8 minute read
LOCAL HISTORY
The old curiosity shop
All too often when we visit our local High Streets, we are focused on the next thing 'to do', or are so glued to our mobile phones that we forget to take in our surroundings. And how often do you look up? Take the time to do that in Newport Pagnell and you'll be rewarded by a higgledy piggledy of buildings through the ages. It's a character lacking from our modern, purpose built shopping hubs. It can't be made, it comes only with history and time – and 'Paggers' has more of that than most.
No.38 the High Street is one of the oldest buildings in the town, and possesses all of the associated charm, intrigue, tales and marks of those who have come before us, writes Sammy Jones.
The building dates to the early seventeenth century, and an article produced in 1950 by Warren Dawson, who was a distinguished antiquarian, is wonderfully detailed, and evocative.
He wrote that when the house was built, people living in the town would have remembered the Spanish Armada. The death of Queen Elizabeth I and the Gunpowder Plot were recent news.
If its walls could talk, No.38 would have a great deal to say.
But actually, those walls still offer a great peek into this historically rich property – a survey dating to 2002 by the late local architect and historian Paul Woodfield offers a fascinating insight and confirms its early seventeenth century construction. It was timber framed and built on a medieval burgage plot.
Certainly the building enjoyed many improvements over the centuries; like the 'high quality architectural treatment' afforded the first floor in the 18th century, which shows itself with the marble hearth of a fireplace.
At the time of that restoration, some doors, panelling and fittings were re-used in the upper rooms. So the careful craftsmanship of the original carpenter survives centuries on.
But for all the oddities, curious spaces and a bricked up cellar which may harbour more secrets, the property has plenty to be going on with.
Rumours are that one of the beams in the store came from a ship. Maybe, maybe not – historians argue the authenticity of these facts which are frequently associated with historic buildings, but are often fabrications. Often, but not always, and the beam in question is markedly dissimilar to anything else in the building.
One thing that most certainly is real, and is a pretty special survivor is the original 17th century box-framed staircase, and it is a particularly detailed example, at that.
The aforementioned architectural study mentions that it is 'constructed on square newels with bun caps and turned finials below.'
The Jacobean staircase – of black oak – goes to the top of the house, but the lower flight has been replaced. The staircase occupying the higher levels is original.
Though not as detailed, many buildings in the High Street had similar stairs. It is the belief that once upon a time there would have been a carpentry 'school' in the area, which would have been a hive of activity working to deliver for local properties.
In 1938, the building to the right of No.38 was demolished and replaced with shops and four flats, one of which I called home for a time.
But I would far rather the 'interesting timber framed building' that pre-dated it was still with us. Sadly, the Taylor family (responsible for Taylors mustard, a family with its own long history with the town) who owned the property decided otherwise.
No.38 is a great survivor in a town that has been stripped of some of its most historic charm – it has been much altered in the last century; razing parts of St John Street in the 1950s was a travesty, and there are many other buildings lost to developments which are mourned by those old enough to remember the lost beauty.
Curiously, they call it 'progress'.
Fire has also played its part in robbing us of more buildings, and then there are those that have been left to crumble.
The town owes the late John Clare a debt for ensuring that No.38 is still present today.
The antique dealer appreciated the beauty of the property housing his family business, and he had the foresight to faithfully restore the building – which included removing the heavy rendering from the facade.
That work, carried out in 1950, revealed the original timber framework you see today.
The Connye family, headed by John Connye, were wool merchants and drapers and their name appears in the town from the mid-sixteenth century. John owned No.36 High Street, which he left to his son Mathias, in 1586.
In 1607, Mathias purchased the adjoining property, No.38 as we know it today, although evidence has been discovered of an earlier building on the same site.
In 1614, Matthias gave the property to his son Edmund in a marriage settlement. Edmund was also a draper, and though No.38 would pass through a number of successive owners, remarkably it remained as a drapery for well in excess of 200 years.
In fact, its business in textiles is believed to have only ceased in 1885, when the owner at that time, Charles Joseph Redden, retired – selling the shop to Richard Wadhams who was a saddler and harness maker. When he too retired, in 1901, No.38 was sold at auction at The Swan Hotel.
Prospective purchasers would have been able to peer through the front window and across the road at the property they were eyeing up.
That sale, on June 19, saw Newport man Joseph Gilbert Austin take charge, ushering in a new era, for his business was as a jeweller, optician and china dealer.
When Austin retired in 1929, it was the aforementioned Mr Clare who took over the store and acted as a custodian in the best sense. He also continued the more recent business, working as an antique dealer and restorer. The family business carried through to the 1960s.
Since then, the shop has enjoyed serving its community with a number of tenants. Perhaps most memorably it was the bed shop, Upstairs Downstairs, and later a bridal shop, but in 2014 it entered a new chapter of its life, as a vintage emporium, called simply No.38.
Pip Handy is the owner of the business, which has more than 50 traders operating under that historic roof, selling antiques, handmade crafts and curious oddities. It's the sort of place that you 'pop into' for five minutes and don't leave for an hour!
When she walked past the property in 2014, Pip announced the venture to her husband Mick; “That's my shop,” declared, and set about making it a reality.
“It is perfect for a vintage shop as it's full of character dating,” she said, “We are very proud of the emporium and feel that we do the building justice by being within it.”
As with any building of great age, there are the occasional odd nooks and crannies, things that can't be explained, and tales passed down the line; was there really a serving maid who vanished from the building after being attacked by a traveller she had wronged, or is this just fiction?
Regardless, it appears that some of those who plied their trade there in years gone by are still keeping an eye on their past concerns: “We have dogs come in that won't go into certain areas of the shop, and they start barking at the air,” Pip said.
Pip and another customer have both had their arms pulled back to stop them walking across the shop, and shoppers have their own stories to tell.
Pip added: “Items have been caught flying off shelves on CCTV, and we have had a number of people walk in and tell us they can feel two ghostly presences...”
The elaborate box-framed staircase - a rare survivor
Sources: An Ancient Newport Pagnell House by Warren R. Dawson No.38, High Street An architectural – Historical Assessment
For more information on history in Newport Pagnell, visit mkheritage.org.uk/nphs and FB: @newportpagnellhistoricalsociety
Milton Keynes Museum is one of the best interactive museums, a perfect outing for all ages, staffed by friendly volunteers, and highly recommended by visitors on TripAdvisor. This feature was written by Milton Keynes Museum. Find out more about forthcoming events and see our opening times at: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk
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