Shops and Shopping.

 

In the main, the story of shops and shopping is of the upper classes and the wealthy, with a significant middle class from the 18th Century onwards. They are the only ones who have left
any record of their purchases, where bought and how much it cost, what they were going to do with it or who they were going to give it to. 'Consumerism', as it is called today, is totally
of our time, because, previously, people generally bought only what they needed to pursue the kind of life they aspired to. Personal and social priorities were different to ours, as were
money values. New ideas spread very slowly, goods were more durable, and made up the main basis of the assessment of personal wealth, not only during a person's lifetime, but on
their death as well: many wills and probate inventories attest to this.

Even quite prosperous farmers died leaving little more than a chair, a bed, its mattress and covers, a cupboard, a skillet, a frying pan, a few pewter plates and cups, one or two coffers, a
lantern and a basket. Sometimes clothes are mentioned, extra bed hangings, fine linen sheets or a spinning wheel, and of course farm stock such as 3 cows or a pig or two and maybe
butter and cheese making equipment. Very little actual money is mentioned and that, quite often, was bequeathed to the Church to pay for candles to be lit and masses to be said for
their departed soul.

 

For almost everyone, even the wealthy, and certainly for the lower classes until approximately 200 years ago, shops played no part at all in their daily lives, most of what they needed they either grew or made themselves. Bartering was the way most people paid for their goods. Very early trading, before the Norman Conquest, was usually done at river crossings or where the old ridge trails met the green ways. Men from one area bartered live stock, skins and pelts for flints or iron daggers, fine pottery, silver brooches and pins, in fact anything that was not naturally available to them. And, as more people settled the
country, these trading meetings had, by the 12th and 13th century, become organised markets held in the centre of most villages or towns, under the market cross erected by the Church to encourage honesty in dealing.

We are an agricultural economy, so very little money changed hands, and certainly not at the  small weekly markets. It was here that produce, over and above the family requirements, was
bartered for the  very few commodities like salt, pots, pans or fish which could not be readily provided from the few acres each family cultivated. Many larger towns had specific markets
for cheese, butter or corn along with more varied wares, such as baskets or pots, but town councils charged dues for these sites, and imposed regulations on anyone trading, and these regulations were rigorously pursued.

 

Alongside the weekly markets, there were the yearly fairs, granted under charter from the King or held under the jurisdiction of the nearby Abbey. Stall holders paid dues for the
privilege, either (in the case of the former) to the Lord of the Manor, who had paid the King for the right, or in the latter to the Church. These markets were in complete contrast to the
local market, being considerably larger, and held outside the  town or village in open spaces or on hilltops, and lasting for several days at least. Here, money was the currency, and the
stalls and booths were much more varied. Traders came from all over the country, and even from as far away as the Continent, and brought fine cloth and wine from France along with
copper and bronze goods. And from the Baltic States came wax and furs; spices and perfumes came from the Levant, and fine porcelain from the Orient. Booths sold leather goods, purses, perfumed gloves and decorated belts, jewellery, ribbons, lace, dried fruits, iron from Spain and brass ware from the Rhineland. Stock was bought and sold, as was grain and wool; servants, stockmen and shepherds were hired; jugglers, clowns and musicians entertained the crowds; and pedlars sold sugar plums, sugar candy, hot pies and gilded gingerbread. For many, it was the highlight of the year, and warmly anticipated, for it was a
great social occasion and usually came at a slack time in the farming year, say at midsummer or when the harvest was in, so a little time could be spared from daily work.

 

There were many regulations concerning markets and trading and craftsmen and traders were expected to be content with a reasonable profit and not take unfair advantage of their
customers. Buying before the market was open was not allowed, trading being forbidden until the market bell was sounded. Food prices were strictly controlled by town officials, who also regulated the amount of bread in a loaf, and the strength of ale in a gallon.

