Photo Gallery
High Street - The Village Store
Prominently situated in the centre of the village, the Village Stores had been trading since about the late-mid nineteenth century, Sadly the coming of the bypass and the national trend towards shopping at large out-of-town hypermarkets led to its closure in about 1995.
I recently received a communication from Robin Mackelden, now a resident of Devon, who says :
"I was born at The Stores on 15th September 1934 so was possibly the last person born there. My twin sisters were born at Savernake Hospital in 1937.
We used to collect orders and deliver groceries and bread covering an area within a five mile radius of Burbage. This included the war period when Savernake Forest was occupied by Americans and the New Inn by New Zealand soldiers (Forestry Workers)."
He kindly sent me the following 3 pictures:-
The Stores 6th August 1936 complete with Mrs Mackelden (as seen in the W.I. Photo). The delivery van is an Austin 12-4
Ronald Mackelden (owner) and the staff of the Stores, 1948. The photo was taken on the occasion of Lewis Mackeldon's (Ronald's cousin) emigration to Canada. BACK ROW: Peter Ebert (baker), Bill Stay, Ronald Mackelden, Ivor Drew. MIDDLE ROW: Joyce Hillier, Vera Banning, Lewis Mackelden, ???, Mrs. Williams FRONT ROW: Roy Sheppard. (A large number of people of a village store!)
A painting by L Bridges Smith dated 1954 which was taken in payment for groceries.
The Stores in 1956
And here is what it looks like today.
