Inside the 'most diverse road in the UK' where residents speak 70 languages
A Middle Eastern mini-market sells produce from Syria, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
A Methodist Church sits alongside Afro-Caribbean Mr B’s Hair Products.
Not far away a Polish cafe sells peasant pork chop and dumplings.
Then there’s an Indian tailor and an African food shop.
Welcome to Barton Street, Gloucester, which with residents who speak 70 languages is being called the most diverse road in the country.
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The area was a traditionally Jewish quarter when a Jewish cemetery was built in the 18th century, but over the years there has been a large influx of Muslim and Eastern European families - and then from other parts of the world.
Now it’s no wonder there’s a graffiti stencil of Martin Luther King and his very appropriate words: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
Marta Puchala says she loves the street (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Many newcomers set up businesses here, creating a lively street full of independently owned shops serving the many different communities.
Inside the brightly coloured Polish cafe, the Dworska, where traditional Easter decorations hang and the smell of Polish food fills the air, owner Marta Puchala says she loves the street.
“I like it here. I came from Poland more than 10 years ago, I love the mentality of the people - they are smiley and friendly and nothing is a problem.”
Outside the Continental Food Market, Kevlin is shopping with her mum Martha Overson, 48, who was born in Ghana. They come to Barton Street because you can get “whatever you want from anywhere in the world.”
Martha Overson and daughter Kevlyn live near Barton Street (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)“I always shop here. You can get everything you want from Africa to China to the Philippines you get it all here,” she says.
“It’s a very good place to raise your children. Everyone knows everyone on this street and people help each other no matter where from your from. Wherever you go there’s bad and good but here people welcome you.”
Salman Khawaja set up the Islamic Society of Gloucester to give something back to the community. It doubles up as a community centre, food bank and youth centre to help keep teenagers off the streets.
Salman Khawaja runs the Islamic Society of Gloucester on Barton Street (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Inside, his young daughter plays with toys strewn across the red carpet, while next door prayers can be heard.
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“I dont live too far from here - it’s a lively place,” he says. “It’s a close community and different communities living together are like family.
“It’s full of energy - one of the busiest roads in Gloucester. The town centre closes by 5pm but these shops are open til late so it attracts people here and they hang outside and drink.”
The road is multi-lingual (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)Salman calls his British next door neighbour ‘Auntie Gill’ and says she is like a mother figure to him. Because she lives on her own, they help out when she needs it and say she is like family.
A few doors up, 29-year-old Daniel Holmes says he’s been coming to this part of Gloucester for 10 years to have his hair cut at Aland Barbers.
He says: “It has a family feel to it - everyone’s friendly down here. The diversity is a positive for sure.”
Daniel Holmes having a trim at a Kurdish barber on Barton Street (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)At Barton Best Foods shop, piles of fresh herbs spill over baskets, next to five kilo bags of rice, with neat rows of jams and American breakfast cereals stacked above tubs of labneh and kefir.
Kumar Subramanian, 47, from Sri Lanka left Sri Lanka 10 years ago and travelled through Europe to reach the UK in 2018, before settling in Gloucester where he has been managing the shop, owned by his brother since January 2021.
Kumar, who speaks Sinhala and English, said: “People come from Bristol, from London to set up shops. All my customers are friends. It’s a very happy place.
Kumar Subramanian works on Barton Street (TomWren SWNS)“My life is here now. There’s a big Sri Lankan community. There are almost too many Sri Lankan people!”
Some passers by talk about the street having a bit of a reputation for anti-social behaviour, like so many places in Britain.
But Cosmos Ofoejlu, 47, who set up his African food shop Favour here in June 2021, says he’s happier in this area of the west country cathedral city than London, where he previously lived and worked as a barber for 12 and a half years.
“I prefer it because it’s quieter and better. There is less crime,” he says.
Cosmos Ofoejlu set up his African food shop Favour on Barton Street (TomWren SWNS)Originally from Nigeria, Cosmos now enjoys sharing recipes with his customers who are interested in learning about cooking West African food.
He saiys: “I have good neighbours around. My neighbour who manages a Halal butcher shop, we work together by looking after each other’s shops if we can’t be there for some reason.
“My customers are from lots of different cultures. There are Spanish, South American, English, African, Chinese, so many people.
“I like learning about other people’s cuisines and I go to the Afrobeats nights every Friday at the barber’s shop on the road.”
At the Middle Eastern mini-market Al-Furat, Jewel-red sumac dusted nuts and fresh flatbreads fill the shelves, alongside pomegranate molasses, and a rainbow of colourful spices.
Father-of-two Sam, 36, from Kurdistan, named it after the Euphrates river, also known as the Al-Furat river, which runs through Turkey, Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq and into the Persian Gulf.
Sam moved to Gloucester in 2003 and speaks Engligh, Kurdish and Arabic.
He says: “It’s good living here. It’s very multicultural. It’s amazing. When I was moving here I read about the street and its communities and I thought, wow, that’s incredible. There are people from all different walks of life.
Barton Street is multicultural (TomWren SWNS)“People are 95 per cent nice and respectful and usually everyone gets on even though we’re different.
“Living for 20 years in the same area, I’ve got lots of friends on the street. People from different cultures, different backgrounds.”
When dealing with customers Sam said he usually speaks in English or Arabic, but has also picked up phrases in other languages to help communication.
He says: “One of my friends who is working with me right now, yesterday we started laughing because he speaks fluent Czech, fluent Persian, and Afghani as well. We have a new young lady from India who we are training, she speaks three or four languages in India, a little bit of Arabic, a little bit of English, Greek and Persian as well.
“In the future we’re going to be better than dictionaries, it’s so multilingual in here.”
“I love Gloucester. It is my home town. I feel lucky to live here.”
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