A short excerpt from my chap 1 re Nellie (my grandmother) out on her first shop on the Commercial Road having just moved in to Peabody Square, Shadwell, 1906: "Dropping the warm loaf into her basket, it was meat that featured at the top of the new Lee household’s shopping list and Nellie proceeded back to take a look at what was on offer at Albert Milbank’s. Now that William was well established in his job as a carman with Barber & Co on Betts Street he was bringing home twenty five shillings a week. This meant that, together with her own ten shillings for the sewing work that she did for the milliner, Miss Peretz, she had reckoned that she could afford to put a hot meat dinner on the table at least twice a week. A nice roast pork joint for lunch on Sundays, she thought, and, maybe, a stew or casserole for another couple of evenings. She allowed herself a little inner smile, born of her budding sense of security, as she reflected again on how fortunate they were compared to so many of their neighbours in Shadwell. While the majority of the poor households in the riverside quarter were dependent upon their men queuing for irregular dockside work, and a consequent hand-to-mouth existence, the profession of carman was something superior; it was creditable. Indeed, it had been its promise of long-term financial security, backed by a letter of recommendation from William’s employer, Mr Charles Barber that had acted to secure for the newly wedded couple the luxury of their two rooms on the Peabody Square. The four huge tenement blocks that formed the Square were separated not just in the tangible sense, in that they towered above the mean and dingy streets that surrounded them, but by the main bar to entry into a tenancy that had been set by the Peabody trust way back at the date of the completion of building in 1867. Mr Peabody, the American merchant banker, did not take in paupers! This had been made plain from the start of his philanthropic work to provide affordable housing for working-class Londoners, and had often been pointed out to parochial authorities: his design and his wishes had been to help the deserving and industrious poor, and this original condition was still being applied by his trust some forty years on. Yes, Nellie thought as she came closer to the butcher’s shop, we are safe; we are in a place where we will be treated well, and, so long as William has this good job, we have the chance to make our life together a happy one. With this hopeful and comforting thought, she now gave her attention to a perusal of the many joints of meat that were displayed, hung up on hooks, both outside the shop and then inside all along above the counter."
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 09:52:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015