Merlin Carpets have traded on Church Road since 1983. At the time of writing they have two shops, No.281 and No.285.

No.281 - Merlin Carpets started at 281 Church Road in 1983. In the 1930s Miss Harris sold hats from this shop. From the early 1940s Mrs. Coles was the milliner here and traded at this location for many years. Her shop was still open for business in the early 1970s by which time the fashion for wearing hats had considerably declined!

In the mid '70s No.281 was used by Young Look, which advertised itself as 'for your up to the Minute Fashions'.

No. 285 - was acquired by Merlin Carpets in the late 1990s. having previously been owned by Thorns Photographers. In the 1960s this was a shop called Lillian's Fashions, a ladies outfitters. Around 1969 it became a camera and photographic shop, Kingswood Cameras. It then became, briefly, The Redfield Camera Exchange. Adverts in the St. Ambrose Church Magazine between 1973 and 1977 show that No.285 was known as Kingsway Photo Services and advertised itself as 'Photography by experts'.