Retailing
1823 to 1859 – A Period of Increasing Population
From 1823 to 1844 the number of shops listed in the directories increased by 83%. Some of this increase could be attributed to the population of the town rising by 24% over the same period but it could also be due to the 1823 directory not including all of the shops. By far the biggest change was in the number of shops selling wearing apparel or food.
1859 to 1930 – A Period of Static Population After a Sharp Fall
Over this period the population of the town remained static after a 13% fall following the arrival of the railway in 1859. The number of shops in the town decreased by 24% between 1844 and 1874 and then rose by 8% over the period 1874 to 1925. The types of shop did not change significantly over this period. By far the largest number sold either food or wearing apparel or both. These commodities were the bare necessities and most families could afford little else. The same pattern has been found in towns across the country.
The food was usually prepared and packed on the premises. Butchers slaughtered their own animals, bakers made their own bread, and provision merchants sliced their bacon and cut butter and cheese from blocks. Many clothes and shoes were still made or altered in the shops. Because of the large amount of manual labour involved in the retail trade, both the number of people employed, and the number of shops needed to service a given population, was greater than today. Many photographs of Woodbridge shops have some or all the staff lined up outside and they clearly show how labour intensive the retail trade was.
Smith’s butchers shop on The Thoroughfare. It was by the entrance to New Street.
Pulham - fancy draper, hosier and glover - on The Thoroughfare. It was in the building which is now Peacocks.
Tyson’s grocery store on The Thoroughfare. It was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Job Centre.
The most significant change in the type of store was the introduction of department stores and chain stores. Woodbridge’s first department store was Wrinch and Barnes at Cross Corner and a photograph of it is shown here. The shop opened as an ironmongers but the range of goods offered subsequently expanded and Alfred Barnes became the sole proprietor. An advert in late nineteenth century proclaimed that it had ‘a large stock of General, Furnishing, Builders’, Smiths’, Agricultural and other Ironmongers, and, in addition to the departments mentioned, an excellent stock of household Furniture’. From 1904 Alfred Barnes was contracting his business and by 1909 he had ceased trading.
Link to adverts showing the range of products offered for sale in 1901.
Wrinch and Barnes Department Store at Cross Corner.
The shop closed in 1904 and was taken over by the
Suffolk Seed Store but the building was
destroyed by
fire in 1917. Prezzo's now occupy part of the site.
