This main photograph, taken around 1967 by Charles E Wardell, shows the two shops that belonged to Timothy Whites at that time.

The shop to the right had just undergone major re-building work and is still easily recognisable today.

Recently it was the premises of Dorothy Perkins, though that business has now ceased.

The more decorative building, nearer the camera, was erected in 1867 by the grocer William Clark whose business farther down the street had prospered and the time was ripe for more impressive premises.

Clark’s new shop was built in a gap which had hitherto been a private right of way between two buildings.

On the site of the Marks and Spencer hoarding was once a fine Georgian house, while to the right of Clark’s new build were two separate shops of differing size that occupied the width of one building – tailor Samuel Packer and milliner Mary Ann Locke.

Clark bought both buildings either side of the right of way and was thus able to build on the central space.

He and his family moved into the Georgian town house while the two pre-existing shop premises continued to be let.

As well as grocery, William Clark expanded into brewing and opened a small brewery near the top of Union Street with the bottled beers being sold in the shop.

In those days, small scale breweries depended on their tied licensed houses to sell quantities of ale and adjacent to the brewery was a small beerhouse that Clark bought in 1863, re-naming it The Greyhound.

Other Andover pubs that he bought were the Foresters’ Arms in London Street (still in existence today) and the Elephant Inn in New Street, as well as several in the villages.

He was also the Andover agent for Gilbey’s who supplied not only gin but a wide range of wines and spirits.

The local agent would have exclusive rights to sell the company’s products.

Business succession

William Clark died in 1897 and the business was carried on by his two sons Ernest and Arnold.

Ernest undertook the running of the shop and Arnold, the brewery.

The shop continued to thrive but the brewery seems to have run into trouble and was sold in 1902 to William Miles Herbert, after which Arnold Clark moved to Fareham.

Ernest meanwhile expanded his operations and when each of the two adjacent shops fell vacant he took those over as part of one large shop.

He continued to occupy the family house next door.

Ernest never married and the shop’s prosperity was halted in 1919 when he died very suddenly.

His brother Arnold and family returned to Andover in order to manage the shop but there was a slow decline, both in Arnold’s health and the shop’s viability.

In 1930 the shop that William Clark built was sold for £4,100 to Frederick Croft and Sons while the remaining set of premises had already been bought by Timothy Whites.

The private house with its iron railings at street level, matched by a first-floor balcony above, was sold to outfitters J Hepworth and Sons in 1927 who installed a shop front and this remained their premises until the early 1950s.

At some point Marks and Spencer bought it, demolished it and erected a hoarding in readiness for the expansion of their shop from its original site.

Croft’s reign

Like Clark’s, Croft’s was a traditional grocer’s.

Long mahogany counters separated assistant from customer, over which business would be transacted.

There was no browsing or self-service and customers were asked what was required.

That said, almost every customer would be known to the staff and no doubt addressed by name.

One employee of the Clark period who remained with Croft’s until the 1950s was Richard Cheeseman who started there in 1913 and worked his way up to become manager of the shop in 1937.

Such was his love of the job and the pleasure of meeting customers on a day-to-day basis that even after retirement he returned part-time, working finally at a small branch of Croft’s in Old Winton Road when the main shop in the High Street had closed.

Indeed, there are many people in Andover who remember Mr Cheeseman with some affection.

The last few years of William Clark’s shop was as a wine shop.

In 1962, it became the premises of the Imperial Wine Stores but by 1966, it was part of Timothy White’s as an addition to the cash chemists and housewares next door.

However, Boot’s took over Timothy White’s in 1968 and as wines and spirits were not part of their operations, they had no need of it. This too was sold to Marks and Spencer’s who demolished the 1867 building and placed an even longer length of hoarding across the vacant ground, which remained there for some years.

Finally, about 1977, Marks and Spencer’s cleared the site and built their new extension to the main shop, both of which are now sadly empty.

Postscript

During the time when the site was being prepared for rebuilding, I was working as a Saturday boy at Timothy Whites and the metal ramp used for stock deliveries at the rear of the building overlooked the site. In looking over, I could see embedded in the muddy soil not far away - but a few feet drop over a wall – a line of stone bottles with black writing lying on their side.

As the site was due to be levelled during the next few days, it was a case of seizing the moment.

During my allocated tea break, I wrapped a plastic carrier bag around each foot and dropped down onto the claggy ground below – those serving in shops could not have dirty shoes, covered in mud!

Sure enough, there were the bottles just breaking the surface of the soil, each one printed in black with the words ‘The property of Wm. Clark Andover’.

Scratching around with my fingernails I think I managed to salvage about six, all in perfect condition despite them having lain in the soil for upwards of 70 years.

After scrambling back to Timothy Whites with my booty I felt rather pleased.

However, when the builders arrived and started churning up the soil, a huge number of both pint and half-pint bottles emerged, all ending up at a shop in Salisbury. How I wished I’d taken a spade!