Street traders / hawkers

[harrier]

Does anyone remember the street traders who used to hawk their wares around the streets, house to house. I refer to local traders not itinerants. The milkman of course who used to sell milk from churns on the back of his cart ladeling milk into a jug. I used to feel sorry for the poor horse having to struggle up the steep Hainworth Lane. There was Mr Cowburn (?) who had a hardware shop down Halifax Road or had it chaged to South Street by then? Was it an open sided lorry or a horse and card. He seemed to have stacks of stuff hanging from the sides and roof which swayed wildly from side to side as the vehicle moved. I remember being amazed on one occasion when my mother bought a bundle of kindling, chopped sticks tied with string to light the fire. I went into production and used to sell bundles to neighbours in Hainworth Lane and Ebenezar Square! I must have been 8 or 9 because we moved hose when I was 10. Although we had coal delivered by Wilkinsons, who had a coal yard and office in Ingrow Top Railway Station, there was an old lorry that came round tooting his horn selling coke ... which was only bought when we were low on coal and could not afford to pay the coal bill. The neighbours seemed to think the coke was 'borrowed' from the gasworks at Marley as he sold it so cheaply. It was probably the same standard of stuff that the council used to spread on the roads when it snowed (no salt in those days) The lorry had a plough on the front and a couple of council workmen on the back shovelling the grit / coke / clinker onto the road with all the locals following with baskets, sorting through what had been thrown onto the road to find chunks of burnable coke. The coal merchants, Wilkinsons operated a policy that the delivery of coal was only paid for when a new delivery was required. I had the job of taking the money through the top end of the Methodist Chapel grounds to the coal yard across the road to order ten sacks ... it always seemed to be ten. The doctors seemed to operate the same system of paying ... you paid for the last lot of treatment when you were taken ill and required his attendance / pills etc.. Then there was Mr Tibbles who was the insurance man but who operated a Kays Catalogue scheme on the side. He came round to the house on one occasion and saw that my sister and I had cut an old catalogue up so that the models on each page stood up like they did in a pop up book. He asked my mother if he could have the catalogue as a backup for his round although the pages were cut up but were still in tact. Mother refused but he offered us both 6d (a fortune) for the book. Deal done! He had a little office at the back of the Keighley West Yorkshire bus garage. He rented an outside noticeboard on his office wall to Bradford Park Avenue Football Club to advertise their games. On occasions, he sold / gave?? my dad a couple of tickets so we could go and watch a match. The notices stood out because the club used orange bold print on a bright green background.

[parkwoodgirl]

My family were devout members of the Co-op - I was always the one who had to queue down the stone steps in Hanover St., to collect my mom's divi. One of my other 'jobs' was to collect the sheeps head every Tuesday from the Co-op butcher on Parkwood when my gran would make broth to last two days, throwing in all but the kitchen sink! Herbert Brown was our milk man, Herbert could be heard shouting 'Hey Hey' to his horse as he came down Quarry St., Our icecream man was Jack Hannam his parents had an icecream shop on Parkwood St., Jack had a donkey and cart and sold icecream from the cart - imagine the powers of today allowing that!! Our insurance man was Mr. Kershaw from the Co-Op of course.!!.. The only hardware and ironmongers I remember was Maurice Capper on South St., Needless to say our coal came from the Co-op.. I dreaded the divi day because that meant new shoes - being taken to the Co-op shoe shop on Hanover St., when my mom insisted I had a pair of boy's shoes as they would last longer and when I kicked up and refused to try them on I got a clout round the head with the shoe box!!!!!! Ah Happy Days - no money but great memories....

[fsharpminor]

In the 50's I remember getting milk delivered by 'Isobel' from a churn. Meat was ordered from Jack Hird in Oakworth Rd, and he delivered twice weekly, and Jack Emmott (shop/post office at junct of Grafton rd and Upper Hird St), delivered a grocery order each Friday evening.
As far as actual hawkers goes, Hoyles 'Pop' lorry came round regularly.
Coal was delivered by Billy Foster (lived at 14, Lawnswood Rd. two doors away from my grandparents)

[keighleyboy]

Very timely that you mention nipping through the Chapel grounds at Ingrow, Harrier. The last service at Wesley Place Methodist Church takes place upon this very day, after 149 years in one form or another on that site.

[keighleyboy]

I was born, and lived in Showfield until1953. A greengocer called Williie Watson used to come round with a horse and four-wheeled cart. He had a wart on his face. The horse was called Tom, and I think he stabled it somewhere behind the Albert Hotel. There was small handwheel on the cart which he would turn to put the brakes on while people came out and bought things. When he'd gone, the lady next door would would come out with a bucket and shovel, and scoop up the green steaming manure to put on her roses.

[harrier]

My sister reminds me we had a 'pop' man come round each week. She seems to think that there was a standard order of six large bottles and if six empties were not ready for exchange, a deposit had to be paid for how ever many empties were short. It was at the time when you paid a deposit on bottles and got your deposit back when the empties were returned. Neither of us could remember the name of the 'pop' man.

[fsharpminor]

Hoyles had a pop bottling plant in Rutland St, and came round streets on a lorry. Another bottler was Shckleton and Sagar, though I dont know where they were situated.

[barcrofter]

Shackleton & Sagar were at Ingrow, no sure just where.

[keighleyboy]

Shackleton & Sagar were at Spring Bank, at the end of Hainworth Wood Road, facing the wood to 'Red Holt' and near the start of the steep cobbled climb to Hainworth. Brian Booth was the man in business there during the 1950s/1970s. His father, Ned Booth was at one time landlord of the Great Northern Inn at Ingrow.

[fsharpminor]

Hmmm , thats two Pop bottlers less than a mile apart. I wonder if they agreed on 'sales patches' or if they fought tooth and nail and had 'Pop Wars' There was a lot of trouble round here with Ice Cream wars last summer, one guy hit another and they both ended up ,losing their licences.

[elfremar]

We lived opposite Percy Capper who had the ironmongers shop in South Street.His wife was called Florence and they lived with her mother,Mrs Greenwood.I spent more time in their house than I did in my own.

[sean1981]

Under the heading of street traders.

I remember my dad pointing out one guy who sold the 'Evening news and telegraph' and I had to ask what he was shouting because it was in the old street sort of cry. He was mostly by the Town hall opposite the bus stand.

Emily matches was a name my dad mentioned, I think she sold small items outside the theater.

John

[Andy Wade]

Was it "Morny Stannit"? ;D

[keighleyboy]

Yes Harrier,
I seem to remember that Stantons used to come round and sell ginger beer, sarsaspirilla and dandelion & budrdock, all in earthenware bottles with two little loop handles, one at each side of the stopper at the top. I have heard that not a few of these ended up as hot-water bottles.

[barcrofter]

Brilliant Andy