Living the High life

The J Sainsbury store at 18 High Street in 1910

ANYONE experiencing the bustle of Walthamstow High Street on an ordinary working day would be hard-pressed to envisage it as a country road flanked by grand country retreats and working men's cottages.

But that was how it first entered the history books in the 17th century when wealthy merchants 'discovered' it.

Then, as now, Walthamstow had the advantage of being within easy reach of the City of London while providing the peace of the countryside.

Famous occupants of what was then called Marsh Street included Admiral Sir William Batten, Admiral Sir William Penn whose son founded Pennsylvania, and Dr Daniel Whistler who was the first to recognise ricketts as a disease.

At the lower end of Marsh Street, cheap cottages were occcupied by men who worked at the watermill at the end of Coppermill Lane. At the end of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century, most of the grand houses were demolished and replaced with smaller though still substantial homes.

Fanny Keats, brother of the poet John, lived in one of these with her guardian Richard Abbey from 1814 to 1818.

Thanks to Shoppers' Paradise, a Walthamstow Historical Society book reprinted not long ago, we can learn how that country road evolved into a busy shopping street and market following the arrival of the railway line in 1870.

The name change from Marsh Street to High Street came about in 1882 and was a decision taken by the Walthamstow Board of Health.

The street however was still little more than a village shopping centre and the road had not been made up. The first record of stalls being set up was in 1885, and regulations were drawn up in 1890.

From then on, the High Street began to develop much faster. By the First World War, it had become a lively place to be and it enjoyed its heyday in the 1920s and 30s when it was home to many 'characters'.

One such was an Italian photographer, Matioli, who attracted customers by dressing up his sons in weird miliary uniforms.

Another was George Borwick, whose Borwick's Baking Powder is still an everyday kitchen ingredient. He first sold his powder on a stall in Walthamstow Market.

These people and many of those associated with the High Street up to the present time are featured in Shoppers' Paradise and a companion volume, Memories of the High Street, both published by Walthamstow Historical Society.

They are on sale in local bookshops and at Vestry House Museum at £1.50.

The photographs used with this article are from the archives at Vestry House Museum.

12:02 Thursday 23rd January 2003

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