Drapers, Tailors, Dressmakers and Outfitters
by SLHS on
Friday 22 July 2016
Although not many people would be able to afford tailored clothes in the 19th century, tailors were established in Somercotes and Pye Bridge as early as 1828. Dressmakers were also listed, although these were often the wives of shopkeepers or other tradesmen who already had their own businesses in the area.
Many women made their own clothes, and drapers, who traditionally sold cloth, were relatively common in the Somercotes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Those not skilled in the art of making clothes would often buy the cloth and then use a dressmaker to make the garment required.
Probably the first ready-to-wear clothes were military uniforms, required in large numbers during the Napoleonic wars, but it was not until very much later that such garments were manufactured and sold for the general public in such villages as Somercotes. Even in the trade directories of 1941, the draper is still very prominent. Eventually, however, ready-to-wear clothes did arrive in the village and ladies and gentlemen’s clothes retailers were trading not long after the war.
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1828: | |
| CORDEN, James | Tailor - Somercotes (also listed in 1831) |
| LAND, William | Tailor - Pye Bridge (also listed in 1831 and 1835) |
| ROBINSON, Ruth | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| WASS, Rebecca | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1849: | |
| CORDEN, James | Tailor - Somercotes |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1857: | |
| BINGHAM, Jeremiah | Tailor - Somercotes |
| CORDEN, James | Tailor - Somercotes (in the listing of 1857, James was also described as the agent for the Emperor Fire Insurance Society, the London & Provincial Provident Society and the National Guardian Assurance Society) |
| TOUNDROW & PENDLETON | Drapers & Clothiers- Somercotes |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1876: | |
| BATT, Charlotte | Dressmaker - Somercotes (Charlotte was also listed as a Milliner) |
| BOTHAMLEY, James Frederick | Draper - Somercotes (James was specifically described as a Linen & Woollen Draper) |
| BURGIN, Ann | Dressmaker - Somercotes (Ann was also listed as a Milliner and Draper) |
| DOOLEY, George | Tailor - Somercotes |
| FISHER, Edward Mrs | Draper - Somercotes (Mrs Fisher was also listed as a grocer & druggist) |
| GRUNDY, Joshua | Tailor - Somercotes |
| GRUNDY, Richard | Tailor - Somercotes |
| NEED, William | Tailor - Somercotes |
| PLATT, John & Co | Drapers - Somercotes |
| SOAR, Thomas | Draper & Clothier - Leabrooks |
| TAYLOR, Robert | Draper - Somercotes |
| TRUMAN, Thomas | Draper - Seely Terrace, Somercotes (Thomas was also listed as a Milliner) |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1895: | |
| BRENTNALL, Alice | Dressmaker - Leabrooks |
| COLLIER, Samuel & Co | Draper - Somercotes (this company seemed to sell almost everything. Also listed was Boot Dealer, Dry & Patent Medicines, Powder & Fuse Dealer, Ale & Porter merchant and retailer) |
| DAYKIN, Albert William | Draper - High Street, Somercotes (William was also listed as a furniture dealer and Ale & Porter merchant and retailer) |
| GOODACRE, Joseph | Draper & Outfitter - Somercotes |
| HADDICAN, Thomas | Tailor - Somercotes |
| LANGTON, Sarah | Draper - Leabrooks |
| RADFORD, Catherine | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| RAVEN, Martha Elizabeth Annie. | Draper - Somercotes (Martha was also listed as a general dealer) |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1908: | |
| BAKEWELL, John | Drapers - Leabrooks |
| DAYKIN, William Albert | Draper -Somercotes (despite the other lines listed in 1895, in 1908 William was only listed as a draper) |
| EDWARDS G. | Draper - Lower Somercotes |
| GENT, A. Miss | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| GOODACRE, Joseph | Draper - Lower Somercotes (Joseph was also listed as a house furnisher) |
| HARDSTAFF, John | Draper - Somercotes |
| LANGTON, Sarah | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| MAYS, George | Tailor - Somercotes (The listing describes George's business as a "Ladies and Gents Practical Tailors" |
| POOLE, Edward Mrs | Draper - Pye Bridge (actually listed in 1912) |
| SMITH, Sarah Helen | Draper - The Post Office, Somercotes |
| SOAR, M. Miss | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| TOWNSEND B. Miss | Dressmaker - Somercotes |
| WARD, Henry | Draper - Somercotes |
ADVERTISMENT: An advert for Greenwood Bros. from the Somercotes parish magazine, published in May 1924.
