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Greengrocers, early 20th Century: sellers of fruit and vegetables

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Extracted from the memoirs of the webmaster's mother (1906-2002) and edited by the webmaster with further research and firsthand contributions from others

A greengrocer is someone who primarily sells fruit and vegitables. Greensgrocers shops or just greengrocers were seen in most town centres up to the late 20th century when their numbers started to diminish as the popularity of supermarkets increased.

A typical early greengrocer shop

When I was a child on the Huxley Estate in Edmonton in the early 1900s, our local greengrocer was Mr Rice. He and his family lived above the shop as was common of shopkeepers at the time.

The greengrocer

A greengrocer's shop in the early1900s*

Several things to note: the flat part of the delivery cart for the scales for weighing goods; the price of potatoes - 12 pounds for a shilling; the baby pram; the dolls pram, etc

I remember Mr Rice mostly on a hot summer's day, when he would tuck a large cabbage leaf into the back of his cap to protect his neck from the hot sun, and the horse would have straw caps on his ears to keep off the flies. Mr Rice would put the tailboard of the cart down flat and place his scales on it to weigh out whatever his customers wanted.

Merchandise

Greengrocers did a good trade because people ate a lot of fruit and vegetables. They were sold in season at their best and were cheap and filling.

We children regularly spent some of our pocket money at the greengrocers, mainly on locus beans. They were often full of insects eggs but we weren't put off. I really liked them.

When my mother brought gooseberries for pies, we children had the job of topping and tailing them with small scissors. It was a horrible job.nStoning the cherries was fun though because there were often two stalks together and we would dangle them over our ears as earrings.

Scales for weighing

The scales were the balance sort with weights on one side and a pan for the goods on the other. He tipped the goods straight into customers' their baskets.

Tills

Staff

Our greengrocer and his wife worked together. He brought his wares out round the streets with his horse and cart, leaving his wife and a young girl to mind the shop.

Eustances greengrocers' horse-drawn delivery cart

Note the gas lamp; the policeman's uniform and the blinkers on the horse's eyes to prevent distraction by other road-users.

If you can add anything to this page or provide a photo, I would be pleased if you would contact me.

Text and images are copyright

*Photograph is courtesy of Viv Nunn. It shows Eustances of 176 Tollington Park in Finsbury Park, about five miles from Edmonton
**Photographed by the webmaster in Bath Postal Museum
***Photograph is courtesy of Viv Nunn

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