Shopping in the past activity pack The BBC had a campaign called Turn Back Time the High Street in which they looked at how the British high street has changed over the course of a century. They looked at high streets from the Victorian times through to the Edwardian times and the 1930s, then looked at the impact of World War Two on the high street, concluding with high streets in the 1960s and 1970s. The BBC produced a range of schools activities to help children compare their high street today with high streets from the past. The link below takes you to the relevant page on the BBC website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/hands_on_history/tu rn_back_time/ Being a town with recreated street scenes from the Victorian times and the 1930s, a visit to Milestones could be an integral part of a study on shopping and high streets from the past. This pack contains: A number of activity cards each relating to a different shop within Milestones. The aim is to use the map provided to help you find the shops then gather information about them by answering the questions on the cards An activity card with advertising signs on it to find. Milestones has a range of advertising signs from the Victorian times to the 1930s. This activity could provide a useful springboard for work back at school comparing modern adverts with ones from the past. An activity card with pictures of things that you might want to buy on a shopping trip. The aim is to discover which shop in Milestones you would need to go to buy each of these items.
The location of the shops The 1930s shops in this pack are marked in blue Cycle shop Sweet shop Hardware shop Camera shop Toy shop Gramophone shop Gas showroom The Victorian shops in this pack are marked in red Greengrocer s shop Jeweller s shop Coop shop Ironmonger s shop Post Office Milliner s shop Saddler s shop
Greengrocer s shop This is a Victorian greengrocer s which sold fruit and vegetables. The fruit and vegetables that this greengrocer would have displayed in his shop depended on what time of year it was. 1. What is the name of this shop? 2. What is the address of this shop? (Clue: Look up!) 3. Why might this road have been called this? 4. What were the scales used for? 5. Other than the fruit and vegetables you can see, what other fruit and vegetables can you buy? 6. Do you think the Victorians ate the same types of food that we do today? How might their diet have been different?
Ironmonger s shop On the corner of Jubilee Street is TM Kingdon s, a Victorian ironmonger s shop. It was known as an ironmonger s as many of the things it sold were made of metal, including iron. 1. Which objects can you see in the window that would have been used for storing or preparing food? 2. What might this have been used for? 3. What can you see in the window which might have helped people light their rooms? 4. Can you find any items in the window that you still have in your home today? Which ones?
Jeweller s shop This shop is called Willis s the Jeweller s. The wooden name plate of the shop is original and is over a hundred years old. It belonged to a shop in Basingstoke and was rescued for Milestones when the shop was demolished. 1. Look in the window of this shop and see if you can list three different things you could buy here. 2. Which is your favourite item in the shop window and why? 3. What number along the street is the shop? 4. Other than selling things, what else could this shop do for you?
Co Op shop This shop is called the Co op. In Victorian times it was the place where you knew that you could buy good food at a reasonable price. Start by standing outside the shop 1. Look at the sign with the opening hours on it. What time does the Co op open every day? On which day does the shop close early? On which days is the shop open the latest? On which day of the week is the shop shut? Now go inside the shop 2. Do you recognise any of the foods behind the counter? Do we still have any of these today? Which ones? 3. What did they use to measure out your food? 4. Some items have prices next to them but not in a way we would use today. They cost s and d. Perhaps when you get back to school you could research what this means.
Post Office This shop is a Post Office and General Stores. It is located on Cuckoo Lane. 1. What can you spot in the window that people would have used for writing with? 2. What can you spot in the window that people would have written on? 3. What do you think the Post Office needed the scales for? 4. As the Post Office is also a general stores, this means it sells a range of items as well as stamps etc for sending letters. What else can you see for sale in this shop window?
Milliner s shop This shop is a milliner s shop. A milliner makes hats and bonnets for ladies. 1. What is the name of the shop? 2. What other things did the shop sell other than hats and bonnets? 3. This shop sells a full range of mourning bonnets. When do you think you would need to wear one of these?
Saddler s shop This is a saddler s shop that sells saddles, stirrups, bridles everything you can think of to do with horses. 1. What is the name of the Saddler s shop? 2. Which street is the shop on? 3. What time does the shop open every day? 4. On which day is the shop shut? 5. There is a metal horse s head on the railing outside. What do you think it was used for?
Cycle shop Empire Cycle Works is both a shop, and a place for bicycle repairs. By the end of the Victorian times, before the car took over, the bicycle was the best way to get about. What do you think the man behind the counter is doing? Why do you think this man is wearing a work jacket? Which bicycle parts can you see displayed in the shop? Which bicycle would you like to buy and why?
Sweet shop This shop window display dates from just before the Second World War in the late 1930s. 1. Which sweets can you see in the shop that you can still buy today? 2. Which brands of sweets and chocolates can you spot that you recognise? 3. Which animals and birds can you spot on the advertising for the sweets and chocolates in the shop and in the window? 4. Look at the boxes of chocolates in the window. Which Kings and Princes can you spot on the boxes?
Hardware shop This shop is a hardware shop where you could buy all sorts of things for the home. Many people still relied on gas lighting and oil lamps in rural Hampshire in the 1930s. Some people in towns had electricity. 1. What can you see in the shop window that you could use for cleaning your home? 2. What could you buy to help you prepare food and eat food? 3. Can you spot what is on display in the window that you would need if you were going to make a cake? 4. What could you buy to store food in? 5. What could you buy to light your home?
Camera shop There was a boom in family photography in the 1930s. Many people owned a simple camera to record family events and holidays. 1. Can you spot any cameras that you recognise? 2. Before people used digital cameras, you had to load a camera with film. Can you find any camera film in the shop? 3. Can you find any equipment that would have been used to record moving pictures/film? How is it different from the video cameras we use today?
Toy shop This shop window display dates from just before the Second World War in the late 1930s. 1. Can you spot any toys in the shop window that you still have today? Which ones? 2. Which materials are a lot of the older toys made out of? 3. What are some of the differences between the old toys and new toys on display in the shop? 4. Which toy in the shop is your favourite and why?
Gramophone shop This shop is called HJ Wallis and it s a radio and gramophone shop. A gramophone is used to play music on it. 1. What is on display behind the counter? 2. Which animal features in the advert for His Master s Voice gramophone records? 3. Have you spotted the television set? If you watched it, what colour would the pictures be that were being displayed?
Gas showroom This gas showroom displays a range of different gas appliances you could buy. 1. Which items in the shop would have been used for cooking food? 2. Which items in the shop would people want to buy to keep their homes warm? 3. Which items in the showroom are on sale for people to buy to allow them to have hot water in their homes? 4. How different are these objects from what we have today in our homes for cooking and heating?
Advertising signs Our shops in Milestones have signs advertising what they sell and there are signs all around the museum on the walls. These are some of the advertising signs you will find around Milestones. How many of them can you find? Perhaps back at school you could gather up some pictures of modern adverts and see how they compare.
Which shop? Carrots All of these items are things that could be bought in the shops of Milestones. Which shop would you go to, to buy each of them? Games Shoes Watch Soap Hats Sweets Whisk Stamps Saddle Teddy bear Chocolate