There have been shops in the old commercial quarter of the city since the early part of the 19th century. I guess that over the years, the ownership and nature of the business has changed. The chippy used to be a butchers, but what was it before that? I went to the local reference library and looked at Kelly's directory. Kelly's directory records the details of local commercial premises. They go right back so you can trace the history of a particular shop or group of shops in any area within the UK. Its fascinating stuff, in the early part of the 20th century many of the business seemed to be makers. There were hat makers, basket makers, boot makers, and watchmaker's – evidence of a thriving fairly self-sufficient community. There was a temperance bar on the street. The temperance movement was a reaction to what was then regarded as the evils of alcohol, the temperance movement advocated moderation/ abstinence from drinking alcohol. This movement started in the North of England attracted a huge following and temperance bars sprouted up all around the country. Here you could sample many non-alcoholic delights such as Dandelion and Burdock, Sarsaparilla, Ginger beer, Cream soda, Vimto, Black Beer & Raisin. Of their time they seem to have more or less disappeared, I understand there may be one remaining in Lancashire. .
"Temperance" such a quaint sounding word, indicative of another time and way of thinking. I don't think now, we would see any virtue in the concept of "temperance". Moving along in time(1942) to the local funeral parlour sandwiched between the newsagent and the tobacconist advertised, "All social classes catered for". Divided even in death it would seem.
