Sunday 31 January 2021

Our Shop part 2


Here's a story involving our shop which might interest you, and might even jog some memories

I must have been about 9 or 10 years old when this happened.

Opposite Wilson street, on the other side of New Cross Road, there was a fried fish shop, I guess you might call it a fish and chip shop today, but we just called it, 'the fish shop'. I can't remember it's name. One day a horse and cart was parked outside the fish shop when a steam engine went past. I don't mean a train, but rather a road-based steam engine. If my memory is correct, anyone delivering using a horse and cart had to make sure that someone was holding the horse's reins whilst the delivery was taking place, I think this was the law at the time. So usually there were at least two people with a horse and cart. The steam engine terrified the horse, and the horse was unattended, or the person with it was not holding the reins, or they were and the horse got away from them, I'm afraid I don't know exactly why, but the horse bolted, and headed down Wilson Street.

It ended up by crashing through our shop door and putting it's front hooves on the counter. It had stopped because the drawbars for the cart had become wedged in the doorway. I didn't see all this myself, as I was at school. When I got home the doors were seriously damaged, and there were two hoof marks on the counter of the shop. These hoof marks stayed there until the shop was destroyed by a bomb in the early years of the war. Thanks goodness there were no customers in the shop at the time! I remember that the doors had to be repaired, and this was a little awkward as they were slightly rounded, being on the corner of the building. I don't know who got the horse out of the shop, or whether anyone paid for the repairs.

6 comments:

Ruth said...

Can anybody remember a shoe repair shop?
Called W.V. Richardson & Son?
It was my Grandads, and was wondering if anyone can help me with the name of the road it was in, please.
I am 64 now, so was talking about 55 years ago.
Would appreciate any feedback please.

Unknown said...

Do you know how long the shop was there for?

SB Tollesbury said...

hi there, i am currently researching for a project focussing on Deptford creek and would love to talk to you about the creek. is there an email i could contact you on? alternatively, could you please email me at contact@euanmaybank.co.uk . many thanks. Euan

Ruth said...

Hi, possibly about 20 years. I can remembering it being in a road off the high street.

Lyn said...

There was a shoe repair shop in Church Street Deptford which my husbnd's family used up until 1970 however my husband thinks the name was "Wrights".

Lyn said...

I tried to contact SB Tollesbury by the email quoted but it has been sent back saying the email is wrong! If you want to contact us re Deptford Creek please contact by our email aquiva@hotmail.com
Regards
Lyn