This
property is an integral part of the trio of shops
which occupy the eastern flank of the triangular Market
Place, all of which were acquired by the Borough Corporation
by 1820.
Unlike its two neighbours (21
and 23)
however, this building was not demolished and rebuilt
in 1819. A deed of 1672 records that a building on
this site was occupied by Thomas Postle
who ran a Grocery and Drapery business here until
it was destroyed by the disastrous town fire of 26
April 1659. By 1672, however, the premises had been
rebuilt by Thomas who was now 'minting' his own trading
tokens which he issued as currency to his customers.
Privately issued trade tokens were common in the first
half of the 17th century when there was an acute shortage
of official coinage. The Thomas Postle tokens were
stamped with his 'merchant mark' comprising a heart
surmounted by the initials TP and the date: 26 August
1672. This must have been one of the last examples
of the trade token, however, as the practice was banned
at about this time. Thomas Postle was a was a pillar
of Southwold Society and High Steward of the Borough.
No 25 Market Place and the adjacent Nos 1-3
East Street have been interconnected as a single
business since the early 1890s.
1837
Sarah Bardwell - Stationer, recorded
by Maggs as paying the Corporation a rent of £20
this year. Mrs Bardwell apparently goes out of business
in 1841 after 19 years of trading, as Maggs reports
the auctioning of her stock in trade and shop fittings.
(M)
1841
Charles Carver - Maggs records that
he auctioned a 7-year lease on the property to Chs
Carver on September 16th. (M)
1874
Eaton Womack Moore - Post Office,
Grocer, Draper, Auctioneer, House Agent, Valuer and Agent for the Royal Fire Insurance Company. (W 1874) Whites' Suffolk Directory specifies only the Market Place for Eaton Moore without giving
a number. However the 1887 letterhead reproduced right, though not giving a number, clearly locates it on the corner of Market Place and East Street.
There is some uncertainty about when Eaton Moore actually took over as Post and Telegraph Master. It may be that, in the early 1870s No 25 Market Place was acting only as a sub-post office but took over as Southwold's main post office (from its previous location round the corner at No 12 Queen Street) in 1877 with the death of C M Marsden and the resignathion of his niece, Post Mistress Matilda Drewell).
The Census for 1871 records that Eaton Moore resided
in York while the 1881 census indicates that he has
now moved to Southwold as a 'grocer & draper,
auctioneer and sub-postmaster' based at No
1 Market Place. Perhaps this is a confusion based
on the fact that 1 East Street and 25 Market Place
are adjoining). See Nos
1 & 3 East Street for more. However, describing him as 'sub=postmaster' in 1881 is odd. Verification of dates and places required, please.
By 1896 (and probably in 1892) he has moved the Post Office and his other business interests to No
80 High Street (K1896) and he becomes Mayor of
Southwold in 1899 at the age of 52, holding that office
until 1902.
1892, 1895
Henry Moss (Southwold) Ltd is certainly
trading here by 1892 as contemporary photographs confirm.
The store sells groceries, provisions and drapery
(SPM 1895, K1896). The Henry Moss emporium incorporates
Nos 1
& 3 East Street as well as 25 Market Place.
The main entrance to the shop is in the Market Place
at this time whereas it is later moved to East Street.
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