ID: ML2016_009_L81 / Ron Green, Tony Millatt, Brian Jay

TitleMemory Lane - High Street shops
AbstractThere has been a good deal of interest in High Street with the demolition Marfleet Lettings building and the erection of a new building in its place. The old timber framed building dated from the early 1930s and, as far as can be remembered, started life as Mr Charles Bloomfield's sweet shop. During the war it became the Food Office with Harry Banks in charge. We used to go there to get orange juice, pork pies and codliver oil & malt which came in 'Tins' made from spun cardboard with metal ends - which did the job very well. There may well have been other food items available which I don't remember. The food office was later moved to what is now 14 Melrose Road. After the war Mr Bloomfield continued selling his sweets and it was our library for a time. In 1955 it became Len Pullen's Grocers and eventually Marfleet Lettings.


 

Our museum doesn't have an old photo of the shop on its own but our colleague Brian Jay has come up with the attached one of Vin Thorp's Cycle shop which shows part of Len Pullen's shop to the left. Thorp's shop is of particular interest to me as it was built in what was my great aunt Nell Cook's garden and I built the ground floor when working for G.A. Cock in the 1950s. It's also of special interest to Brian who worked on the wiring when doing his electrical apprenticeship. The Austin Princess taxi seen in the picture was their wedding car when he married Pauline French at West Mersea church and when baby Malcolm came along they went to Vin's shop to buy a pram - the same as the one in the window. Nell Cook's cottage 'Bramea' is seen to the right of the picture.

Thorp's shop was later Richard Taylor's carpet shop and nowadays is J.K. May Funeral Directors.

Article published in Mersea Life September 2016 page local 81.

AuthorRon Green, Tony Millatt, Brian Jay
PublishedSeptember 2016
SourceMersea Museum
IDML2016_009_L81