Step Back 140 Years...

Arriving at my shop yesterday morning, I really felt like I had travelled back in time to around 1870.

All the shop signs have now been painted by skilled sign writers ready for the filming to start today.

The attention to detail is fabulous, with even the existing shops on the Market Place being given an authentic Victorian looking sign above their doors.

If only the original and awfully dated (in a bad way!) Dollond and Aitchison sign could be permanently left with this far more stylish stage set one after the BBC leave town! ;-))

Even some of Shepton's empty shops have been given an identity.

Yesterday was an exciting day in more ways than one. The local shop keepers were invited on a tour of the shops and flats that will be used in the programmes. Of course I didn't need to be asked twice and jumped at the chance to have a look around yesterday afternoon.

Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos inside, as they didn't want any images leaking onto the Internet before the families that will be running the shops for the show come to Shepton today, to move in. I think they want to film their reaction to the authenticity of it and the realisation that they will have to live and work just as the Victorian families did a century or so ago.

One of the flats had two sparsely furnished bedrooms, with beautiful iron beds and a few tasteful ornaments - no carpets, but sumptuous William Morris style papers covering the walls, complete with dado rails. The main living room had several chairs around a coal burning stove. In one corner of the room was an alcove where food preparation was done - no luxury of a separate kitchen! All the family's cooking will have to be done on the iron stove.

I really was totally amazed by the attention to detail that has been lavished on the shops and homes, just for an hour long episode. After this, the shops will be given a quick turnaround to reflect retailing in the Edwardian era.

Many of the artifacts that they will be using are genuine, but also some have had to be built from scratch, such as the fabulous bread oven at the back of the bakery. The room was very dimly lit and hot and stuffy. I can't imagine what it will be like to work in there when the oven is lit and has to be kept going over night. The general public will be able to go shopping in the shops - Bread, for example, will be priced relative to Victorian prices, when the daily loaf was an expensive item.

The general grocers (the green/brown shop I've shown near the top of this post) was my favourite. The produce on the shelves was fairly limited, as packaged goods weren't readily available in the Victorian era, unlike today. The products that are there have had to be chosen carefully by the BBC, who cannot blatantly advertise on their channels. Also, with copyright, they have had to get special permission from the manufacturers to re-print labels. Years ago labels didn't include a list of ingredients, so anyone purchasing any of these products this week will have to be given a separate leaflet showing all of these to comply with modern regulations! (examples include Prices candles, Lea & Perrings Worcestershire Sauce and Bovril)

Incidentally, you will be served by the man of the family, as women were expected to do all of the work at the back of the shop!

Moving on to the butchers; the metal grilles to the right, with the lovely canopy above fold out onto the street. This is so the butcher can serve the public through the hatch and they don't need to enter his shop. This will be run by an already qualified butcher, but he will have to work with the same methods employed by a Victorian butcher of the time. We were taken down stairs to the cellar, where a cool box had been built. It was a large shed like construction which had been totally lined in metal. A huge block of ice was stored inside and was already doing a perfect job as an early fridge.

To the left of the butchers shop is the Ironmongers. Also shown in the photo below is the original Shambles, which are always on the Market Place and are the remains of the old market stalls. (There would have once been many more of them.)

The ironmongers shop will be run by a single man who has already trained as a blacksmith. I believe he will be asked to take orders for items to make this week. Inside the shop it is filled with tools and finished products such as metal umbrella stands and birdcages.

Some shops, such as the ironmongers, wouldn't have expected to survive the whole century, so this shop may well close down and another shop with different merchandise will take its place later in the series.

Further up the road at a secret location, an entire forge has been built where the blacksmith will also be able to work, producing his iron work. We were all totally overwhelmed by the sight of this huge work area that had been created on some scrubby waste ground behind the shops, complete with all the necessary tools, anvil and furnace. Also unbelievably, was an entire garden with flower borders and veg patches on the same site. Apparently work had begun back in March to turn the waste ground into a very flourishing garden. The vegetables were looking in prime condition, all growing in very neat rows, peas were entwined around birch twigs and sweet peas grew up large wigwags of tree branches.

How wonderful if this garden could later be used by the local school children perhaps?, rather than it all being lost.

Existing Hairtech, next to the ironmongers, with its new sign.

In honour of the BBC's arrival, I decided to arrange a Victorian window display in my shops front window. I included two flat irons and a trivet, a black metal hat box and ostrich plumes, Victorian portrait photographs, and a china clock surround decorated with roses, that I found at the weekend.

After that I had a man wander into my shop yesterday. His wife quickly grabbed him and told him he wasn't allowed inside as it was part of the BBC's film set. I had to quickly jump in and tell her that 'no, I was a real shop, not part of the scenery, and I was definitely open for business!'
Hope that doesn't happen too often!

A water pump has been erected on the market place, next to the original 1600's fountain - Could you tell the difference between the real stone work and the clever trompe-l'œil?

This pile of goodies are, I imagine, to be part of the market on Sunday. There are old hand carts and barrels to give the Market Place even more authenticity.

I find it quite staggering that after a few days of filming, everything will be changed to reflect the next era, as we fast forward over 6 programmes to the 1970's, to document a century of retailing and how it has changed and compares to the modern way retailing is carried out today. I do hope the programme will get people thinking about using their local high streets again. At the moment I am loving the Mary Portas (Mary Queen of Shops) BBC2 programme, as I can identify with her ideas and also the struggle that small independent retailers face. She is fabulous!

Enough of my ramblings for now - Except to say if you happen to be anywhere near Shepton Mallet on Sunday, please can you come and visit the Special BBC Market which will be filmed as part of the new series? I'm sure the atmosphere will be magical and you may well feel as if you have been transported back in a time machine to an era where hardships were more prevalent, but a community spirit was far more in evidence.

Niki x