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1916: | |
| AINSWORTH, Amy, Mrs | Dressmaker - Leabrooks |
| BAKEWELL, John Mrs | Draper - Leabrooks |
| BARRATT, Eliza Mrs | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| BONSALL, George Henry | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| EDWARDS, George | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| GILBERT, Benjamin Booth | Draper & Outfitter - Somercotes Hill |
| GREENWOOD BROTHERS | Clothiers - Leabrooks Road, Somercotes |
| SMITH, Sarah Ellen | Draper - The Post Office, Somercotes |
| VARNEY, James William | Hosier - Somercotes Hill |
| WARD, Henry | Draper - Somercotes |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1925: | |
| ARGYLE, Ethel | Draper - Leabrooks |
| BARRATT, Eliza Mrs | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| BONSALL, George Henry | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| CASTLEDINE, Albert | Tailor - Cemetery Road, Leabrooks |
| EDWARDS, George & Sons Ltd | Hosiery Manufacturers - 99, Somercotes Hill & Quarry Road Works, Somercotes |
| GREENWOOD BROTHERS | Clothiers - Leabrooks Road, Somercptes |
| HODGES, Ann Mrs | Draper - Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| SCOTT, William | Draper - Leabrooks |
| SMITH, Sarah Ellen | Draper - The Post office, Somercotes |
| VARNEY, James William | Hosier - Somercotes Hill |
| WARD, Henry | Draper - Somercotes |
ADVERTISEMENT: An advert for Henry Ward, Draper, from the Somercotes parish magazine published in September 1928.
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1932: | |
| ARGYLE, Minnie | Draper - 56 Leabrooks Road, Somercotes |
| BONSALL, George Henry | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| CASTLEDINE, Albert | Tailor - Cemetrey Road, Leabrooks |
| CLARKE, Nellie | Draper - 83, Southfields Terrace, Pye Bridge |
| DAWES, Francis Mrs | Dressmaker - Main Road, Leabrooks |
| GREENWOOD BROTHERS | Clothiers - Leabrooks Road, Somercotes |
| HODGES, Ann | Draper - Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| SCOTT, Edith Mrs | Dressmaker - Manchester House, Swanwick Road, Leabrooks |
| SMITH, Ralph | Draper - The Post Office, Leabrooks |
| VARNEY, James William | Hosier - Somercotes Hill |
| WARD, Henry | Draper - Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| WRIGHT, Arthur L. | Outfitter - Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| WRIGHT, Harvey | Draper - Somercotes Hill |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1941: | |
| ARGYLE, Minne Miss | Draper - 56 Leabrooks Road, Somercotes |
| BLOWERS, Eutace | Draper - Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| BROADBENT, Bertha Mrs | Corsetiere - 45, Quarry Road, Somercotes |
| CLARKE, Nellie | Draper - 83, Southfields Terrace, Pye Bridge |
| GREENWOOD BROTHERS | Clothiers - 6, Leabrooks Road, Somercotes |
| HODGES, Ann Mrs | Draper - 59 & 60, Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| SHARPE, Harold Frank | Outfitter - 56, Nottingham Road, Somercotes |
| SMITH, Ralph | Draper - The Post Office, Leabrooks |
| WOODLANDS, Maude | Draper - 7, Somercotes Hill |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS IN 1960 (NOT COMPLETE): | |
| GREENWOODS BROTHERS | Clothiers - 6, Leabrooks Road, Somercotes |
| WOODLANDS, Maude | Draper & Haberdashery - 7, Somercotes Hill |
| WRAY, Joan | Baby Clothes - Nottingham Road, Somercotes (Joan was the wife of Don Wray, a cobbler who had premises at Mill Street) |
| DRAPERS, TAILORS, DRESSMAKERS & OUTFITTERS LISTED IN 1970 (NOT COMPLETE): | |
| MARRIOTT, Valerie | Ladies & Childrens Clothes Retailer - Nottingham Road, Somercotes (Valerie originally had her business at 94 Nottingham Road, next to the Premier Electric Theatre, but moved to 88 Nottingham Road after the death of Mabel Bradley, who had previously run a grocery business from the premises. |
| Staton, Doreen | Ladies Clothes Retailer - Nottingham Road, Somercotes (Doreen opened the shop in the same premises as Joan Wray, who had retired. She ran this business for many years before retiring) |
| Staton, Peter | Gents Outfitter - Nottingham Road, Somercotes (Peter moved into the premises in 1962. He became a local councillor and new most of the shopkeepers in Someroctes. He ran the business until his retirement) |
ADVERTISEMENT (ABOVE): An advert for Joan Wray's shop, Somercotes. The date of the advert is not known but appears to be from the very early 1960s.
ADVERTISEMENT (BELOW): An advert for Valerie Marriott's shop, Somercotes. The date of the advert is not known but would have been after decimalisation in February 1971.