The Changing Face of Grocery Shopping

Published in Windlesora 23 (2007)

© WLHG

In 1854, Windsor town centre could boast the presence of 22 bakers, 7 fishmongers, 4 fruiterers, 17 butchers, 12 greengrocers, 3 dairymen and 20 grocers/provision merchants, a total of 85. Of these, 27 had premises in Peascod Street and the rest were mostly clustered around High Street and Thames Street. The citizens, whether from the gentry and aristocracy of Park Street, King’s Road and the Royal Household or the less affluent inhabitants closer to the river, had access to their daily food provisions from a wide variety of outlets within walking distance.

By 1902, following the Victorian expansion of the town to the west and south of Peascod Street, the number of food shops had risen accordingly. There were 26 bakers, 22 butchers, 14 dairymen, 10 fishmongers, 27 fruiterers and greengrocers and 33 grocers, a total of 132 and 37 of these had premises in Peascod Street.

	1854	1902	1947
Bakers	22	26	15
Butchers	17	22	16
Fishmongers	7	10	8
Dairymen	3	14	6
Fruiterers and Greengrocers	16	27	12
Grocers, Tea and Provisions	20	33	38
Food shops in Peascod Street	27	37	27

In the immediate aftermath of WW2, the total had fallen back again, except for a significant rise in the number of grocery/provision stores. Coming more up-to-date, within the memory of many people reading this article, in 1974 there were still 17 food shops in Peascod Street, in addition to stores such as Woolworths and Marks and Spencer, which had food departments.

	1974	1947	1902
2			AG Green, Fruiterer
5	AJ Ginger, Delicatessen	AJ Ginger, Ham & Beef stores
6			TJ Balls, Fishmonger & Poulterer
7			TR Copeland, Butcher
9			Badger A and G, Butcher
11	Importers tea and coffee blenders
17			J Rubie and Son, Grocers
18			E Hand, Fruiterers
17-18	FW Woolworth and Co. Ltd	FW Woolworth and Co. Ltd
25	F Meyers Ltd, Fruiterers	HE Stow Ltd, Fruiterers
30		Sanders Bros Ltd, Grocers
31	Walbrooks, Butcher	MacFisheries Ltd, Fishmongers
35			Eastmans Ltd, Butcher
38			JM Walker, Grocer
44-45			The Royal Brewery
47-48		LR Purser Butcher & Fishmonger	E & A Purser, Meat, Fish, Game, Poultry
55-56		Tesco Stores Ltd, Grocers
55-58	Tesco Stores Ltd, Grocers
59		Bishop’s Stores Ltd, Grocers
62			AE Turner, Confectioner
63			C Qusher, Corn Merchant
64	AA Fisher, Butcher
69	JH Dewhurst Ltd, Butcher		FJC Crowhurst, Confectioner
70
71			RS Cox, Greengrocer

For those who are unfamiliar with the slightly eccentric numbering of Peascod Street, it starts at the top (High Street) and runs in sequence down the eastern side to the junction with Victoria Street. It then goes back up the other side from Crosses Corner (73) to the top at Barclays Bank.

	1974	1947	1902
138			F Allen, Greengrocer and Fruiterer
137a			Hart’s Confectionery
135		Tull and Son, Bakers	Tull and Sons, Bakers by Royal Apt.
134	Budgen and Co. Ltd, Grocers	Budgen and Co. Ltd, Grocers	Budgen and Co. Ltd, Grocers
133	MacFisheries Ltd, Fishmongers
131-132		Marks and Spencer Ltd
130	Marks and Spencer Ltd
128-129
127			Mrs Aldridge, Baker and Confectioner
122-123			White and Sons, Bakers
121			Home and Colonial Tea Stores
120		Windsor and Eton Dairies	West London Dairies
113			WJ Smith and Co., Grocers
112	Town Bakeries	Dexter L and Sons, Bakers	W Poundsford, Baker & Confectioner
110-1111			S Osmond and Son, Butchers
111		Vanora Ltd, Confectioners
107	Budgen’s Supermarket
101			Peakes, Gunston and Lee, Butter and Tea
100			Holderness and Son, Bakers by Royal Apt.
97	International Tea Company	International Tea Company	International Tea Company
94		World Stores Ltd, Grocers
94a			The World Tea Company
93a		DJ Fisher, Butcher
92	Darville and Sons Ltd, Grocers	Darville and Son Ltd, Grocers	J Darville, Grocer
89		WR Fletcher Ltd, Butcher	W & R Fletcher Ltd, Butchers
86		Denny’s Stores Ltd, Bakers	TJ Deller, Baker & Confectioner
85		Pearks Stores Ltd, Provision Merchants
84	Parslows of Reading Ltd, Bakers
82	F Bennett, Butcher	S Osmond and Son, Butcher	FJ White, Pork Butcher
81	GM Gerrards Ltd, Fruiterers	G Grove Ltd, Fruiterer	JE Petley, Fruiterer
80			J Andrews, Tripe & Ox-heel Dresser
78			R Hughes, Fishmonger & Poulterer
76			W Wells, Butcher
76-74	David Grieg Ltd, Grocers	David Grieg Ltd, Grocers

