Shops, Shopping and Services, early-mid 20th Century: Site Contents

This section brings together pages about the shops, shopping habits and everyday services of Britain in the early and middle years of the 20th century. Before supermarkets and out-of-town stores, shopping was done locally in small family-run shops, each specialising in just one type of goods. Customers were served individually, goods were weighed and wrapped by hand, and deliveries by horse and cart or bicycle were part of daily life.

The pages below describe not only the shops themselves – such as bakers, butchers, ironmongers, sweet shops and pawnbrokers – but also the people who worked in them, the way goods were displayed and sold, and the routines that shaped everyday life. Included too are memories of wartime rationing, coal deliveries, pre-decimal money and the many services that once operated at customers' homes. Much of the material comes from firsthand recollections, supported by additional research and contributions from others who remember these vanished ways of life.

Scroll down for clickable links to individual pages which are shown under descriptive headings.