Well I didn't know that!

Just as an aside, the terms 'fancy man' and 'fancy woman' I used to hear when I was a child but not so much now, in those days it meant a girlfriend/boyfriend or lover or someone you were seen with. But from what it seems from the site describing Victorian occupations, 'fancy man' originally meant a pimp and 'fancy woman' meant a prostitute. Now either those terms  meant something else and were used as slang or they were created to describe both those occupations but gradually changed with usage.

Descriptions of the occupations listed in Kelly's directories.

Many of the occupations listed are nearly or exactly the same today as they were then and need no explanation (i.e. butcher, tailor, boot maker etc); I have put some up and may fill in others at a later date.

I got most of the information from this site listing various Victorian occupations.

Cheesemonger

Dealer in cheese and butter.

Marine Store Dealer

A person who buys and sells used cordage, bunting, rags, timber, metal, etc, sorts waste, repairs and mends sacks.

Surgeon Gen Pract: Regd

G.P. - a doctor

Currier

One who dresses the coat of a horse with a curry comb, or one who cures or tans hides

Cutler

knife seller or sharpener

Cowkeeper, Cowman or milkseller

kept one or more cows and sold the milk from the front door, or from door to door

Oilman

One who sold oil for lamps.

Colour Man

mixed the dyes in the textile trade and also assistant to a house painter

Pork Butcher

A butcher who specialised in Pork meat.

Tripe Dressers and Tripe Dealers.

Tripe was a popular cheap food among the working classes in the past, cooked with milk & onions, or served with vinegar or tomatoes.
It was usually made from the first of the cow’s three stomachs (the rumen). You could get flat tripe, also known as smooth or blanket tripe, and honeycomb or pocket tripe. There was also a type known variously as book, leaf or bible tripe.

Kelly's Postal directory list: Lower Marsh 1840.

This is information from Kelly's postal directory in 1840 for the Lower Marsh. It lists all the shops from no's 1 – 142.

Now remember when you look at this that Waterloo station and any railways were not created at this time (they were eight years away to be precise); the nearest station was Nine Elms and that was only two years old. Many of the side streets going off would have led into further side streets and alleys. Granby Place, far from being the little closed off yard that it is today would have extended much further down and at one point had its own pub 'The Marquis of Granby' at No.43.

