Shopping In Newmarket On Saturday

A Memory of Newmarket.

SATURDAY MARKET DAY IN NEWMARKET, exactly how I remember it as a 5 year old.

On the left next to the Rutland Arms in the center left of the picture was a small street called Palace Street. My father was born here in Nell Gwynn's Cottage. It was reputed to have a secret passage to the Palace for Nell Gwynn, the King's mistress, to use.

The back yard of Hobbs Plumbing Supplies was at the end of Palace Street; my father, Arthur Dean worked there for years with his mate Peter Luka. Arthur was well known by the lords and ladies for fixing the lead pipe problems in the old stately homes. He often mentioned how Lord Wolverton had the maid bring him a cup of tea and then would hover around watching him work. Before Hobbs, Arthur worked at Gilberts in High Street for 25 years. He was apprenticed there when he was 15 years old and when they closed in the 1960's, he walked across the street to Hobbs and they welcomed him like a long lost son.

When my parents married, my father scraped together a downpayment on a house at 2 Cheveley Park where I was born. Every day he rode his pushbike the 3 or 4 miles to work and back. My mother, sister and I took the local bus sometimes, but mainly we walked. I think by this time he had sold his James motorbike and sidecar and proudly purchased his Austin A30 - JCF 865 or "midget" as we called it. He polished that car until it glowed and only took it out on weekends when we would all pile in, wearing special slippers so we wouldnt damage anything.

I took tap and ballet lessons on the right of the picture, upstairs in the Carlton Hotel. I think this was a way for my mother to get time to do errands. I hated the lessons and they usually ended in tears with me sitting in the corner snivelling until my mother came to rescue me. Does anyone else remember the murals in the Carlton Hotel?

After dance we would meet up with my father who had bought the vegetables for the week from the stalls along the High Street. He had also popped into Tindalls the newsagent and got my "Beano" comic book and his 'Mirror'. When I could read I spent many happy hours browsing the books in the side room of Tindall's and I remember the smellof the oil heater. I bought my first "Tressy" and battery operated robot in Tindall's. One of my father's errands was to pick up sausages from Holloway's "Sausage maker to the Queen" in Wellington Street and I reckon he used to pop into the working man's tea shop to "wet his whistle" on the way. Towards the end of the 60's a new supermarket was built on High St, but prior to that we purchased dry goods from the local Co-Op in Cheveley.

We didnt have much, but there was always a special treat on Saturday. We visited the bakery on the right for a cluster of sticky buns with a cut in each one, a blob of cream and a dot of rasberry jam on top. Yum! Another time we would go into Woolworths on the right and buy some biscuits with cows printed on the back and pink and white icing on the front. On special occasions we would get a quarter of hot roasted salted peanuts kept warm by a heat lamp or perhaps some creamy fudge.

We sometimes went to the Milk Bar on the right and had thin, sweet, Milk Shakes with strawberry flavouring. On the left was "The Black Cat" Cafe. We weren't allowed near there because they played loud modern music and it was full of Beatniks with Motorbikes that spilled out into the street.

Also on the left out of frame on a small rise next to the Rutland Arms was Moon's Toy Shop. The fancy new Moon's shop had a Grand Opening with Charlie Drake in the early 70's. I worked at Moon's on Saturdays to buy new fangled pantyhose or perhaps the latest Beatle's hit from the record shop by the Clock Tower behind us. Mr Moon always gave each girl a little Christmas gift and we were a fun team..

Last came the butcher's shop near Hobbs. You would ask for 8oz or a pound of something on display and they would weigh it, wrap it in butcher's paper and tie it with string. If they didnt have what you wanted on display they would go into the back and cut it specially for you.

Then it was off to Nana's on Exning Road for a quick visit before what seemed like a long drive home. Often some of my father's brothers were there having tea and a "chinwag". There was John who lived in Soham and biked everywhere, Peter, always good for a laugh, who lived in Exning. Les lived just down the road and often popped in to see if Nana wanted anything. Phyllis was often out working on the buses. She still lived at home with her husband Bert and I'm sure she was intrumental in having a bath fitted just off the kitchen; up till then the family of 8 washed at the kitchen sink for over 20 years. The outside toilet next to the coal shed and "copper" washer was always sparkling clean, but cold, damp and scary especially after dark.

But Nana's garden was heaven. There were strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, black and red currants to nibble on and the old Quancet air raid shelter to play in. Sometime she was making jam on the wood stove or a steamed "spotted dick" in the copper. Her huge blue Hydrangea bush and purple and yellow pansies brightened her back yard and the "Privet Hedge" was immaculately clipped in the front.

What a great childhood I had and I'm grateful to the cast of characters who made it so special.