Last week I was in London for a sports and culture break. I had been recommended to stay in the Farringdon area of London, EC1 because of its historical links and interesting streets. Never one to miss an opportunity, I realised that it was next to Clerkenwell which is where one of my ancestors lived and worked. This obviously meant that a visit to this area was going to be essential for this blog.
I stayed in West Smithfield, almost opposite the Smithfield Meat Market. I thought it had closed and moved elsewhere but it was still fully functioning. There are plans to move it out in 2028 and this will leave the historic market hall free for creative renovation in the ways in which London is very good at achieving. At this point in time there are is very little tourism in the area. Farringdon is far from the madding crown but a very busy place during the working week because of the surrounding financial district. The Underground and Bus services are very good, and all this added up to being the right place to get to two events that I had come for, a cricket match at Lord’s and an evening at the Proms.
The street that my great uncle John Wilcox lived in was a few minutes walk away. Great Sutton Street was probably typical of the Clerkenwell area after the First World War. Shops with housing above. The commerce of the day in London was that of the shopkeeper, as the French believed the British to be. A nation of shopkeepers. That was exactly what John and Jennie Wilcox did for a living in 1924. They managed a Dairy, the essential store for all things dairy, milk, butter and cheese. There were probably other associated things on sale, such as tea, bacon, sugar etc. There may have been two milk rounds, delivering milk to the doorsteps of their customers, that they had to manage before the invention of the domestic refrigerator and before the buying up of small dairies by larger milk delivery businesses such as United Dairies.
I have written a post earlier this year that tells the story of John and Jennie. John had served in the First World War in France. When he returned, he found work and accommodation at Grange Farm Dairy, at 4 Great Sutton Street. Living there was Dorothy Jean Edwards, she was from a rural Welsh village, who later I discover was called Jennie, the manager of the Dairy. Her older sister was also living there as a housekeeper and there was also another young man who was working at a Dairy around the corner. He came from Wales too and was probably connected to the Edwards sister by family.
The end of Great Sutton Street where it joins Goswell Road. I have identified this being where No 4 originally was. It has been replaced by a large modern hotel.
Sadly No.4 is no longer there and is the location for the back of a modern hotel. Whether because of Second World War bomb damage or just redevelopment, the Dairy premises have gone. The other end of the street is the authentic part with buildings and shopfronts that reflect the original shape and commerce of the world there, 100 years ago.
Walking round the block that Great Sutton Street borders, a short way down Aldersgate and turning right I came to Charterhouse, a very old part of EC1. It was originally a Priory, then a boy’s school. It is now a community for 40 people over the age of 60 who are single and want to live a supportive communal lifestyle, retaining its almshouse origins.
There are a museum and chapel that carries all of the history of Charterhouse. The square at the front and the garden is worth exploring and enjoying for its meadow approach to wilding and the trees.
I wonder if Grange Farm Dairy had Charterhouse on its milk delivery run.
All photographs are by the author © David Carver