South End Shops

In this article I’ve set out my memories of shops in the village, from the Market Place to the south end. My recollections date from the late 1950s to the present day. If anyone has any additions or corrections to suggest, please don’t hesitate to contact us with your thoughts.

Linda Tyman.

Sanderson’s Hut

Sanderson’s Hut was a wooden kiosk situated on Leicester Road opposite the bottom of Marsh Rd. (it was then a continuation of Danvers Rd.). They sold sweets and cigarettes and most of their custom came from workers on their way to Rolls-Royce or Clarke’s Box Factory. I remember it being there during the late fifties and early sixties but I understand it was also there during the war years.

Dilks’s

Mrs.Dilks had a sweet shop in her front room at 167 Leicester Road – a few doors down from the White House. It was common practice in the village – certainly during my childhood and for many years previously – for housewives to have a small shop in their front room to supplement the family income.

Kath Baum – Hairdresser

Mrs. Baum lived next to the Rock Cinema and had an extension to her house where she ran her hairdressing business. As I remember the business wasn’t advertised to the general public – I think it was more of an arrangement between friends and acquaintances.

Chapman’s Hardware

Ted Chapman ran a hardware shop which was situated at 166 Leicester Road (next door but one to Dr.Gibson’s house). The shop sold all kinds of household and garden products – for instance wood, seeds, nails, screws, garden tools and many other items. We lived in Laurel Close at this time and we had a paraffin heater to heat the bathroom on bath nights so my brother and I were often dispatched to Chapman’s shop to buy a can of paraffin. I vividly remember the smell of paraffin, creosote and wood – smells which I still love to this day! There was a large workshop at the rear of the hardware shop and this was where the wood was cut. I remember that our house backed onto this workshop and our tortoise often used to escape from our garden and find its way into Mr.Chapman’s back yard.

Before Mr.Chapman’s time, in the 1920s and 30s, Horace Shuttlewood ran a painting, decorating and funeral business from these premises.

Joyner’s Butcher’s

During the Second World War (and previously) Mr.J.W. Margetts ran a butcher’s shop at 147 Leicester Road, in what had in earlier years been the Crown and Thistle pub and also a cafe. An advert for the shop makes particular mention of its “Finest English and Chilled Beef” and “Canterbury lamb a speciality”. An added feature was that the butcher’s van “can call on you daily” – and this was many years before Tesco etc. offered home deliveries!

During the 1950s and 60s Arthur Joyner ran the butcher’s shop. My Mum used this shop regularly and especially in the summer (before the advent of fridges) she would go to buy meat every day. As I got older I was allowed to go alone to buy whatever meat we needed for that day. I can recall that you needed to be patient as there were always three or four people queuing for their shopping and in those days no-one was in a mad rush to get served so you just had to wait while Mr .Joyner asked how you were and discussed any local news.

In later years the premises was also used as a carpet shop and a picture-framing business.

Dodson’s Bakery

On the corner of Leicester Road and The Green was Dodson’s Bakery – one of the oldest buildings in the village. It had been sold to a Mr Dodson – a baker with a large family – in the late 1800s. George Dodson was gassed in World War One. He ran the bakery with his wife, Gertie, a man called Charlie Kendall and a lady called Ruby who lived nearby on the Green. Ruby was related to the Holland family who were a well-known fairground family in the area and when the fair came to Mountsorrel for two weeks every June, she would disappear from the bakery to spend time with her family.

Dodson’s was one of the few businesses to make and sell Easter eggs and these could be decorated to order. An advert for the shop also advertises their speciality – home-made pork pies. The bakery was built around a courtyard where there was also a lean-to that probably originated as stabling. The bread was delivered by horse and cart and then later by three-wheeled bike. The bakery ovens were made of cast iron and wooden paddles were used to take the bread out when it was ready. It was the custom for neighbouring housewives to bring their Sunday joint of meat to be cooked in the bakery oven each week, when the ovens weren’t being used to bake bread.

I remember its stone floors, low ceilings and heavy wooden beams. The shop itself was quite tiny and always busy. I think Mrs. Dodson retired in the early 1960s and a man from London and his wife took over the business. We used to order bread from there and I was often sent to collect it – going via the “alley way” between the King William IV and the Stag and Pheasant pubs from the “White City”. The shop also sold tinned goods and other groceries.

Cavner’s

Half way up the Green on the left hand side was another little shop in the family house – Mrs. Cavner’s. Outside were placed greengrocery items and inside were all kinds of things, ranging from bread to bundles of firewood. Best of all were the huge jars of many different sweets – jelly babies, wine gums, torpedoes, liquorice sticks, chocolate buttons, barley sugars and humbugs to name but a few. You could ask for 2 ounces and they would come in a white conical paper bag. One of the most memorable things about that shop was the loud bell that would jangle every time someone came through the door and this would summon one of the family to come into the shop from the room at the back where they may well have been having their tea or listening to the radio.

