Man of Kent, Mr & Mrs Nicklen's shop (or was it Nickling) is in 101sean's photo, it was next to Farthing's greengrocers. I remember it as a sweetshop which was run by Mrs Nicklen and, as you said, Mr Nicklen would cut hair upstairs in their back bedroom, he gave a real old fashioned short back and sides! I believe he had a workshop in the backgarden where he repaired umbrella's. They were a lovely couple and I spent a lot of my pocket money in there! She sold what I call novelty sweets, chocolate in the shape of tools, liquorice in wheels and jar upon jar of different sherberts. When it was announced about decimalisation she got very stressed about it and said she could not cope with it and the day it was introduced they closed forever.
It amazes me now, how a small area could support so many shops. I think between Gladstone Road and Corkwell Street there were eight shops. I remember the newsagents with the barbers in the back, next to that was a butchers (he sold up and moved to a new shop at Lordswood) and near it was a dressmaking shop.