Society meeting

THE April meeting of the Sutton Local History Society was the last of the evening meetings until October.

April means the AGM and this was executed with its usual admirable speed.

There was enough time to reveal that the finances are sound but the society would still like more members.

The talk this evening was ‘ Bygone Shops and Shopping in Nottingham’, by Chris Weir a retired archivist.

This was an illustrated talk largely based on buildings in the centre of Nottingham. The earliest reference to shopping was the location of the Saxon market at Weekday Cross.

We rapidly moved on to the 19th century when the market was still in the Market Place and there were geese at the Goose fair. The 19th century saw the arrival of shops that defined shopping in Nottingham as we know it today, many of which have subsequently disappeared.

Shops such as Jessops arrived and was considered one of the best shops at the time. Boots opened several shops, the big innovation in one of them was a lift in order to encourage people to visit the first floor.

Griffin & Spalding opened in 1846, they had a service manual for the staff explaining how to behave, how to address the customers, clearly the origins of formalised staff training.

Mention was made of Burtons in Smithy Row, Johnsons in Bridlesmith Gate who were hatters and had a ‘confirmator’, a tortuous looking gadget for measuring the head. Who can forget the wonderful shop that was Sisson & Parker, book sellers in Wheeler Gate, and now a Sainsburys. At Pearsons in Long Row you could purchase a special mower for cutting your croquet lawn. An entertaining talk which brought back many memories for the audience.

The programme of summer visits was revealed. These start with a trip to the Malt Cross Music Hall, Nottingham, on Saturday 20th May, followed by a guided tour of Loughborough on the 21st June.

Sharpes Pottery Museum Swadlincote will be visited on Saturday July 15th and we conclude with a full day visit to the National Memorial Arboretum on Saturday 19th August.

Anyone interested in joining the society and these trips please telephone 01509 672728.