Sainty's Shop

Sainty’s shop in Stanley Road

I cannot provide an exact date for the opening of Sainty’s shop, but I do know that it was serving the community of Spion Kop from the commencement of the 1930s.

In those days the area of Stanley Road, Ernest Road and Manor Road was termed ‘Spion Kop‘.   Ernest Road was often known as ‘the ten row’ because it consisted of  a terrace of ten houses.   Similarly, Manor Road was known as the ‘twenty four’ for a similar reason.   Outside of the area occupied by the three roads, the remainder was made up of allotments and grassed areas, the latter being the playground for the local children, as well as for the local football teams – the Rangers and the Athletic, and, each year, the fair and the circus.

Mr. Sainty’s shop was a wooden construction where he sold groceries mainly, plus, in  the summer, his well=known ice-cream.   In addition he stocked a wide range of household requirements.   As children we were often told “Run over to Mr Sainty’s shop and see if he has got a —-”.   If that failed then it was down to the Co-op.

Mr. Sainty’s ice-cream was well known in the area.   He made it in the rear of the shop.   You could have a wafer, a cornet or we were sent over to the shop with a small bowl so that we had ice-cream as a sweet for lunch.  I recall seeing large blocks of ice being delivered, wrapped in sacking, which was broken up and placed round the ice-cream container to keep the ice-cream at a low temperature.

Mr.and Mrs. Sainty ran the shop for many years until they retired/died when it was taken over by a relative for a short time before being sold to Mr. Raven and family, who owned a shop down the High Street.   They ran the shop until such time as the local small shops disappeared following the arrival of the Tescos of this world.

This picture of one of the local postmen, Jack Hatch, shows the condition of the roads – dusty in the summer, muddy in the winter.   The Spion Kop roads were eventually tarmaced in 1962/63, each householder paying a share dependant upon the length of their property’s frontage.  This caused some controversy as a number of home owners had double frontages as they lived on a corner plot.

Jack Hatch

Jack, and his father, were stalwarts of the local football team, Wivenhoe Rangers, Jack having played for them for many years. The road off Chaney Road is named after Jack (Jack Hatch Way) as he was a member of the Council for many years and was Chairman at one time.

Tony Forsgate
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