Underwood’s

Underwood’s shop was situated on The Green, where the dentist’s is today. The family ran an electrical and plumbing business but they also had a sweet shop in their front room. My most vivid memories of the shop were that they opened on Sunday afternoons – quite unusual in those days – and I sometimes went in there with my cousin after Sunday School (which was held in the Infant School on Rothley Road). The thing that sticks in my mind is the ice-cream that you could buy there – lovely vanilla cornets with bits of ice in them! Needless to say, it was quite a gathering place for the kids in the village who had very little else to occupy them on a Sunday afternoon. For a few years during the 1970s / 1980s this shop became a pottery run by a lady called Moira Clinch.

The Chemist’s Shop

This was situated where the Youth Café is today. Formerly in the Market Place, the chemist’s – run by Mr.Norburn – remained on the Green for many years before relocating to Rothley Road.

After the chemist’s shop relocated, the shop was taken over by Pat Hynd who transformed it into a gift shop called Upmarket, moving there from a smaller shop in the Market Place. A very successful business, it also had a café on the mezzanine floor and became a popular meeting place for many villagers.

After Upmarket moved to Churchgate in Loughborough, the premises became for some years an insurance office run by John Maltby.

 Daniels’ Grocery

On the corner of the Green and the main road stood Daniels’ grocery store (no longer in existence, it was next to where the Youth Café is today). George Daniels ran the shop and as far as I remember it was a typical grocer’s but I believe they also dealt with travel arrangements – for example, selling coach tickets etc.

Shuttlewood’s Barber’s shop

Reg Shuttlewood ran a barber’s shop at 117 Leicester Road, next door but one to the Prince of Wales (later the Stag and Pheasant after the original pub of that name was demolished). He was helped in the shop by his son, Clifford. To say that the pace of business in the shop was slow would be an understatement. You didn’t go there unless you had an hour or so to spare to have your hair cut! I used to go there with my Mum and brother when he needed his hair cutting and there would be a roomful of people waiting to be served, but no matter how many were waiting, Reg and Clifford had their own pace and nothing would move them from it. If you were unfortunate enough to be there at a mealtime, your wait would be even longer as Mrs.Shuttlewood would shout them both into the back to have their dinner whilst the customers just had to sit and wait.

Tony Wood’s Barber Shop

Between the Prince of Wales pub and the Baptist Chapel was a row of terraced houses off which Wood’s Yard opened. There were many such yards in the village and these contained small cottages. Wood’s Yard was home to Tony Woods who was a barber and hairdresser.

In the house next to the Baptist Chapel was a shoe shop.

Braybrooke’s Butcher’s Shop

The butcher’s shop which still exists today used to be run by Stan Braybrooke and before that by Mr.Botterill. Before fridges became widely available housewives had to buy their meat daily or it wouldn’t keep, so the butchers’ shops in Mountsorrel were always busy. The most memorable thing about this particular shop was the set of huge horns displayed over the doorway to the back of the shop. Not unusually for the time, Mr.Braybrooke had a slaughterhouse at the rear of the premises which I always as a child found a rather scary prospect, as you could often hear cattle, sheep or pigs in the yard at the back if you went down the alley next to the Baptist Chapel to get to the playing fields.

Alf Lewin’s Chip Shop

Next to the butcher’s, where Mr.Stitch is today, was a very popular shop – Alf Lewin’s chip shop. This shop operated in the forties and fifties, when fish and chips were often the only fast food outlets and the only time when families had food that hadn’t been cooked at home.

Braybrooke’s Paper Shop

Along the road from the butcher’s, Stan Braybrooke’s brother, Graydon, had a paper shop which sold – besides papers, comics and magazines – cigarettes, sweets and stationery. We had our papers delivered from there and I remember going into the shop each week with our payment card to pay the bill. Another vivid memory is of rushing down there on a Saturday evening at about a quarter to six to wait for the “Green un” – the sports version of the Leicester Mercury which would be delivered to the shop by a man in a van who would hurl the bundle of papers from the van as he slowed up – but never stopped – outside the shop. Buying the “Green un” was vital for my Dad to check his football pools against the scores if we had been to Filbert Street and hadn’t got back in time to catch the results on the TV – via the teleprinter of course!

I understand that the paper shop was previously owned by the Hewitt family who, similarly to many of the village shopkeepers, sold a bit of everything!

Post Office

77 Leicester Road has had a chequered history. At one time it was Brooks’ general stores which was a Hoover dealer, an electrical/radio repairs, decorating and ironmongery shop. It then became Tebbutt’s who were general outfitters, drapers and stationers, but who also advertised as the Post Office.

