coffee, rooms, beds, hot and cold water, baths.

“Confectionery of every description, wedding and Christening cakes to order.”

By the 1920s the bottom floor of Deacon’s was used by musical instrument and radio and gramophone dealers William Kelley.

In the 1980s the former hotel was called Bargain Buys and later sold fashion jeans. It is now Mr Woks Thai Orchid.

The picture of the three men enjoying a night out, possibly at Haverigg, is from the 1960s and shows, from left, Albert Coulson, Jimmy Miller and Lou Thompson.

Mr Coulson’s father was a Haverigg coalman and Mr Thompson was from a Hull fishing family and staying in Millom.