During the time that Church Lawford village had a Grocers Shop it was located in quite a variety of places. The first clear reference in nineteenth century records is in the 1835 Pigots Directory, when both Sarah Dalton and William Hirons (1788-1865) are listed as a Grocer. Both are also listed in the 1850 directory, with William Hirons also listed as a Woodman. By the 1868 Kellys directory John Allen is listed as a Shopkeeper, with Eleanor Hirons (1794-1872) continuing the grocery business after William had died in 1865. The Whiteman family then took over as the Village Grocer during the 1870s, with William Whiteman junior listed in the 1874 almanac onwards.
The King’s Newnham village shop is discussed towards the bottom of this page.
The Village Shop and Post Office run by the Whiteman family featured on the “OurWarwickshire” website – pictured here – in 1905.
During the 1870s and 80s there was also a local agent for the Rugby Advertiser – firstly James Holmes and then Walter Cooke, who appeared to gather stories as well as sell the newspaper on Saturday mornings in those days (1 penny per copy). The shop remained in the Rugby Road location for many years, with the Post Office facility being introduced before the end of the 19th Century.
By 1884 Edward J Cotton (1858-1912) was also listed as a Grocer alongside the Whitemans – in latter directories he was listed as a Grocer and Carpenter, and he had left the village by the end of the century. In 1894 William Whiteman (1848-1929) was also listed as the Village Postmaster, and also acted as agent for the Rugby Advertiser. Although William continued as a Grocer during the First World War, William Jones is listed as the Postmaster from 1915 to 1918. There was also a short spell where Ellen Prue (Church Road) and a Miss Tyres held the postmistress either side of the villages auction in 1918. The latter person was not seen in any other village records of the time, but either she or William Jones may have been based in Smithy Lane, as there is an indirect reference to the Post Office having been located there.
When William Whiteman died in 1929 the grocery business was taken on by his daughter Maggie (1885-1977), supported by her sister Rosa (1881-1957). Maggie was known to many as Miss Whiteman, and she retired to live in King’s Newnham Road in the mid-1950s. For a short while Cottage 193, where the “Village Stores” were located on Rugby Road was owned by A T Sheffield, who converted the premises into Hilltop Cafe – what became known as Sheff’s Cafe.
Meanwhile Walter Wright (1883-1944) set up a Post Office business in School Street by shortly after the First World War, opposite the Rectory, continuing during the inter-war period, and also selling certain grocery items. When he died his wife Ada carried on the Post Office business for a short while after the war.
The shop then moved with the Post Office firstly to Jane Sweeney in Smithy Lane, and then later in the 60s to a house in King’s Newnham Road, and was run by a succession of proprietors. At various times towards the end of the 20th Century there was a small shop facility at the Triangle Garage, whilst newspaper delivery also went through a number of changes. During the 1950s and early 60s Bert Gurney and family operated a newspaper delivery service. After a period where the local shop operated as a newsagent, the Ladkins family also offered a newspaper delivery service.
In parallel with the Grocers shop there was also the village oven in School Street, and the butchers in Church Road. The latter is discussed here.
The following list relating to the location and proprietor of the Church Lawford Village Shop will be updated as more details are established and gaps can be filled.
| Dates | Location | Proprietor |
| Mid 19th Century | Smithy Lane Area (Next to Smithy) | Sarah Dalton |
| Mid 19th Century | Not Known | William Hirons / Eleanor Hirons |
| 1868 | Not Known | John Allen |
| 1880-1894 | Not Known | E J Cotton |
| 1874-1957 (Approx) | Rugby Road | Whiteman family |
| 1957-1960s | Smithy Lane (Wheatfield) | J Sweeney |
| Late 1960s to 2000 | King’s Newnham Road | Boiston, Merritt, Hayes, Farthing, Jones (Jim and Jean), Coleman, King, Jones (Molly and Elwyn) |
Much of the produce in King’s Newnham will have been sold directly from the farms, but there was a village Baker (John Farmer) listed in the nineteenth century. He also had a smallholding in the area of the Laurels, and his son, William, was described as a grazier, but John’s wife Harriett was listed as shopkeeper in the local entry in Kelly’s Directory up until 1921. A picture of the Parish Oven can be found on the “OurWarwickshire” website here. In earlier records (1850) Levi College is referenced as a Grocer in King’s Newnham, and John Palmer as a Baker there. Towards the end of the 19th Century there is also a reference to Jonathan and Mary Treen running a grocery service based in the village. After Harriett Farmer died in 1922, the King’s Newnham shop was listed as being controlled by Reta Wells in the 1924 Kellys Directory, which was the last reference to a shop in King’s Newnham.
Back in Church Lawford, the late 1950s saw the advent of the Hilltop Cafe, which initially met with opposition as shown below.
