“…..did Clutton ever have a shop?"
By Eric Brain (October 2021) - Published in the Clutton Parish Magazine.
Recently this was a question asked on Facebook by a newcomer to the village; at first I thought it was rather a näive question, but was it? To answer it, where do I start? On the main road, the A37 I think and with the type of shop, seen as the most important socially, the Post Office.
Post Offices
The first Post Office was the three storey building at the junction with Jossie Cook’s Hill opposite the old Methodist chapel on the A37. It was the first of four subsequent Post Offices in Clutton from the 1870s onwards. The ‘post boy’ lived in a small room at the rear on the ground floor; his job was to collect the post each morning from Clutton railway station, in a pony cart kept in the arched building next to Lena Church’s house. The first post mistress was Maria Nash, then from 1880 Mr Coombes became postmaster. If urgent messages were necessary, the shop had a device called a ‘telephone’ as shown by a blue sign at the front “You may Telephone from Here”.
1921 to 1943 OS Map Showing location of the four Clutton Post Offices
The First Clutton Post Office
Postcard.
For March 2009 street view click here
Some time later, Rogers Brothers, Bert and Clifford, ran a grocery and general stores there, the old PO counter was still in situ in the 1940s as I remember, and they also served petrol from two hand-wound pumps alongside the stone archway. Grafton House in between was Mrs Dando’s hairstylist salon, later it was taken over by Shipsides from Bristol for a short time.
In the early twentieth century the Post Office moved down the road to Mr Hill’s, and later Ralph Dando’s, grocer’s shop (now a private dwelling and incorrectly called “The Old Bakehouse”) near Blacker’s Monumental Masons, with the bakery building alongside but detached from it. The actual old bakery, later kept by Sid Long, who later still had the shop as well, was alive with wasps in summer months, attracted by the jam in the delicious doughnuts. Roger Church took over the bakery business for a short time in the 1970s before it became a shop for motorcar spares for some few years, prosaically but accurately called “The Motor Shop”.
Before leaving the A37 however, we must not forget “Flopper’s Shop”. Jack Partington, known as ‘Flopper’ or ‘ Floppin’ Jack’, eked-out a living like many others in the village, selling newspapers from his house in Cholwell. Later he moved into an old end cottage near the top of Gaston’s Avenue and opposite the old brewery. His trade rather flourished and he was able to deploy newspaper delivery boys around the village, a rare thing these days. The shop was demolished in the road-widening programme of the early 1960s and the site now contains modern houses.
The Second Clutton Post Office. Floppers Shop is behind the Pony Cart
Postcard
For March 2009 street view click here
Hunt's General Store (The Fourth Clutton Post Office)
Clutton Millennium CD
For August 2011 street view click here
In the early 1930s the Post Office moved again, this time to a purpose-built building in Cook’s Hill on the right as you go down the hill. I recall the stamp machine outside, dispensing green ½d and red 1d stamps, and Mrs Lil’ Martin (née Hill) behind the counter, weighing the post items on ancient brass scales.
The final destination of the Post Office was Bristol House opposite the school, better known as Hunt’s General Stores with a bakery at the rear, as it had been for many years. There was a succession of owners in the 50s and 60s. The final chapter was when Venetia Graham retired in the early years of this century and, still known to Royal Mail as Clutton Post Office, it disappeared ‘over the border’ to Temple Cloud garage.
Veater’s Saddler and Boot Repair shop
Clutton Millennial CD
For March 2009 street view click here
Stan Tucker's Butchers Shop (With the ominous For Sale Sign)
Photograph - Eric Brain
For July 2019 street view click here
Central Clutton
In Taylors’ Bottom, next to the telephone box in Cook’s Hill, was Veater’s Saddler and Boot Repair shop, and at the top of Church Lane on the corner, was Miss Church’s shop, a wooden building, though as a small boy I rarely saw any customers or even knew what she sold. Farther down, in the ‘square’ in front of the Railway Hotel (previously the Sergeant’s Arms, now the Railway Inn ) was Mabel Attwood’s sweet shop, well-patronised by school children before and after school. I bought my first ‘Biro’ there for five shillings! (25 pence today, you can buy three for that now!)