The first Postmaster I remember is Mr.Blower who always seemed rather serious – but maybe that was what the job required! The Post Office was where it is still situated but only consisted of the front of the present shop. It was very busy on certain days – particularly on those days when people collected their Old Age Pensions or the Family Allowance. Also, people wrote more letters then so a lot of stamps were sold – the Post Office being the only place you could buy them. There were two deliveries of mail a day, except for the weekend.

In later years the Post Office was taken over by Harold Newman who was a prominent figure in the village, serving on the Borough Council, the Parish Council and many committees. He was also a long-serving member of the Methodist Church and ran a youth club in the Temperance Hall for many years.

Wood Antill’s

Next to the Post Office was Wood- Antill’s  greengrocery shop. Roy Antill also had a mobile grocer’s van which he drove around the village on certain days of the week. After several further changes of use, the premises now house the Sorrel Fox – the village’s first, very popular, micro-pub.

Betting Shop

Next to the Working Men’s Club was a betting shop which I never went into but which was quite well –used by a number of people – men usually!

Godfrey’s Jeweller’s

On the north side of the archway leading to the rear of Bull and Mouth pub (Slate and The Spotted Duck, as it later became) was a jeweller’s and watchmaker’s shop owned by Mr.Godfrey. The shop was fascinating as it seemed to be full of clocks, all ticking and chiming with different tones. There were no battery-operated watches or clocks in those days so if your watch went wrong you went to Mr.Godfrey to have it fixed. He also sold stationery, books, toys and gifts and even ran a small lending library as there was no public library in the village until 1963.

Toone’s Clothing and Haberdashery

This shop, situated in the premises where Pilbeam’s optician’s business is today, was run by David Toone and his wife who, I believe, was Scottish. They sold all kinds of items, from handkerchiefs to underwear, shoes to knitting wool. It was one of the few shops in the village during my childhood where you could buy items of clothing.

In earlier years, the shop had been Hackett’s cycle stockists and radio repairers. Back in the 1920s the Callaway family lived in these premises and Mrs.Callaway ran a hat-trimming business and also sold ladies’ clothes.

Mrs. Pope’s Shop

Mrs. Pope’s shop was situated next to Little Lane. It was a small shop which sold groceries and sweets. Mr.Pope suffered from ill health due to wartime injuries and spent some of his time repairing electrical items at home. He would also rig up a loudspeaker outside the shop at Christmas and play Christmas carols through it.

The most notable thing about this place – and something which everyone who ever used the shop would remember –  was that the Popes kept a pet monkey called Jenny which would often cause havoc in the shop. Mrs. Pope also kept a cat which she had to move off the item you wanted as it would probably be sleeping on the bread or in the open box of sweets! No Health and Safety laws in those days!

Harrald’s Shop

In one half of the old Grapes coaching inn at 15 Leicester Road lived George Harrald and his wife Ivy, who ran a grocery and confectionery business in the front room of the house, which you had to go down several steep steps to get into.

The other half of The Grapes was a fresh fish shop during the thirties and forties.

Brown’s Saddler’s

Just along the main road from the Grapes, at number 1 Leicester Road, stood one of the oldest buildings in the village – dating from the 1700s -Brown’s saddler’s.

It became a saddler’s and harness makers and, during the 1950s and 1960s, was run by Wilf Brown who was reknowned for his expertise in his craft – making equipment for circuses, the hunting fraternity and local farmers. Shoe repairs were also done in the shop and as a child I always looked forward to going to take my Grandpa’s boots to be repaired as I loved the smell of leather that filled the shop. Mr.Brown was a mild-mannered, friendly man who always had a kind word for all his customers.

Sadly, when the Market Place was re-developed, the shop was demolished but not before Leicestershire County Council carried out an archaeological dig to explore the history of the site.

 Mrs. Butherway’s Sweet Shop

Alongside the entry to the Co-Op coal yard was the end of terrace house where the Butherways lived. Fred Butherway was the village jack of all trades, being the school caretaker and the Parish groundsman amongst other things. His wife kept a small sweet shop – again in the front room of their house. I understand that some years earlier this sweet shop had been owned by a Mrs. Bollard and also by a Mrs.Onions.

Preston’s Shop

In the part of Leicester Road where the flats are now (opposite the Parish Room) there was a row of terraced houses – again with yards opening off them. In amongst the terraced row was a shop owned by the Preston family. This grocery shop lasted for many years .

Dorothy Gardiner’s Hairdresser’s

Set back from the main road, on a pathway alongside the former Temperance Hall, was a ladies’ hairdressing salon run by Dorothy Gardiner. This advertised the latest styles and treatments, including the “Marcel wave” which was fashionable in the 1920s and 30s.

