Trades

The sound of workshops must have made East Meon a noisy place. Many of the trades supported the main business of the valley, agriculture. “The Aburrow family carried on their wheelwrights’ business where East Meon Stores now stands, and at Pond Meadow, the old parish pound. Horse-drawn vehicles were taken there to be repaired or have wheels replaced, and new wagons were built. The family owned a traction engine, used to draw timber from the woods, and when stationary, to operate a belt-driven circular saw.” Clara Fisher.

Before cars were commonplace and in the absence of a bus service, there were several carriers, taking goods and people to West Meon to catch the train, to market in Petersfield, or to Portsmouth. “William Luff, licensee of The George Inn owned a wagonette and dogcart, available for journeys to places like Petersfield and West Meon, especially to meet trains.” Clara Fisher

“If full up with goods, White would only carry one passenger, who sat with him on the front seat, open to the elements. In 1921, my sister Dorothy, then 15,  travelled to Portsmouth by carrier for a holiday with our aunt. The wagon left at 5.30am, arriving at its destination, the Gosport Ferry, at 12.30. It was a cold October day, and on arriving my sister was so cold and stiff she had difficulty moving.” Clara Fisher.

Medical needs, from birth to death, were met by local suppliers. “Granny Fisher at the Coombe end of the village and Granny Luff, in the High Street, kept the community well oiled and ‘potioned’ with herbal advice.” Margery Lambert. In the 1990s, herbalist Tina Stapley lived in the same house, Brook Cottage; she grew herbs in the garden and published books on herbal medicine and cookery.

“There were two Undertakers.  Pinky Kille, as he was known, with an unfortunate name for such a profession; he was also the village painter and carpenter.  Henry Coles too was an undertaker, and had his coffin- making workshop at Chalk Dell.  He laid out the bodies in part of the house known as Cross Keys, down in The Cross, and we would often peep through the cracks in the shutters to see them lying there. Henry Coles made visits to the sick when they were ill.” Margery Lambert.