Memories of Earlston Grocers in Times Past

In the 1860s there were 10 grocers/general merchants/spirit merchants in the village, as listed in the 1861 Census and in Rutherfurd's Directory of the Southern Counties, published in 1866.  But what of more recent times?   Local residents, past and present, especially members of Earlston Wednesday Club  have shared their memories of local grocers' shops. 

"Customers were very loyal to their particular grocer,

 whether it be Tom Bell, Willie Park, Forrest’s or Taylor’s.” 

TAYLOR'S SHOP AT THE EAST END

 "The location of the shop was on the site of a flour mill known as Huntspool Mill, which operated there in the mid to late 1800’s. The mill had a waterwheel that drew water from the burn around the area where King’s Yard was.  The derelict site of the mill and the several adjoining cottages were bought by Mr. Andrew Taylor of Pencaitland in around 1908 and the family grocery business was moved there,  after the shop was built by Rodger Builders, at around the same time as Kilnknowe and Bellevue Terrace were constructed."  (From Walter Taylor)

"The shop was there in the 1950’s - was  an excellent grocer’s shop of the old school. Very friendly service. Walter, Tom and Charlie delivered by van after the war, and would loan a marmalade cutter at the time of year for making marmalade.  The shop sold paraffin through the back, and the family were much involved in local activities – Dramatic Society  and the Horticultural Society. "

"I worked in Taylor's grocer's shop 1953-1956". 

Note: 43 year old Andrew Taylor, a grocer, was listed in Earlston with his family in the 1911 census and in local trade directories for 1915, and 1928, continuing in business into the 1950’s, with the help of his sons.  

TOM & ALAN BELL'S on  the corner of Thorn Street,  was a general grocery and tobacco shop.

"It was very handy for all the people who lived at the west end of the village."

 A Brownlie's lorry negotiating the tight bend by Tom Bell's shop on the left

GEORDIE BIRBECK.  

"He  was a grocer, selling sweets, fruit  & veg.  He went round the country areas with his van selling goods  – he said no one else would put in the required effort.” 

 
JIMMY BROWN'S

"He was known as “the midnight grocer” – as he went out in his travelling grocer’s van all hours "

FORREST'S , HIGH STREET

"This was a high class grocery shop – it sold just about everything, one part electricals, HMV & Bush radio & TV dealers. Also hardware, china, fancy goods.   A Miss Hogg worked there.  One day a TV went on fire and Miss H. panicked.  Someone threw a bucket of water over it (while the TV  was  still plugged in), so there was an almighty  explosion." 

WILLIE  PARK , WEST HIGH STREET 

"The  grocer was situated where One Stop and Jackie Lunn, Bakery are now. It sold everything – paraffin, sherry, dish cloths, clogs, pots and pans." 

 "My mother would take a bottle along and ask for it to be filled with sherry."

"The shop had a large hardware dept. – you were told not to buy more nails than you needed."

"Standards were different then - the same cutter was used for cutting bacon and slicing cooked ham."

"We were a family of five children and Willie Park used to keep ends of ham and broken biscuits to give to my mother" 

 "Food was loose – not pre-packed.  A housewife could go in and ask for two slices of bacon and have it sliced and wrapped, or a small pat of butter and it would be cut off a large slab.  I thought loose sugar was great.  Mr. Park would get a strong brown paper bag, scoop up sugar, weigh the bag and deftly fold and pack the top,  so it was secure.  We would get broken biscuits as a treat for a penny or two."

    "Willie Park’s also handled the SMT parcels for the buses.  I worked at the Chemist’s and we got sent prescriptions from Gordon and Greenlaw.  I then went along to Park’s with the compLeted prescriptions for them to be sent back to the villages on the bus." 

Note:  Willie Park was listed in a 1928 Trade Directory for Earlston – Telephone No. 20.  He was still in business in the early 1950’s.

The West  High Street with Willie Park on the right 

in what is now One Stop and Jackie Lunn's Bakehouse.

 
THE OLD CO-OP ON STATION ROAD

 "It was very different shop in the 1950’s  -  no self- service of course, but  wooden counters all the way around where assistants waited to serve you with your groceries."

"Shoppers could hand in their order, or “message line” and leave it to be put together  and delivered  by the  message boy on his bicycle, with a large basket on the front.  All the grocers in the town offered a delivery service."

  "The manager of the Co-op, Mr. McQuillin, who sang in the church choir,  sat in a very important little booth and handed out milk tokens, to have milk delivered to the doorstep daily." 

"Twice a year, Co-op members received “the divi”. A note was kept of the total amount of shopping done by each member and this was totalled up and paid as a loyalty dividend. This was a particularly busy day at the Co-op as members had to queue up at the manager’s booth to collect their cash." 

 "My mother relied on getting the “Divi” to buy us children our shoes."

"A "Southern Reporter" column of 21st November 1918 noted:

"At a recent meeting of the Earlston Co-operative Society, it was unanimously agreed to adopt the proposal that the affairs of the Society be taken over by Galashiels Society.  This change will take place at the end of the present quarter .The Earlston Society was started 35 years ago [1883] and was the only society of its kind in the County of Berwick.”

