This section has yet to be compiled.
.
The Sowmans began trading in January 1889. The photograph was possibly taken during the first year of trading.
Expanding their business, Sowmans bought No. 33 in or around 1900. They demolished the building and built an extensive three storey property on the site. The new shop opened for trade on 27th June, 1904.
The following photograph shows the new shop front at No. 33 fitted with large plate glass windows, surely unusual at that time for a small rural town. Incidentally, the children in the foreground are known to be Sowman children; Ronald and John on the right and possibly Arthur and Philip on the left.
There is no doubt that the centrepiece of Sowmans business was the imposing three storey ironmongery shop, the front of which can still be seen on the south side of the Market Place. (No. 33 is now occupied by ‘Costa Coffee’.) Sowmans china shop was to the left of this building and to the right, the garage entrance and then the radio shop, all in all, a very large shop front. One of Sowmans sales slogans was “We sell everything from a tintack to a combine-harvester!” and another, “If you can think of it, Sowmans probably sell it!”
Links
Check it out using the following link to the ODHS website:
http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/odhs/olney-market-place-heritage-trail-smartphone-audio-2021-version/
A NEW 2021 HERITAGE (AUDIO) TRAIL FOR OLNEY MARKET PLACE
Click the image for a short 2m video clip from the trail.
The new trail features:
i. a superior set of voiceovers addressing the Market Place and a selection of the surrounding buildings and their residents
ii. a format optimised for use with smartphones (which also works well for tablets and laptops)
iii. image collections that can be enlarged whilst listening to the voiceovers