First Name	Surname	Street number	Profession
Lion	Levy	1	Clothes salesman
Nathaniel	Lamacraft	2	Butcher
James	Shields	3	Gasfitter
Jno. Henry	Watchorn	4	Wine merchant
Charles	Abbott	4	Cheesemonger
Edwin	Holloway	6	Grocer
Robert	Spencer	10	Leather cutter
Henry	Simpson	11	Marine stores
William	Swanton	12	Butcher
Issac	Hart	13	Clothes salesman
Daniel	Godfrey	14	Corn dealer
Nathan	Harris	15	Appraiser
Thomas	Carveth	16	Old Bell
James	Wallworth	17	Currier
John	Whitlock	19	Cheesemonger
John	Faker	20	Baker
John	Stillwell	21	Butcher
William	Jennings	22	Grocer
James	Rogers	23	Tobacconist
William	Wilton	24	Fixture dealer
William	Hammerton	25	Hair cutter
Thomas	Denny	26	Corn dealer
William	Carr	27	Gas fitter & c.
Peter	Sweeney	28	Porkman
William	Robinson	29	Baker
James	Macintyre	30	Cheesemonger
James	Cook	31	Furniture broker
Thomas	Hall	32	Oil & colourman
William	Gayler	33	Baker
Thomas	Woodin	34	Spanish Patriot
George	Bean	35	Tripeman
George	Mugilston	36	Surgeon
Emmanuel	Levy	37	Clothes salesman
William	Marston	38	Baker
Matthew	Cass	39	Cheesemonger
Edwin Thomas	Teather	40	Oilman
Edward	Grove	41	Clothes dealer
Henry	Bosworth	42	Corn dealer
Walter	Robins	43	Baker
Robert	Hanks	44	Hat & cap manufacturer
Sobieski, Oxley	Clements	45	Potato
Thomas	Knowler	46	Cheesemonger
John	Nicholls	47	Plumber
Charles	Paddon	48	Clothes salesman
Charles	James	49	Grocer
John	Dawson	50	Potato salesman
Wm	Musselwhite	51	Egg merchant
William	Dibdin	52	Hair cutter
John	Jenkins	54	Boot & shoe warehouse
John	Rayner	55	Coffee rooms
Peter	Edwards	56	Timber merchants
Robert	Brown	57	Baker
John	Horwell	58	Cheesemonger
John	Sewell	59	Surgeon
Edward	Grove	60	Clothes dealer
Thomas	Wybroo	63	Grocer
Thomas	Staker	64	Olive Branch
John	Lashbrook	68	Oil and colourist
Thomas Cotterell	Hall	69	Baker
Cooke	& Don	70	Surgeons
Ralph & Henry	Snead	71	Boot & shoe warehouse
Ann	Ashbourne	72	Clothes dealer
John	Christie	73	Timber merchant
John	Hitching	75	Tobacconist
WIlliam Henry	Manners	76	Oilman
Amelia	Parker	77	Grocer
Henry	Mortlock	78	Butcher
William	Parsons	79	Baker
Thomas	Murley	80	Shopkeeper
George	Gee	81	Confectioner
WIlliam	Dicker	82	Pawnbroker
WIlliam	Dicker	83	Pawnbroker
Edward	Haynes	85	Grocer
------	Tower	86	Boot & shoe maker
Benjamin	Budge	87	Butcher
John	Hight	88	TIn-plate worker
WIlliam	Bird	89	Boot & shoe maker
James King Amphlett	Williams	90	Chymist & druggist
Thomas	Hooke	91	Confectioner
George	King	92	Fishmonger
Barnard	White	93	Butcher
Edward	Wallis	94	Boot & shoe maker
George	Headon	95	Tobacconist
Sarah	Fairbairn	96	Butcher
Thomas	Cooper	97	Butcher
James	Smith	98	Fruiterer
William	Mortlock	99	Butcher
James	Sanders	100	Cheesemonger
Thos.	Lock	101	Grocer & tea dealer
Stephen	Booth	102	Cabinet maker
John Taylor	Lucy	103	Fishmonger
Thomas	White	104	Whitesmith
John	Roberts	105	Potato salesman
Edward	Sheppard	106	Butcher
Henry	Wright	107	Three Compasses
Greathead	Hutton & Co	108	Cheesemongers
Robert	Noyes	109	Baker
Thomas	Woodward	110	Grocer
John	Squires	111	Tin-plate worker
David	Worrell	112	Eating house
John	Budge	113	Butcher
Thos	Cox	114	Boot & shoe warehouse
Samuel	Seldon	115	Fishmonger
William	Clark	116	Grocer
James	Bond	117	Butcher
Elizabeth	Gregory	119	Greengrocer
Ann	Cary	120	Stationer
Hugh	Bradley	121	Artichoke
Thomas	Horton	122	Butcher
Sarah	Painter	123	Cooper
Beatrix	Price	124	General dealer
Lawrence	Friend	125	General dealer
Nathaniel Geo	Coombes	126	China dealer
Thomas	Salter	127	Eating house
Henry	Woods	128	Tripe dresser
Wm	Caulder	129	Hat manufacturer
John Orrick	Kennard	130	Linen draper
Frederick	Creak	131	Baker
John	Smith	132	Oil & colourman
RIchard	Davis	133	Confectioner
John	Bowles	134	Pork butcher
John	Slater	135	Boot & c. warehouse
William	Deller	136	Greengrocer
John	Priest	137	Dining rooms
John	Priest	138	Dining rooms
George	Spephens	139	Baker
Edward	Trickey	140	Butcher
George	Barber	141	Grocer
George	Barber	142	Grocer

The first thing to note is that at No.1, Mr 'Lion' Levy is how it is written in the directory, I know that for future publications he is 'Lyon' but I will put what has been printed on the original.

There was something that stood out for me in this: there seems to have been a pub at no.16 as there is reference to 'Old Bell' and a name of Thomas Carveth next to it.

I have checked the Pub History website for Thomas Carveth and the only reference that comes up is for 1839 where Thomas Carveth is shown alongside the name 'Old Bell' at no.16.

Most references to the Lower Marsh talk about the Old and New Dover Castles, the Red Lion, Artichoke, Spanish Patriot, the Three Compasses and the Olive Branch. Not even Graham Gibberd's 'On Lambeth Marsh' lists this pub. Considering that the only references that I can find for this is both the 1839 pub directory and Kelly's for 1840, I am assuming that the pub may not have been there for very long. I looked at Kelly's Directory for 1841 there is no listing for No.16, it is the same with 1843 as well (I could not find the 1842 records). the next time it is noted is in 1844 when the proprietor is a 'Liman Cohen: Furniture Broker'. 

 Sobieski Clements at No.45 just had 'potato' under the occupation, which I believe may have meant either potato salesman or dealer.

Kelly's Postal Directories.

I am slowly (very slowly) compiling information from Kelly's postal directories (a Victorian version of the phone book) into a database and spreadsheets for the various streets I am interested in from the year 1840 to 1950. I have chosen the year 1840 as I thought this would be a good year to start considering the area was still untouched by the railways at this time and also it may catch the market in its infancy so to speak, and 1950 allows for the second world war. I am hoping this will show the changes that occurred in the area due to the arrival of the railways and other historical events during the 110 years.

The information also may be useful to people who are researching their family history as at least one person has contacted me in regard to a distant relative of theirs, a shopkeeper, that signed the 1856 Costermonger's petition.

email address added.

The one thing I've never put up - due to confusion of how to do it - is put an email address on the blog. I've found out how to do this now and you will see it on the right hand side. So please email me if you wish and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

John.

The Pie and Mash Shop.

Markets and Pie and Mash shops seem to go together, and it's not without reason that this is so.

