Market stall still a family affair after 100 years
A BUSINESS-OWNER whose greatgrandmother kicked-started a Swansea Market stall 100 years ago by selling a bunch of parsley is preparing to celebrate its centenary.
Back in April 1921, widowed mum-of-five Florence James had little option but to find work for herself and her family to survive.
With a basket of goods to sell on a Friday, after making the walk into town from Pentregethin Road she only managed to sell the parsley and nothing else.
But her determination to keep going inspired a generation of her family to make Swansea Market the home for their business, which has been called Abrahams for years.
Lynda Colley, who lives in Llandybie in Carmarthenshire, said she was glad to be able to continue the family legacy.
She said: “In the beginning my great-grandmother, Florence James, was left a widow with five children. In between every child she lost a child, so she actually had nine children.
“There was 10 years between the youngest and oldest children and they lived in a farmhouse built by my great-great-grandfather.
“She was left a widow with all those children to bring up, so my great-grandmother went down to Swansea Market to earn money to support the family.”
Lynda added: “She only sold a bunch of parsley on the Friday, even though she had chicken, eggs and butter with her.
“She went back on the Saturday, as she was made of stern stuff, and she sold out.”
The family had owned farms in the Cadle and Penlan areas, which was home to all the produce, and over the years the business has been handed down to the eldest daughter in the family.
The business was handed to Florence’s daughter Irene, who married Tom Jonah, who proudly continued the tradition.
Lynda said: “Irene and Tom took over the market.
“They were the ones who had the farmhouse and Irene would make faggots and peas to sell to the workmen building in Penlan, Portmead and Cadle.
“She would also sell the faggots in the market.”
The business grew through the decades and after Lynda’s grandparents finished, her family expanded the business into two stalls.
“My mum Elaine Jonah, who married my dad Ken Abrahams, ran the market and when my dad passed away in 1982 we decided we would go into the market with my mother.
“Ron [Lynda’s husband] and I worked on the stall on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.”
Lynda said over the years, every time the stall changed hands, the name would change too.
“Whenever the daughter would take over, it went from James to Jonah to Abrahams,” she added. “I was expecting it to change to Colley when we took over, but Ron didn’t want to, as people knew it as Abrahams.”
She said she believed the business had survived the test of time because it placed top-quality meat first, leading generations of families to keep returning to the stall.
Lynda said: “We would cook our own meats. Ron would select all the bacon that we sold.”
She added: “Ron passed away five years ago and we have three children – Martin, 45, Stuart, 43, and Laura, 41, and the natural choice is that the daughter has always taken over.
“But she’s a teacher and loves teaching. Martin runs the Ivy Bush in Llandybie, but Stuart was very keen to take over.
“And he has two children, so we have another generation in the wings to take over.
“We have always said you do not choose the market, it chooses you.
“You have to have something in you to get up at 4.30am. You must have something that makes you do that.
“Put the effort in and you can enjoy it.”
Lynda said she had no plans to retire any time soon, although the business was now in the hands of her son.
She said: “I have no plan to finish, I was a Saturday girl with my grandmother and I’m going to finish my career as a Saturday girl for my son.
“I consider myself blessed. Over the years we have had some lovely staff and thank you for their loyal service over the years and thank you to the customers.
“I suppose I will have to finish when I can’t stand all day.”
Lynda said the knock-on effect of the coronavirus pandemic had hit trade in Swansea Market and it was a challenge to sell on the same scale.
She said people had switched to a more convenience-driven way of shopping.
Lynda said: “It’s not like it used to be down there. I remember my parents taking on the business and increasing the business.
“When I first came in with Stuart, it was busy there. Since Covid it’s been dire. The pandemic has changed people’s shopping habits.
“You go online and place an order.”
But she said they had adapted their service and had run items out from Kittle to Port Talbot, and there were further plans for another run on Wednesday, December 22.
The stall will host a celebration to mark its centenary – and remember the woman who founded it.
“Everybody will be having some parsley in a nod to her,” added Lynda.