Miss Church's Wooden Shop
Postcard
For March 2009 street view click here
Lewis Pritchard’s petrol Filling Station and Agricultural Engineers shop
Clutton Millennial CD
For March 2009 street view click here
On the other side of the square - and just about still standing, although empty as I write this - was Stan Tucker’s butcher’s shop, part of Maypole Farm, purchased from the Warwick Estate in 1920 and previously been leased from it by the Tucker family since 1901. There was also a small slaughterhouse at the rear. The small building went through a few transitions after being a butchers’, an ironmonger/ general hardware shop called “The Countryman” run by Fred Flower, later by Charles Tiley and his wife Pat, and eventually though still in the hands of the Tucker family, it became a butcher shop again, “Country Butcher”, run this time by Andrew Robinson. Its future as a shop, or indeed a building, currently hangs precariously in the balance.
Northend, or Lower Bristol Road, had Lewis Pritchard’s petrol Filling Station and Agricultural Engineers shop exactly where the entrance road is to Burchill’s Close in Jacob’s Bottom, and even farther along nearly opposite Taylor’s Farm track, Mabel Attwood’s brother Dick had a bicycle repair shop.
Maynard Terrace
It may surprise many to know that there were a few small shops or private mini trade outlets in Maynard Terrace itself. The one on the right, top of the slope was Bill Francis’ men’s hairdressing shop, often run by his home-trained nephew Lloyd; farther along Sid Hall had a bicycle repair shop in an old shed and at no 38 near the far end of the long rank would you believe, there was a fish and chip ‘shop’. Actually the food was collected in Bristol in a motorbike and sidecar by George Box, reheated in the oven of the coal-fired range, and folk in the terrace were able to have a Saturday night treat……..
Back to A37
Returning back nearer the A37; soon after Roger’s Close was built in the early 1950s, Tom Gibbs who ran a fairly successful mobile fish and chip van around neighbouring parishes, opened his house on the corner of Tyning’s Way as a greengrocery/ and fish and chip shop. Let us not forget Ron and Mary Harris’ busy grocery and newsagent shop at the corner of the entrance to Roger’s Close almost opposite the coal yard run by Minall Brothers, later by Richard Free, and later still until recently, a showroom for commercial Vans. Just farther along towards Bristol, the house now known as “Puddingstone” which is actually five cottages merged into one, in the 1940s/50s was owned by Harry Gamblin who was in fact a sign-writer by trade, but opened it as a well-signed Café called charmingly “The Kozy Kafe”. Local villagers, even to the present day, still refer to it as the Kozy Kafe.
Ron Harris opened a larger purpose-built shop, a ‘mini-market’, in Venus Lane in 1967 opposite Valley View, and it was very successful for a few years. It included a small hairdressing salon “Ann” incorporated alongside, run by my wife Ann. On closure of the main shop at Ron’s retirement, the shop became a curtain and soft-furnishing business. The hairdressers survived under a few other titles for a number of years before moving to an annexe of the Railway Inn. Sadly, it is the only remaining shop as such in the village. Supermarkets with a vast range of goods under one roof and the on-line Home Shopping of the 21st century have killed any hope of shops returning to Clutton.
Clutton Home Deliveries”
By Eric Brain (January 2021)
With Supermarkets’ home deliveries becoming almost universal in Clutton and indeed nationwide, it is easy to forget that this is by no means a new phenomenon, except perhaps the on-line method of ordering and paying – to say nothing of the prices!
Growing up in the austerity post-war years of the 1940s and 1950s, with ration books still in use, both for food and for clothing, I can clearly remember having coal delivered by Harold Selway of Broomhill Lane with a pony and small cart.
