Two early twentieth century images of some of Godalming's oldest
properties in Church Street. The street today is not hugely
different from the way it looked 100 years ago although
the houses are now almost all shops or offices whereas
more of the premises used to be dwellings.
These buildings, which have the distinctive black and white
"magpie" patterns in the timber work of the upper
floor, are at the "top" of Church Street opposite
the Pepperpot / Pepperbox,
the corner of which can be seen on the right of the second
image. According to the Godalming Trust, No. 1 Church Street was
originally called Pleystowe. The building had been rendered
at some stage but in 1902 a crack developed in the plaster.
The rendering was removed to expose the spectacular timber
frames we see today[1].
Although this Grade II listed building had been one property,
and is said to date from the early to the mid 17th century,
it had been divided into two by 1905. It has a jettied first
floor and the first floor bay, which has plain glass in its
windows, overhangs the pavement even further. There is a fanlight
above the door of property closest to the camera, whereas
the door for the other half doesn't have one. Between these
two entrance doorways are a pair of bay windows and in
both images we can see boards resting on the pavement which
are advertising properties - the printed text on them is
clearer in the second image.
A far busier street scene, about 1910.
F. A. & A. W. Mellersh were auctioneers and estate agents
at 1 Church Street in 1911[2].
Behind the glass of the ground floor bay windows in the photograph
above were signs saying the firm are Land Agents and Surveyors.
When he passed away in 1915 Alfred William Mellersh was said
to have been one of the best known auctioneers in the south
of England. He was a director and sometime chairman of Lascelles,
Tickner & Co. amongst other concerns[3].
His brother Walter was working from here as an estate agent in 1924[4].
Next door, where the three children are standing in the second
image, is a three storey, double jettied, house. The building
was plaster rendered at the time but this has been removed
in the interim and today the beams are exposed. It looks wonderful.
It is also Grade II listed but is of slightly earlier date
- either late 16th century or early 17th century. Thomas
Borer, an auctioneer's clerk, lived at No 3 with his daughter
and a grandchild in 1911[2];
the daughter Lillian was still in residence in 1939[5].
The next properties can't be seen from this angle but the
sign of 5 Church Street, where Gwendoline Emily Jane Marshall
was running a 5 roomed Temperance House, is visible in the
enlarged image below. She provided luncheons and teas but no
alcohol would have been consumed here. At No 7 and 9 were the
Busby family. Of the males in the household one was a baker,
another a butcher, the third was a labourer and the final male
was a saddler. In1939 the family's shop was still run
as a "butchers &c". The Holdens were at no11. Benjamin was a cricket professional
who worked at Charterhouse whilst his wife Annie Elizabeth
ran the grocery business[2],
later a confectioners[4].
By 1939 Benjamin and Elizabeth were tobacconists and general
dealers[5].
A little further along is what was then the Corn Meter public
house, where the road comes in from the left. This road was
Hart's Lane, now part of Mint Street. The Corn Meter is best
shown in the enlargement of a section of the second image immediately
below.
Lascelles, Tickner & Co sign above what was the Corn Meter beer house. There appears to be no
sign suspended from the wall between the upper floor windows but there seems to be lettering above
the ground floor bay window on the right which may say Corn Meter.
The beerhouse keeper of the Corn Meter at the time was Jesse
Henton[2] and he
and his wife had already run the beer house for a number of
years. However, ten years earlier the landlord was
John Golds[6]. Elizabeth
Henton died in 1910 and Jesse moved away to the Petworth area;
he died there in 1917, aged 83.
At the beginning of 1914 "considerable interest, if
not excitement, was caused by a chimney fire at the Corn Meter
Inn ... . The flames, which belched forth from the chimney to a height of several feet, were put out
by P.C. Steer with the assistance of Alderman W H Pilcher J.P." who
got a ladder from the Pepperpot (the old Town Hall), climbed
up it and poured water down the chimney. A few days later James
H. Ketchell, the landlord, was summoned for allowing his chimney
to catch fire. The police constable gave evidence that the
chimney had been swept three times in the previous 18 months
so the case was dismissed[7].
The Corn Meter had stabling for four horses on Cow Lane at
the rear of the public house. In 1915 there was another outbreak
of fire, this time in the stables. At the time there were
four horses, belonging to the Royal Field Artillery, stabled
here. Both soldiers and police arrived quickly at the scene,
burst open the stable doors and doused the smouldering straw
having first rescued the horses. A soldier called Private House
collapsed with smoke inhalation but littler damage was done.
Once again, a few buckets of water were used and the fire brigade,
although summoned, were not needed[8].
In 1939 the "Corn Meter Hotel" was in the hands
of Cyril L. W. Pearce[5].
It survived as a hostelry until 1956 and it was then converted
into an ironmongers; it remains a specialised, family owned,
DIY store.
Lastly, the empty shop next door to Corm Meter in the top
Edwardian picture, with the white sign in the window, had
been a draper's shop and then became Allens. In the second
picture the sign above the window reads H. Moore[9]. |
