John Eccles owned an oil, lamp and hardware shop in Smith Street, selling all sorts of useful household items. Oil lamps were common in Victorian homes, before gas or electricity were available to light the evenings. As well as somewhere to buy lamp oil, a hardware store sold things like buckets, ropes, candles, tin baths, and dolly pegs so you could hang out your clothes to dry. They even sold mangles that helped squeeze water from wet washing.
One receipt from the records is made out to the Countess of Warwick for jubilee medals and ribbon. The receipt is dated June, 1897. The same year Warwick was celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.
Who do you think the Countess was giving the medal to?
From Bermondsey to Warwick
Records give us glimpses into John Eccles life and help us imagine what kind of person he was. He and his wife, Mary Ann, were living in Bermondsey, London when they started their family. John was working as a mustard maker, probably in a factory. Mary Anne was a straw bonnet maker, a trade she carried on when the family moved back to Warwick.
Every ten years, the census tells us where the family was and their trades. One year John was living in Dudley, possibly as a travelling salesman, selling hardware. Was this a husband and father doing what he needed to provide for his family?
A man who could stand up for himself
Newspaper articles give us the impression John Eccles wasn’t worried about standing up for himself. On several occasions they report him being involved in disputes with neighbours, once for the impounding of three of his sheep, another for keeping a ‘ferocious dog’ that attacked a passer by.
John was even involved in a conflict over a neighbour’s wife who apparently assaulted him. The newspaper reported the case but leaves out the details of the assault.
Was he a man you wouldn’t want to cross?
Despite these clashes, John Eccles was elected to Warwick Town Council and appointed Constable for Smith Street Ward by the Court Leet in 1863.
This article is part of the Through the Shop Window trail showcasing the links between Warwick businesses and Warwick Castle in the 1800s. Supported by The Friends of Warwickshire County Record Office, The Steven Wallsgrove Legacy and Warwick Town Council.
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