Darville’s

One name which stands out in terms of continuity, and which is familiar to generations of Windsorians is that of J Darville and Son Ltd. James Darville came to Slough and then to Windsor in the 1860s as an employee of the Great Western Railway Company. In 1874, he married Miss Turney, who owned a grocery business with her brother at 93 Peascod Street, re-naming it Darville’s after the brother died. In 1890 he acquired number 92 which became the foundation of a chain which increased to 17 stores in and around Windsor by 1971. Part of the company’s reputation was built on the skill of tea blending, and the various

Darvilles stores at 92 and 93 Peascod Street in 1896.

The company inspired great loyalty amongst its employees, and many local families can boast of long-serving members. The record was achieved by Walter Longford who in 1971 completed 73 years service, and six more people completed 50 years. At a dinner in 1971 at the White Hart Hotel there were 15 employees with a combined service of 600 years! The purpose of the dinner was to celebrate the 90th birthday of James Darville, nephew of the founder. He recalled working conditions at the turn of the century, when he started work at 7.15 am every day, and the stores were open until 8.30 pm on weekdays and 11 pm on Saturdays.

During WW2, 35 Darville employees were called up, and while they were serving overseas, they received regular ‘comfort parcels’, 16 in all, containing items such as soap, toothpaste, razors and biscuits. There was also a Newsletter from the chairman, giving them news from home and information about other employees.

With the post-war years came shortages and rationing, and Darville’s carried a weekly advertisement in the Windsor and Eton Express, advising what goods were in stock. It is possible to track the prices of basic groceries for almost 100 years by reading the Darville advertisements in the Windsor Express. For instance, Heinz Baked Beans were 4d per can in 1950 and best Royal margarine was 1 shilling per pound. Best ham for Easter was 1/3d per pound and eggs were 2d each.

A retailing revolution arrived in 1960, with the introduction of self-service. The doors at 92 Peascod St were modified to allow in-and-out traffic and customers were now invited to pick up a wire basket inside the door and help themselves from the shelves. The Grocers’ Gazette reported that Darville’s customers, mostly middle-aged and elderly ladies, who might be expected to be ‘bewildered and resentful’, actually took to the change with enthusiasm.

Following on from self-service, it was only a matter of time before grocery stores became larger and stocked a wider range of goods, and in 1971 Darville’s opened their first supermarket in Dedworth Road. As befitted such an important occasion, the opening ceremony was performed by local celebrity Terry Wogan.

Not only in Windsor, but across the country, the trend was to ‘one-stop’ shopping, with the necessity of using a car to carry the load. As shoppers deserted town centres, small food shops became unprofitable and closed down.

At the time of writing (in 2006), a new town centre Waitrose supermarket is awaited, the old one having been demolished to make way for a hotel. There is one surviving butcher in Peascod Street, Hunts at number 82 which also sells a few vegetables. Marks and Spencer has a food department, although that at Woolworths has long gone. In addition, 3 shops sell dry goods such as nuts, dried fruit and cereals: Julian Graves at number 134, Holland and Barrett at 23 and G.N.C. at 96. Of Darville’s 17 retail outlets, one remains in Eton Wick. As for 92 Peascod Street, it is now a furniture store.

The tide is turning to a small extent as some shoppers search for personal service and locally-sourced fresh food, and the monthly Windsor Farmers Market established in St Leonard’s Road in 2005 has proved successful.

Sue Ashley

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Sources

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Acknowledgements

My thanks to Karen Darville for access to her company archive.

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Wed Editor

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