KENTS STORES. NORFOLK. 03/11

[simonix]

This old store is situated in my village, it is now getting close to coming down itself so the owner is going to have to do something about it, when I looked into the history of the place it is very intresting. I managed to gain permission to photograph the bad bits that are now derilict before they disappear.

The store was a Furnishing and Iron Mongers, the owner specialised in Oil, Colourman, Undertaker and Builder. The Dewing family owned the store through the late 1800s until 1914 when William Kent purchased the store for the sum of £ 232.00!
William Kent died in 1932 and his sons Leslie and Wilfred took over. In 1935 Leslie and Wilfred added the Deco front to the shop as seen today.
Alec Davison rented the small round room on the end of the shop and became the village cobbler. During the years between the wars fish and chips were cooked in the back of the shops wharehouse, this stopped because of the outbreak of WW2 and the light issue during the blackout. The Kents also ran daily carriages from the yard behind the store.

The Kent family ran the shop until Oct 1972, it was then purchased by Gerald Round who scaled the store down to General Stores. They ran the store until 1980 when it was purchased by David Wayne, the Wayne family ran the store until 1984 when the present owner purchased the shop and made a change of use into the Village Antiques as it still is now.

When the rear of the store falls down or is demolished in the near future I think it will be a great loss to the Village.

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The front of the store as it stands today.

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo12/stiemer/Bessingham2Terrys021.jpg
Behind the ivy on the end is the door and window to the old cobblers shop.

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Inside the shop today.

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This is the old fire breast where the fish and chips were made on the hearth behind the oil tank

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The old kitchen and sink.

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Lower floor window.

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Storage area in the old yard.

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This room was actually a bedroom in the rear of the store.

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The bedroom ceiling,getting very bad.

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Adjoining room window.

Thanks for looking. :thumb