British Red Cross, 198 Bath Road

Between 1888 and 1905, this was the shop of a pork butcher names Charles Phipps, who was born in 1841, at nearby Commercial Street. He was married to Emma Simmonds at St Philip and St James’ church in 1874 and they had several children. These were mostly daughters and three of them married other local traders, indicating the closeness of the community. Charles retired form the business at the age of 64. In the early days shopkeepers had to respond to the ‘carriage trade’, whereby they were expected to personally go out to the carriage in the street to take an order for delivery later that day.

In 1922 the shop was bought by Mr Charles Winters, a fishmonger. Mr Winters was born in Cheltenham in about 1873. It was as well that the family lived over the shop as it opened at 6am and orders for kedgeree fish had to be delivered by boys on bicycles to the big houses in Cheltenham, in time for breakfast. Charles’ son, Gilbert Winters, inherited the family business after his father’s death in 1929. Known playfully by his customers as Gil, he always wore his wellington boots and his hat in the shop.

Gil ordered the fish by telephone, for delivery the next day by lorries that travelled overnight from Grimsby and other ports. Since there was no modern refrigeration, ice was kept in the cellar and would be replenished by Gil’s son Ken collecting it by bicycle from the ‘Ice Works’ in Albion Street. The fish arrived packed with ice in wooden boxes and was opened straight away, to be laid out on the ice in the shop. It was rare to have any left over by mid afternoon.

As with other fishmongers, Gil sold ‘cat fish’; he was generous with the portions, making him very popular with the local cats!

Cross road at narrowed crossing opposite Co-op and walk along to stand by the wall of the Exmouth Arms garden.