The two pie and mash shops that predominated in Lambeth and Waterloo were Burroughs at 146 Lambeth Walk and R Cooke's at 84 The Cut, both, sadly now gone.

Previous to shops selling produce, pies and live eels were sold in the street to passers-by; the piemen were a regular site on London's streets, even being included in a nursery rhyme “Simple Simon”.

Much of the meat and eels that were used was of dubious quality, the eels sometimes being dead a long time before being prepared and these were mixed in with live eel meat . In those days the resulting food poisoning could be fatal. In order to sometimes get rid of old stock, the piemen would indulge in the game of 'tossing the pieman' in which people, usually boys, would toss a coin and if the pieman won he took the money but if the person won he got a pie for free, if the piemen gave them dubious pies, it was a win/win situation for them.

The first recorded Eel and Pie shop was at 101 Union Street, Southwark, just a slip and a slither away from the New Cut Market; Henry Blanchard is listed in Kelly's street directories in 1844 as selling a variety of pies offering fillings such as Eels, meats or fruits, these were sold for a penny each. In addition to this, live Eels, pea soup and mashed potato were also sold.

Freshly prepared eels in a clean-looking environment (tiled walls and floors) meant many people gravitated to these places rather than run the risk of food poisoning with the pieman.

The rise of the Eel and pie shop heralded the end of the pieman and their counterparts in the Eel trade; the damage that was done to their trade was so dramatic that it was noted in Henry Mayhew's “London Labour and London Poor”.

Thirty years after Blanchard opened his first shop, Kelly's Directory listed 33 eel and pie shops in London. This began the growth of what Londoners came to know as the “Pie and Mash shop”.

Helped, in part, by immigrants from Italy and Ireland, many of the shops that opened are still around today.

Robert Cooke is first recorded as opening his shop on Bakers Row in Clerkenwell in 1889 with his second wife Martha and his children: Robert, Amy and Fred. The shop was situated near the market in Clerkenwell. The long term success of the firm is attributed to hard, work, sharp business accumen and the training of the family within the trade. Cooke's opened a shop in The Cut at number 84 in 1938.

Michaele Manze (Mike) was an Italian from Ravello, his Mother, father and three brothers came to England in 1878 after walking from Ravello to Naples to catch a boat. Primarily the family worked in the Ice business; Mike met and befriended Robert Cooke, who introduced him to his daughter from his first marriage: Ada. Mike and Ada married and opened up their first shop in Bermondsey.

The reason, apparently, for Pie and Mash shops having only a fork and a spoon comes from either of two origins: one being that during the First World War, there were a shortage of knives and the people going into the pie and mash shops would take the knives they had home with them; another story goes that the knives were withdrawn from being served after people used them as weapons when they fought.

The last forty plus years have seen a demise in the pie and mash shop owing to culinary cultural changes plus the migration of large numbers of the working class out of London to areas such as Kent and Essex. These movements can be traced as many of the known remaining names in pie and mash Such as Cooke and Manze (as well as newer names) have opened up shops to cater for them as this directory of the various shops on the website “Pie and Mash Club” shows.

J C & J Field Ltd. Candle and Soap Manufacturers – 15 Upper Marsh, Lambeth.

The company was one of the oldest in the area, it started business around 1642 and continued on the same site – no. 15 Upper Marsh – for nearly 300 years.

Founded by Thomas Field, it continued through a descendant, also named Thomas, who was listed in 1768 as a wax-chandler of Lambeth and by 1800 the business was known as John & Charles Field, Candle makers from Lambeth marshes.

During the 19^th Century candles made of Spermaceti – the oil from the head cavity of the Sperm Whale, were produced; these were more expensive than the ordinary – and cheaper - tallow candles which were noxious and were well known sputter when burnt.

By 1820, the firm was listed as 'wax-chandlers to the Prince Regent' and had a shop in Wigmore Street, and also by this time, with the addition of another John Field, the company became known as J.C. & J Field. 

In the mid 1840's, and with the rise in interest of public health and personal cleanliness; the company began soap manufacturing, for both both household and laundry, in lower fore street in Lambeth. In time, this became their main production as the demand for candles declined from the 19^th Century onwards due to the popularity of oil and gas lighting.

By 1873, the company was listing Ozkerit Candles for sale; these candles, made with Ozkerite, a naturally occouring mineral wax, had a higher melting point than regular types and, as such, were favoured in hotter climates. Ozkerit Candles became extremely popular in tropical climes, which was, at that time, most countries of the then British Empire.

During the early 20^th century, the firm accquired premises in Rainham Essex, this period also saw a diversification more into soap manufacture and in particular, household soaps and luxury products; by this time the firm had ceased using the term 'wax-chandlers'.

By the early 1940's the firm had moved premises to Wimbledon in South London and then onto Amersham in Buckinghamshire, in 1954. An acuisition by E.Griffiths Hughes in the late fifties and a final amalgamation into Aspro-Nicholas in 1960 snuffed out Fields long and illustrious history.