 

The standard coin, and for a long time the only coin, was a thin silver penny, which could be cut across and cut again to give change if needed. Ordinary people probably saw very little of
this money, unless paid in coin for some service or task. Craftsmen may have accumulated more, but would need it to replenish their stock. Merchants would deal largely in coin for
their goods, while according to the Pipe Rolls, which are the annual accounts of the English Kings, those surviving from around the middle of the 12th Century show that quite a
substantial volume of coined pennies were in circulation.

 

          

In those early days there were no 'shop-keepers', each craftsman plied his trade from his own dwelling, the front of which, on the street, had a boarded opening which could be lowered each day to form a simple trestle to display goods, possibly being only some 6ft in width. He worked in full view of the passers by, stopping his work to serve his customers, for there were strict regulations about 'secret' working, such as working at night or in back rooms, that might produce shoddy goods to the cheat the buyer. At night everything was stored in the cellar. He usually had a large board outside the house showing the sign of his trade and these had to be at least 9ft above street level to allow a man on horseback to ride underneath in safety. One exception appears to be the Haberdashers, who were in a different category, and who were, quite often, the link between specialist  craftsman and the public. They were an organised body who kept a varied stock of merchandise. Contemporary accounts show that their best selling single lines were the coarse woollen caps worn by the working people, but their stock was much more extensive, covering girdles, purses, buttons, straps, spurs, bowstrings, paper, linen thread, beads, ivory combs, boxes, dishes and even spectacles.

 

         

Grocers were merchants who carried out business in bulk - 'en gros' and they eventually formed themselves into a company covering spicers,  pepperers,  apothecaries  and  corders. 

The craftsman did not keep large stocks of goods on his shelves, as most items were made as ordered. Those following a particular trade tended to congregate together so that certain
streets came to be associated with those trades or merchandise: for example, the Shambles were where the butchers traded.

As mercantile trade expanded, and goods began to arrive from the Continent, merchants built warehouses holding larger stocks of imported luxury goods such as sugar, dried fruit, wine,
cloth and spices. By this time many levels of English Society had become more prosperous through the wool trade, and by the time of Elizabeth 1st, huge trading companies, such as the
Hudson Bay Company and Levant Company were importing large  quantities of all kinds of fancy goods.

 

Gradually, buying and selling became more and more separated from ?making' and some traders began branching out in surprising combinations.  On record are ?amourers' selling
wine, and a glover selling silk purses and painted cloths as well as gloves, while a merchant in Kingston bought and sold, in the same shop, wine, fish, fruit, beer, butter, soap, honey, dye, horse shoes, bonnets, linen cloth and thread.  At the time of purchase, nothing was wrapped or packaged, it was up to the purchaser to provide what containers were needed, baskets, jugs sacks, bowls or cloth, with which to wrap the finer articles.

 

The sixteenth Century saw great expansion and more prosperity. Ideas were changing, new countries were being discovered and there was more mobility between social classes. The beginnings of the middle class emerged in wealthy merchants with fine houses and prosperous businesses. In 1567, Sir Thomas Gresham, a merchant and a mercer, built, with his own money, the Royal Exchange, on land given to him by the City  Corporation of London. This was between Cornhill and Threadneedle Street. He wanted to create an international mercantile centre for trade on the pattern of the one in Antwerp. The Exchange contained an arched courtyard where traders grouped according to the country with which they had business. In the Gallery, above the Arcade, were some 160 small shops, little larger than booths, and so dark they needed to be lit by candles even in the daytime. But the rent of each, at 40 shillings a year, would hopefully pay for the upkeep of the Exchange. Lock up shops, with no living quarters, were a new idea, and at first traders were not eager to rent.

But the Exchange immediately became extremely successful as a meeting place for merchants, and as such became the place to go to hear all the latest gossip and news from abroad. It was, therefore, not long before it became an elegant rendevous and the 'in' place to be. Retailers of quality fashion merchandise realising the potential, swiftly followed and opened shops selling some of the finest luxury goods in London.

