The Barrow Boys

Milk street vendor

Shops Books Brighton 1900-1930

What did the shopkeepers think of the barrow boys?

Mrs. Wheatley: "Street traders would be all over the place; some would be down where the mackerel came in, some would carry soft fruit. Well, it was bad for the shopkeeper. If they came through Richmond Buildings with a barrow, they're selling stuff 2d. or 3d. a pound cheaper than the shops are, naturally that's going to hit the shop, isn't it?"

Lil Harriet: (shopkeeper, Sussex Street, early 1930's): "My husband went down to the market to buy, then we'd bring it up home and we'd sell. You'd have to dress that shop Friday for Saturday trade. But that same article the barrow boys would have on Saturday afternoon for half the price. Some, they'd sell up in Upper Gardner Street. It was all wrong."

Miss Bristow of Elm Grove saw less conflict in the situation and felt there was a common sympathetic understanding between the two sets of traders: "There used to be a lot of them, but there was a kind of sympathetic feeling that a barrow boy wouldn't stand outside a shop selling the same stuff. Like a fish barrow wouldn't stand outside a fish shop... It was a genuine kindliness and friendship between traders. Didn't want to take each other's trade away. I often think it was very wrong. So much was said about it -having the barrow on the street -it's why they first started the Open Market. Well, that got out of proportion - different big firms got stalls there. It wasn't intended for that to begin with. It was intended for the men on the street. The stuff they brought down the market was stuff the shopkeepers had rejected."

Fred Howell: They had their barrow and that's all they paid for -with the shopkeeper he had his overheads and men working for him. That's what upset them. But that's nothing to do with us. Shopkeepers always said they bought the rubbish. You see, you couldn't keep stuff over the week-end. There wasn't fridges like there is now. Then you had to sell it or it would go rotten by Monday...
Shop Books Brighton 1900-1930