Multiple Brands - Kernick Stores, The Old Forge, Widecombe in the Moor, Devon TQ13 7TB 1935
This is one of those old images that you see more the more you look at it. Starting with the very old pumps, one Esso Ethyl branded and the other Shell, we see behind there's a spare Shell globe. That might suggest that previously only Shell was sold here and the Esso Ethyl was a relatively new addition. It also suggests a date just after 1933 when Pratts became Esso so have dated the image at 1935. At first glance the scene looks older than that but Widdecombe in the Moor is an isolated place, and even in 1935 it would be slow to move with the times. Then of course there's all the toby jugs and other chinawear on sale, presumably as the old forge was no longer needed as a forge it moved into pottery as a way of making money. There are other nick nacks on sale too, along with I think a range of postcards and even a copy of The Times.
As for the people in shot, clearly the chap at the back is the owner and I suspect the two ladies in front of him are his daughters. The one on the left isn't at all attractive, indeed if one were to remove the middle section of her hair she'd bear an uncanny resemblance to Max Wall. I think the lady in the shadow of the pump might be his wife, perhaps she too wasn't exactly attractive and being in the shadow saves us from the worst impact of her features! The other older looking lady must be some other relative, possibly his mother? She looks just about ready to go!
Above the building we see a sign showing six men riding on a single horse, the one at the back the wrong way round, that surely has to count as animal cruelty, not that anyone much cared about that sort of thing in 1935.
As we can see the old forge was already two hundred years old at this point, there's an interesting sign on the wall near the plaque mentioning the age of the forge reading "A Genuine Copy of the Will of the Official Uncle Tom Cobley of Widecombe" which I am guessing refers to the Uncle Tom Cobley as mentioned in the song Widecombe Fair. I'm not sure I would have been interested in that but if that old Shell globe was for sale I might have been tempted by that!
Overall an amazing image of a time long passed and one that as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to buy it. The view today isn't so different, the building has been considerably tarted up but it's still recognisable as is the general view.
www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.5765274,-3.811803,3a,90y,242.64...
Multiple Brands - Kernick Stores, The Old Forge, Widecombe in the Moor, Devon TQ13 7TB 1935
This is one of those old images that you see more the more you look at it. Starting with the very old pumps, one Esso Ethyl branded and the other Shell, we see behind there's a spare Shell globe. That might suggest that previously only Shell was sold here and the Esso Ethyl was a relatively new addition. It also suggests a date just after 1933 when Pratts became Esso so have dated the image at 1935. At first glance the scene looks older than that but Widdecombe in the Moor is an isolated place, and even in 1935 it would be slow to move with the times. Then of course there's all the toby jugs and other chinawear on sale, presumably as the old forge was no longer needed as a forge it moved into pottery as a way of making money. There are other nick nacks on sale too, along with I think a range of postcards and even a copy of The Times.
As for the people in shot, clearly the chap at the back is the owner and I suspect the two ladies in front of him are his daughters. The one on the left isn't at all attractive, indeed if one were to remove the middle section of her hair she'd bear an uncanny resemblance to Max Wall. I think the lady in the shadow of the pump might be his wife, perhaps she too wasn't exactly attractive and being in the shadow saves us from the worst impact of her features! The other older looking lady must be some other relative, possibly his mother? She looks just about ready to go!
Above the building we see a sign showing six men riding on a single horse, the one at the back the wrong way round, that surely has to count as animal cruelty, not that anyone much cared about that sort of thing in 1935.
As we can see the old forge was already two hundred years old at this point, there's an interesting sign on the wall near the plaque mentioning the age of the forge reading "A Genuine Copy of the Will of the Official Uncle Tom Cobley of Widecombe" which I am guessing refers to the Uncle Tom Cobley as mentioned in the song Widecombe Fair. I'm not sure I would have been interested in that but if that old Shell globe was for sale I might have been tempted by that!
Overall an amazing image of a time long passed and one that as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to buy it. The view today isn't so different, the building has been considerably tarted up but it's still recognisable as is the general view.
www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.5765274,-3.811803,3a,90y,242.64...