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Do you have more memories of local shops?
Do share them with us by commenting here or e-mailing: auldearlston@aol.com  

Ninety Years of Earlston Businesses

 In 1866  Rutherfurd's Southern Counties Directory of 1866  listed the shops and trades in Earlston.   These numbered:

28 Farmers
10 Grocers/general merchants/spirit merchants  
4  Shoemakers  
7 Dressmakers,/clothiers/drapers. 
5 Innkeepers  at the Black Bull Inn, Commercial Inn, Newton's Hotel, Temperance Hotel,
and White Swan inn.
3 Carriers, Fleshers/Butchers, and Medical Practitioners, 
2 Bakers,  Blacksmiths, Cattle Dealers and Joiners.
1 Banker, Bookseller/Stationer/Printer,  Builder, Farrier, Joiner, Mole-catcher,Painter, Saddler, Salter, Thatcher, Timber Merchant, Tinsmith, and Watchmaker.  

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Ninety years later  Macdonald's Trade Directory of 1956-57 featured the following businesses.

AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS      Thomas Purves, High Street      John Rutherford & Sons, Rhymers Mill.	CHEMIST ·    W. Mitchell & Son, Market Square
BAKERS      R. Douglas, Earlston Bakeries, High Str.     J. Weatherly, High Street.	COAL MERCHANT      A & G. Anderson Ltd.
BANK      Commercial Bank of Scotland, High Str.  Manager, R. A. Thomson	CONFECTIONERS      E. S. Burrell, The Square      R. Douglas, High Street      T. J. Featherston, Main Street
BLACKSMITHS ·   J. A. Brotherston, East End.	FISHMONGER      McQuillin, The Square.
BOOKSELLERS, STATIONERS & NEWSAGENTS     W. Simpson Henderson, Market Square.     Also lending library & gift shop.	GROCERS      T. Bell, Thorn Street      R & A. Forrest, High Street.  Hardware, china, wine & spirit merchant      Earlston United Co-operative,  Station Road ·    W. Park & Sons, High Street Wine & spirit merchant
BUTCHERS     Wm. Donaldson, The Square.	JOINERS      W. Kerr & Sons, High Street. Also undertaker
BUILDING CONTRACTORS      Alex Blair & Sons, Mill Road.      Kings & Co., East End.      William Rodger, Builders Ltd.	MOTOR ENGINEERS & AGENT     John Readman and Son. Westfield Road. Motor cars for hire,  also cycle and radio dealers and electrical engineers.
PAINTER & DECORATOR      Fisher & Sons, The Square.	SCOTCH TWEED MANUFRS.      Simpson & Fairbairn Ltd., Rhymers Mill.
PLUMBER      Thomas Walsh  & Son, High Street.	SLATERS      J. & W. Holland, 8 High Street. Also roof plumbing and chimney sweeping.
PUBLIC HOUSE LICENCE HOLDERS ·      I. G. Spence,  White Swan ·      Mrs E. P. Boag,  Black Bull ·      Red Lion Hotel, The Square.	TEA ROOM      F. & J. Weatherly, High Street
RADIO AND TELEVISION      R. & A. Forrest, High Street. HMV and Bush dealers; sales and service	UPHOLSTERER ·      Fraser, Station Road.

Note:  Businesses had to pay for entries in the Directory, so this listing is not comprehensive of  all the shops and services in the village at that time. 

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Then and Now 

An early photograph looking across the West Green, with the trees planted in 1897 to mark Queen Victoria's Jubilee.  The corner block was built in the 1860's by master grocer Christopher Sanderson.  

Rutherford's Newsagent and Barber in what became known as Barber's Corner  at the West Green, c.1950's.  

 

Barber's Corner, West Green in 2019.


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Earlston's Shops and Shopkeepers in Times Past.

Take a look at how people were shopping in Earlston in times past, with photographs, advertisements and memories of jewellers and drapers.

Lochhead's watchmaker & jeweller in what is now the Tom Davidson Gallery. 

Look at the right hand window for that unusual term "cyclealities". 

David Drysdale Lochhead died in 1937 at the age of 83, with "The Berwickshire  News" paying  tribute to the 83 year old businessman for his time in Earlston.  He came to the village from Edinburgh  in 1877 and soon involved himself in community activities - amongst them the Bowling Club where he was a member from its inception in 1881.   On his retirement, in 1924  the Bowling Club presented him with a "handsome silver mounted umbrella, suitably inscribed."

Berwickshire ')News:  2nd June 1937

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 Another watchmaker and jeweller in the village was George Pringle who occupied what is now the Vets on the corner of West High street and the Square.  

 An advertisement from 1898 - with again a reference to selling bicycles. 

Watchmaker John Weatherston later took over the premises from George Pringle. 

 Weatherston's, with the brown fascia on the left of the photograph, 

with the group of people outside.

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Taking centre stage in the short lived  "Earlston Comet" of 1891 were promotions by the drapers and  clothiers in the village, and we get a good description of what the well dressed man or woman would be wearing in the late 19th century. 