Later the village coal rounds were shared between Mr Gunter from Pensford, Mr Bromilow, Arthur Maggs, Minall Bros., and later Richard Free, but in each case by motor lorry.
Charlie Parfitt delivered milk with a horse and cart as I recall, as did Bert Daggar from Breach but in a van, often assisted by his two daughters Ruby and Pearl. The Co-op also had a village milk round so there was plenty of healthy competition.
On Thursdays, Mr Shenton from Bristol resplendent in his leather gaiters, arrived with fresh fish; no refrigeration in his small Austin A40 van in those days, and later local man Tom Gibbs with fish, but who also had a mobile fish & chip van; the fish and chips being cooked on a paraffin stove in the back. The scent of fish and chips being cooked mingled with the fumes from the stovepipe and could be detected all around the village. Tom eventually had a shop at the corner of Tynings Way, now a private dwelling. Of course many cottages at that time still used paraffin oil for cooking; two of my great uncles and aunts never had anything else for cooking which meant the “oilman‘s van” was a regular sight around the village; in reality it doubled as a mobile ironmongers shop!
Bread was delivered by a number of small local family firms: Montgomery, and Nelson Tibbs from Bishop Sutton, or more commonly the Radstock Co-op despite Sid Long having a bakery next to Blacker’s Monumental Masons near the end of Stowey Rd. In those post-war years, Sid’s doughnuts were a delicious luxury indeed. However, after Sid gave up and sold the business to Roger Church, he became the main deliverer of bread in the village.
As for groceries, Dando & Rogers’ shop in the three storey building (the original Old Post Office) opposite the Methodist chapel on the A37, provided a regular delivery service in a little old Ford van or sometimes even a private car. You just, if lucky enough to have a telephone, phoned your grocery order through or dropped off the list at the shop, and it was delivered later that day. The grocery orders for High Littleton Co-op were taken by a door to door representative, Jack Lewis, who did his rounds of Clutton on a large high bicycle and worked out your “divvi” for you using your Co-op number. Ours was 7434 I remember!
The Post Office, then part way down Cooks Hill, delivered twice a day, early morning and late afternoon on weekdays, one delivery per day on Saturday and even a Sunday delivery. Unheard of in the 21st century! Newspapers too were delivered to your door; early morning for the dailies, extra on Saturday with the sports Green’un and the Pink’un from Bristol Evening Post and Evening World respectively. The newsagent was Jack “Flopper” Partington with a small shop at the top of Gastons, long since demolished, who had a small army of newspaper boys delivering to almost every house for ‘pocket money’ before school.The paper rounds were later organised by Ron Harris, from his shop at the top of Rogers’ Close, being fewer evening papers by that time he often delivered them himself.
There were also a few ‘itinerants’ doing home sales. One such was Mr Kirby from Bristol. He had a smart ‘gown van’ in which he carried lady’s fashions, dresses and coats, all arrayed on hangars for the ladies to select from. If he did not have what was required, he could always come back another day with a different selection.
Again from Bristol, a regular was the Kleen-ee-ze man, selling domestic cleaning products, polishes and brushes to suit every purpose. We often had a knife-grinder call, his bicycle adapted to have the grindstone driven by the pedals. Similarly, though less frequently, were “Johnny Onion Boys” over from Brittany en masse, with strings of enormous onions.
Towards the end of the 1950s the Avon lady (“ping-pong” on the doorbell, as the advert went) called regularly selling cosmetics, perfumes and hair products. The local Avon Lady is an uncommon sight now though, as Avon is mostly sold on-line via large internet catalogues. At the same time the craze of Tupperware and Cosmetic parties became the rage, social occasions indeed, but they too have succumbed to on-line sales.
We even had door to door sales of soft drinks, Bristol firms such as Beavis and Pickup called regularly; and in those days, to also take the empties back, a deposit having been paid on each glass bottle.
Those were the days – but unlike Internet home deliveries, you stood a better chance of seeing and knowing what you were getting…..if you had the “coupons!