 

London was wealthy and progressive, although some provincial towns, like Norwich, Bristol, Exeter and York, being centres for the wool trade in their area, also had their share of prosperity. The more modest towns and villages still had the small, single room, domestic shop and their craftsman owners still worked on the premises. However, they too were becoming more prosperous, with the building of large mansions and great houses which needed the very best in paintings, fine furniture, tapestries and gold and silver plate. Huge sums of money were spent on fine clothes, for all cloth was expensive, and the embossed velvets and padded silks, fashionable at this time and coming from Italy, had astronomical prices. But, but if you needed to make a stir at Court, then you had to dress the part.
Gentlemen's clothes were just as costly, and luxurious as the ladies, sometimes even more so, and this extravagance continued for the next 150 years. In 1660, Pepys was telling us that,
while he went to the old Exchange and bargained for lace for his wife, for his own lace he went to the 'great lace man' in Cheapside, and paid £4. There was, by now, a distinct difference between 'marketing' and 'shopping'. Marketing was done daily, by the lower orders and servants, who bought vegetables, meat, fruit and fish at market stalls, paying cash and haggling over prices, while gentlefolk, even with a very modest household, would not demean themselves by shopping for food at any time. Their shopping was for luxury goods, silk, ribbons, cloth, lace, hosiery, hats or various accessories and they would take much thoughtful perusal of the goods on offer. Their leisurely
considerations of things like household equipment and furniture could take several days and would be charged to an account.

Pepys again writes in his diary that, at one particular time, with no maidservant to do the marketing, he and his wife had, perforce, to do it themselves. They went to Leadenhall
Market, after dark so they should not be observed and recognised by any acquaintance, but even then drew the line at carrying it home, and hired a woman to do it for them.

 

Approaching the end of the 17th Century prosperous merchant's houses were surrounded on both sides by saddlers, gunsmiths, drapers, mercers, goldsmiths, pewterers and tailors, and so
the beginnings of the High Street emerged. Booksellers were coming into prominence and many gentlemen were happy to while away an hour or two using them like a library. Anyone
could go in and read a chapter, or a page or two, for books were sold in loose leaf form and bound to the customers requirements when purchased. By this means a matching set could be
provided. They also did a steady and increasing trade in second-hand books, for print runs of new books were quite small and ready bound copies much sought after.

Shop premises now began to have window's glazed with small panes of glass, instead of the open aperture and wooden shutter, and more and more 'middlemen' were coming into the
trades as a bridge between the craftsman and the customer. Astute grocery merchants were moving away from trading from their warehouses, to opening little shops selling tea, coffee,
chocolate, spices, dried fruits and other luxury comestibles, to the slowly increasing middle class.

 

The last quarter of the 18th Century saw most small towns with at least half a dozen shops, while the newly popular spas and county towns had small streets of shops. Not every town, or
even city, could ape London and have a Royal Exchange, but with fashionable society moving into places like Bath, Buxton or Harrogate (for restorative dalliance after the hurly-burly of the social season had worn them down) select shops began to appear, to cater for the whims and fancies of the ladies. With little to do but meet friends or take the waters, they would then repair to small, elegant, premises, to purchase the very latest East India cottons or muslins, dashing bonnets or a dainty fan to bewitch the current beau while dancing at the Assembly Rooms.

 

Meanwhile, at the same time, the arrival of the Industrial Revolution had begun to change the face of the countryside. The migration of many families, from the rural areas into the towns,
meant these families were no longer able to grow or make for all their needs.  So, for the first time, small shops appeared in working-class districts to cater for the factory workers.  Some
mill owners even went to the extent of opening a company shop on their premises, to supply standard groceries and provisions.  Some might even have had an altruistic motive, but mainly they exploited their workers by charing high prices and giving inferior quality. 

Encouraging credit, they also tied them into a system whereby they paid wages with one hand and took them back in payment for goods with the other.  A whole range of shops now came into being, catering solely for the lower classes.  These included shops for cooked food, second-hand clothes and shoes and pawn shops.  Most low class food was adulterated, so in 1844, in an effort to improve their situation, twenty-eight poor weavers in Rochdale save their money until each could put in £1, and with this small capital they founded the first Co-Operative Society, buying in a range of staple foods and selling them to members at a reasonable price.  They went from strength to strength and at
the end of each year were able to reward their members by paying them back a small dividend out of the profits.