Goadby’s Newsagents

Moving away from the A6 and up to Linkfield Road, you would come to Goadby’s newsagents shop on the corner of Linkfield Road and Linkfield Avenue. Again this was a shop that was situated in a house. Along with the other newsagents’ in the village, this one delivered papers morning and evening. (Many more people took daily papers in those days, as not everyone had a radio or TV). Before Mrs. Goadby owned the shop, it was run as a sweet shop by Mrs.Shaw in the early 1940s.

Bond’s Wooden Hut

Opposite to Linkfield Avenue was a small wooden shop, selling groceries, owned by the Bonds.

Co-Op

The Co-Op has had a shop on Rothley Road for at least 60 years, though not always as large as the present one. The old Co-Op had a grocery section and a separate butchery and dairy department. In the 1960s it became the first shop in Mountsorrel to be self-service. Prior to this time, customers were always served by an assistant who would weigh and wrap whatever was required, whether it be cheese, butter, tea or even biscuits. This method was obviously rather time-consuming and, whilst the new self-service idea was thought to be rather revolutionary, it soon became popular with customers who hadn’t always got time to spend queueing to be served. I remember going there every Friday after school to do the week’s shopping with my Mum and once the self-service method was introduced, it was very exciting to be allowed to go and fetch a tin of beans or some such thing that you could actually pick off the shelf yourself and put it in one of the bright blue plastic baskets! In the 1980s the old Co-Op building was demolished, along with a house which stood next to it, and the present building was erected.

Widdowson’s Shop

In the fifties and sixties there was a typical sweet shop which was part of Mr. and Mrs. Widdowson’s house about half way along Boundary Road. This shop probably did a good trade as there were a lot of houses in the area and not too many shops to cater to them.

Burton’s Shop

Burton’ shop was situated where the present-day chemist’s is, at what was then 47 Rothley Road – becoming number 99 after World War Two. The shop dates from 1912 when it was owned by Edith Mary Burton and Louis Collin Burton (known as Collin), who sold groceries and greengrocery.

When both Edith and Collin died within six weeks of each other in 1942, the running of the shop fell to their daughter-in-law, Phyllis, who managed the business single- handed whilst her husband, Frank, was away on active service.

During the war, glass bottles were rationed so, to encourage people to return them after use, customers were given 3(old) pence for each returned bottle – one of the earliest recycling schemes!

In those days, shops wishing to stock cigarettes, cigars and tobacco required a tobacco licence, which the Burtons duly obtained, though they didn’t apply for a licence to sell alcohol as there was an off-licence just along the road.

Items such as flour, sugar and butter all came in large quantities and the shopkeeper would weigh out whatever the customer required – no pre-packaged food in those days! Flour came in large linen sacks which, once emptied, were washed, cut up and used as handkerchiefs because the material was very soft.

The Burtons’ garden was very extensive and Frank had greenhouses for growing lettuce, tomatoes and flowers such as daffodils, tulips and narcissi. Workers from nearby factories would call at the shop on Friday lunchtimes to order a bunch of flowers to take home after work.

The shop was open from 9 in the morning till 6 in the evening from Monday to Saturday, with half-day closing on Wednesday. However, some people ignored the official opening times and just went round through the side gate and knocked on the kitchen door if they needed something.

In 1961, Frank and Phyllis sold the shop to Jess Sleath and went back to live in Cross Lane, before moving once more to the house opposite their old shop. This ended almost fifty years of “Burtons’ shop”.

Jess and Ruby Sleath carried on running the shop as a grocery but Mrs. Sleath was also a florist who provided wreaths for funerals and bouquets for weddings – mine included!

(Information kindly provided by Margaret Manning nee Burton).

Linton’s Off-Licence

Just along from the chemist’s and on the opposite side of the road (next to the phone box and letterbox) was an off-licence which, during the 40s and 50s, was run by Charlie Linton. An off-licence was a shop which was allowed to sell alcohol under strict licensing rules. It seems strange to us nowadays when every supermarket and corner shop is allowed to sell beer, wines and spirits, that the sale of alcohol was so restricted.

Prior to this, the building had been three shops, comprising a Post Office, a greengrocer and a fish and chip shop. The Post Office was operated by Alfred Bond until 1940, when it moved to premises in Market Place. 

After Mr.Linton gave up the shop, it later became a self-service supermarket owned by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Gimblett. It continued as a supermarket – under various owners – until a few years ago when it was converted into flats.  

 Hunt’s Shop

One of the more remote shops was Hunt’s shop at the corner of Halstead Road and Swithland Lane.This shop was part of the house and again sold a variety of goods – no doubt being very popular with the people who lived in the area, away from the majority of village shops.