… from the Wychwoods Albums Archive
]. H. Mayer’s shop and bakery is now (1985) the Midland Bank – the photograph is taken in the yard behind. The vehicle is a delivery version of an American Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout, a popular car at this time.
Mr Puffett’s forge was in the High Street opposite what was then Poplar Farm, the buildings of which can be seen over the road. A lot of his work was for Groves – shoeing the horses, sharpening the masons’ tools and general smithy work. Bill Simms is sitting in the background.
William Horwood acquired the business from Mr Mayer and apparently reverted back to the horse-drawn delivery van. The photograph is again taken in the yard behind the shop. Tom Moss from Ascott is in the driver’s seat with William Horwood standing close by. Mrs Horwood is with their first two children, Peggy and Tom.
Originally Dee’s Stores, the shop was built in 1919 when Mr Dee moved from his premises opposite Shipton Lodge. The drapery section was upstairs with the groceries below. Deliveries were made to surrounding villages by Stanley Gorton, seen here with May Barnes and the Model A Ford van. The railings around the shop went in the war effort in 1940.
This photograph was taken by Sidney Arundell whose son Graham still has the glass plate negative. The gardener at Shipton Court and the Court Pleasure Grounds and the postman below are also from the same collection. Nothing is known about this boy who was delivering milk from the farm, a popular job for young lads.
The GPO records for Shipton start with the issue of a date stamp in July 1847 and a note about a messenger being required between Chipping Norton and Shipton two months later. This is Peter Costiff of Chipping Norton, postman from 1890-1900.
Christopher Miles, the Milton postman, is standing outside his home, the Corner House, opposite the post office. Mr Miles had a variety of jobs during his life – he also appears in the photograph of Groves quarrymen.
Mr Baughan, who also appears in two of the photographs taken at Shipton station, was a coal merchant. He used the donkey to travel to and from the station where his coal stocks were kept and with a cart behind he was able to deliver small quantities. The photograph is taken outside Cotham Cottage in the High Street, Milton, although Mr Baughan lived at Cotswold on the junction of Shipton Road and Frog Lane.
George Bradley collected his first lorry from Ford’s Trafford Works in 1931. The 15 cwt Super-truck had many agricultural haulage uses including, with extended sides, the transport of livestock.
Wychwoods Album Menu
This is one of series of snapshots taken from the Society’s publications “The Wychwoods Albums”. These publications from the mid to late 1980s feature a variety of images of the Wychwoods, all of which deserve a place in our expanding online archive.
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The Shaven Crown | Shipton Village Panorama | Shipton Post Office 1908/10 | Shipton Views Early 1900s | Aspects of Milton 1900s-1930s| Milton & Shipton Churches | Early 20th Century School Life | Shipton Court in 1895-1910 | Road and Rail | Matthews Mill, Shipton | Alfred Groves – a Historic Family Business | Vintage Transport and Deliveries | Agriculture and Manufacturing | Some Local Wychwoods Characters| Wychwoods Group Activities| Wychwoods Album Home
