History galore with chip shop receipts from Yeovil

HISTORIANS at South Somerset District Council’s community heritage access centre have recently received a fascinating donation of receipts from a chip shop in Sherborne Road in Yeovil.

The CHAC received a telephone call from a member of the public who stated they wished to donate a box of receipts from Thorpe’s Chip Shop, formerly of 28 Sherborne Road, Yeovil. When enquiring about the size of the box, it was discovered that it was around 18 inches x 10 inches x 4 inches and it was with some expectation that an appointment to visit staff at CHAC was made to deposit the box and complete the necessary paperwork.

When the lid of the box was removed, literally hundreds and hundreds of receipts dating from the 1920s and 1930s were revealed.

These will provide a fascinating insight not only into the chip shop itself, but the many local businesses which supplied the shop with vital ingredients.

These included potatoes from Wigborough Farm, South Petherton; Eden & Son Potato Merchants, 24 South Street, Yeovil; W&R Fletcher, Family Butchers, The Triangle, Yeovil; fillet and pork from F.Harvey Family Butcher, 74 Middle Street, Yeovil, and peas and tomato ketchup from Joseph Farrow & Co Ltd of Peterborough.
 
Joseph Lewis, heritage information assistant at CHAC, said: “One of the outstanding details is the receipts for orders of fish from ‘Bot’ of W. Bauckham,

''Wholesale Fish and Ice Merchant based at the Fish Docks Grimsby. These are particularly notable as a company representative has written on the back of each receipt with an explanation of the current fish supplies in the area.

''The annotated comments feature: The suppliers have been short & prices sky high today. We have had no real light fillet at all good & reasonable today & so I have sent all real best other kind.
 
“The main issue now is how to sort and document such a large collection of papers. Our heritage intern, Ben Sayers, has already started this process by sorting the receipts into groups as most of the receipts are from a main dozen suppliers – although there is a receipt for a wedding dress – which provides another insight!”

The receipts can be viewed by appointment and under supervision as they are dusty at the community heritage access centre. Photographs of the Sherborne Road area are also available to view if residents would like to put the Chip Shop into context.
 
The centre also welcomes donations of objects and documents from Yeovil’s history and visits and tours by appointment please.

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