Thomas Clendinnen & Sons, Drapers, Milliners and Clothiers announced their:

ANNUAL AUTUMN SALE,

For the whole of  their stock, replete with all the latest novelties in Plain and Diagonal Serges, Homespun, Twist, Knicker Checked and Striped, Dress Tweeds,

Ladies Jackets, Braemar and Russian Cloaks,
Trimmed Hat and Bonnets in Newest Style

White, Scarlet and Shetland Flannels

 Gentleman's Tweed Suits - Made to Measure- From 37s.6p 

New Melton and Diagonal Overcoats from 30s. 

All garments carefully made and finished -  Perfect Fit Guaranteed. 

In the 1891 census, 32 year old draper  Thomas Clendinnen lived on the High Street with his 72 year old mother Jane  named as head of the household.  The drapers was very much a family business that included  Thomas, his  mother, his sister Marion, and brothers Henry and  Charles.   

Ten years earlier, in 1881 William Clendinnen was advertising further afield in the South Shields Daily News.  He laid particular stress that he was "the sole manufacturer of the real Earlston Gingham".

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Also in the field of fashion was David Wallace,  with an advertisement from 1891:

"An Immense and Magnificent Collection of every New and Fashionable  Dress Material....which for Variety, Superior Quality, Good Taste and Moderate Prices is unequalled in Earlston.Tweeds in Cheviot, Homespun, Harris and Grampian makes, latest styles and newest mixtures.  Black materials in great variety.

The latest novelties in Millinery, Flowers, Feathers etc.  Bonnets composed of Velvet and Jet, from 10s.6d to 25s.  The latest novelty in hats is Gladys in French Beaver, trimmed with Feathers.  All orders for this Department made up in the most Fashionable and Tasteful Manner." 

Note the reference to "black materials" - at a time when formal mourning wear was still the custom.  Somehow the name "Gladys" does not quite conjure up an image of a French beaver hat with feathers!   

Draper David Wallace was listed in the 1891 census as at the High Street with his wife Ruth, two young children Robert and Ruth, and  eldest son Henry described as a  Draper's Apprentice.   

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Miller's Drapers Establishment, offered competition with the claim:  

"The largest and cheapest collection  of Autumn and Winter drapery  goods to be seen in any warehouse in the South of Scotland. 

The constant desire is to supply goods of Reliable Quality
 suitable for all classes of the parish."  
   [Note that phrase "All classes of the parish" - you could not use that now!]

 Southern  Reporter: 1894 

An 1898  advertisement announcing   that George McDonald
had taken over the former businesses of Millers 

McDonald's Shop

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A later business in the Macdonald's location was Mary P. Kerr, a well known local character in the 1940s and 1950s. Members of the  Earlston Wednesday Club had fond memories of her:

"Miss Kerr was a legend in Earlston and someone you would always remember. She was very sedate lady,  with a posh   plummy voice, and very particular that the middle initial P was quoted in her name. 

    She ran  a draper’s shop selling high class ladies wear, wools, corsets, long knickers, knitting and sewing goods.  As children I am afraid we used to laugh at the window display of the large  knickers and corsets.

Miss Kerr would hold up knickers in front of her and a customary  "I Ihink these will fit you" which was quite embarrassing.

Willie Alchin from the baker’s opposite was a bit of a joker and he used to pull her leg, which she took in good heart.

Her shop was taken over by Alice Gilchrist and run on similar lines. She immediately held a sale of old stock, with people queuing outside the door to get a bargain."

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To follow - more posts on shopping in Earlston in times past. 

Do you have memories to share?
Do e-mail them to us at:  auldearlston.aol.com

THANK YOU  

How Earlston got its Name

An article "The Southern Reporter"  : 17 December 1896 highlighted Earlston's  place in Scottish history.

"Earlston appears to have been a place of considerable importance during the early years of Scottish History. It was frequently, indeed, a royal residence.

During a visit in June 1136, David I subscribed there the foundation charter of Melrose Abbey, and in 1143 his son, Prince Henry, subscribed, also “at Ercheldu” the confirmatory charter of the same abbey. Among local barons the family of Lindsay held at first the chief position. Then the Earls of March and Dunbar come upon the scene, and remain for some time the real owners and lords of Ercildoune.

But they in turn pass away, and so now, of the very extensive territory in Lauderdale and the Merse formerly belonging to this old Border house, not a single acre is held by  an immediate representative of the family.

In the village of Ercildoune, at the east end, they had a stronghold for long known as the Earl’s Tower, but now demolished, and a group of buildings close at hand, probably remnants of feudal residences, was called Earl's Toun.

From this circumstance the original name of Ercildoune or Ercheldun (look-out or prospect hill) gradually blended into the growing Earl’s Toun, which modern usage has transformed into one word - Earlston. "

 One of the oldest images of Earlston in a sketch of the High Street

 with the distinctive building of the old Courtroom.

With thanks to Jeff Price of the Auld Earlston Group for spotting this article.

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