Bloodworths, 180 Bath Road

In 1911 Mr William Newman, who had been trading as an ironmonger in The Exmouth Buildings opposite since 1905, moved to these bigger premises with his wife Annie and their children, and his name remained above the shop until very recently. William Newman was born in 1864, in Charlton Kings.

Their son Vic worked with his father in the shop and continued the family business after William died in 1918. The hours were long, the shop opening at 8 am each day, closing at 7 pm Monday to Friday and at 9pm on Saturdays.

The ironmonger’s shop was always ‘chock-a-block’ with goods. Nails, screws and other small items were stored in large bins and were sold by the pound in weight, whilst other items were kept in drawers behind the wooden counter. Putty for fixing windows was taken from large tubs and wrapped in newspaper.

Wallpaper became very popular and replaced paint on the walls of even the smallest homes. It cost from one penny a roll and could be trimmed in a special machine with a turning handle for ½ d a roll. The wallpaper could be selected from pattern books and orders would probably arrive quite quickly. Two or three deliveries a day were made to the shop, the goods coming to Cheltenham by rail and then on to the shop by horse and cart, and later by van.

Vic Newman was a fire watchman during the Second World War. The night of 11th December 1940 was not one his duty nights but when it became clear that Cheltenham was in for a heavy night of bombing he decided to check his shop for incendiaries. He was in the cellar when an oast house (drying house), at the rear of the pub next door, was hit by a bomb and fell across the doorway, trapping him inside. He was fortunate to be able to scramble through a small opening to safety.

The air raid began at about 7.30pm and waves of bombers flew over Cheltenham until after midnight. Sadly, twenty-three people lost their lives and 600 were made homeless in that single raid.

Walk further along the pavement to Bath Road Cards