Britain was now expanding its Empire overseas, and goods and food came flooding in from all over the world, while the growth of the railway networks rapidly improved distribution.
Cities and towns had many fine shops providing jewels, silver, silks, clothes and household goods and on an unprecedented scale, but  one of the most prestigious and influential was a
shop opened in 1875 in Regent Street by Arthur Liberty, named East-India House. It prospered and grew, at first selling just coloured silks, but rapidly expanding into anything
good in embroidery, laquer-ware, cloisonne enamel or Satsuma-ware, Japanese fans and Kimonos, plus many other oriental goods. Well known names, in the Arts and Crafts movement, designed textiles, furniture and metal work specially for it and leading figures in the British Art or design world such as Whistler, Godwin, Burne-Jones and Rossetti patronised it extensively.

 

America was also beginning to influence shopping trends and Butterick's Paper Patterns had opened a shop, also in Regent Street, in 1873, and Gordon Selfridge opened his famous
department store in 1909. Big from the start, it had window displays, the like of which had never been seen. Selfridge brought a new concept to shopping, appealing to middle class
women and tempting them to use his store like a ladies club. He deliberately put his perfume counter near to the main entrance so that the enticing smells would lure the ladies in.

Although many started in a small, modest way, department stores had been growing slowly until, between 1850 and 1900, and at various times, arrived amongst others, Gamages,
Pontings, John Lewis, Peter Robinson, Whitelys, Harrods and Barkers. And, although these were London stores, the idea slowly filtered down to the more provincial towns. Tea shops
had opened, to cater for ladies needing to refresh themselves during a long day's shopping, and many specialist shops had been opened, such as Lillywhites in 1863. This first specialist sports shop catered for the immense enthusiasm for new sports
such as croquet, lawn tennis, bicycling, archery, golf and skiing, all now available to ladies, as well as gentlemen.

 

Since the turn of the 20th Century, shops, and the goods sold in them, have multiplied again and again. Family firms were joined by entrepreneurs extending their trading by opening new
branches all over the country, mainly in the grocery and provision market. The Co-operative Society had shops in almost every town, both large and small, and had gone on to extend
their scope into other consumer areas. They now manufactured, or dealt in, confectionery, furniture, drapery, hardware, shoes, and mens outfitting, amongst other things, and in their
grocery stores sold, under their own label, many of the daily necessities. They had a reputation for good quality at reasonable prices and the 'divi' paid out every six months was a welcome additional income to a working class family on low wages. Many traders, like Thomas Lipton, who had started in just one commodity (in this instance, tea) went on to open branches nation wide, selling a much wider range of food than just the original item. Some of these names are now barely remembered, like David Grieg, Home and Colonial, Maypole Dairies and Mac Fisheries, while Sainsburys of course are still with us. Jesse Boot had started his small Chemist business in Nottingham, Marks and Spencer had opened their Penny Bazaar in Leeds and by the beginning of the second decade F. W. Woolworth had arrived
from the States and opened his stores selling everything from pins to crockery for 3d and 6d.

 

     

Mass production has brought down the cost of countless everyday items, and many, which were previously luxury goods, to within reach of almost everyone. More disposable income
has meant that a much greater proportion of the population has far more material goods than ever before, to such an extent that shopping is now really classed as 'retail therapy'. It has
always been a leisure activity for the rich, but has now extended down the social scale, and is indulged by all classes when they can. People no longer shop just for what they need, but also
for pleasure, and naturally a lot of what they buy has changed in character. A gentleman does not go out to purchase his books unbound, but buys his paperback from Waterstones. He does
not visit his tailor to be measured for a top coat and breeches, but gets his sweaters and chino's from Gap. No modern lady would be seen dead these days in a mercers or mantua
makers, they are busy trying on dresses in Monsoon or Dorothy Perkins. And as for furniture, instead of going to Mr Chippendale, and leisurely choosing graceful items to enhance one's fashionable dining, more and more is bought flat-packed-put-it-together-yourself from Ikea.

How times have changed.