Tastes Delicatessen may not occupy the most spectacular building in Eton, it might not even be in the top 20, but it is unique, and I certainly feel a responsibility as its caretaker. Since deciding to open my deli at 92 High Street, Eton, I have dipped in and out of researching the history of the building. Nine years on, I've decided it is about time I pulled together all the scrappy notes I'd made and documented these details. There remain plenty of gaps, but maybe someone reading this can help fill them in.
Number 92 High Street, Eton, is situated on the western side of the street, near the bridge to Windsor. It is the end of a terrace of nine buildings and was grade II listed in 1978. At that time it was
described as:
C18 refronting of earlier house. Stucco. 3 storeys, splayed bay of 3 double-hung sashes, side windows without glazing bars. Ground floor C19 shop front. Modillion cornice, parapet, old tiled roof.
The description doesn't differ from how it might be described today and only differs slightly from the description which appeared more than one hundred years ago in the 1912 "
Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire".
..built probably in the 17th century, but re-fronted in the 18th century... No. 92 is of three storeys, possibly of brick, now plastered. In front is a bay window in two storeys from the first floor, a plain cornice, and a coping which hides the roof.
The building is slightly L shaped; with the back part being wider than the section on the high street. The ground floor level at the back of the building is significantly lower than that at the front. In fact, the floor is almost as low as that of the far older building opposite (number 51), whose front door sits well below the level of the pavement. I heard somewhere that the road dipped here, causing a problem for horse drawn carriages, so was leveled. This would have been after the construction of number 51, but before the refronting of 92.
At some point it appears that a section of the ground floor of number 92 was removed to create a passage between the high street and what was Union Terrace. The passage passes through what was once a fireplace (look up and you'll see the old chimney). Judging from old maps of the area this passage pre-dates the current building next door (93).
Number 92 has been the home of many businesses over many centuries, and this is what I know about some of them.
1830s
There are no businesses listed as operating from 92 High Street in the 1830 Pigot's Directory. Both neighbours to the building were curriers and leather cutters (William Bowen at 91 and George Burgiss at 93). Perhaps no-one wanted to be between them!
1840s - John Breach - Basket Maker
In 1842 the address was still absent from the trade directories but within a few years was being used by John Breach, the basket maker.
John Breach was born in Henley on Thames in 1768. He was married to Frances and had five children all born in Eton: James (1793), John (1795), Charles (1796), Frances (1798) and John (1799). John worked as a basket maker at various addresses in Eton from the 1800s until the 1850s, presumably using the reeds which grow locally, to create his wares.
In 1807, along with Thomas Newman, a butcher, he was a trustee of the
Eton Friendly Society who met at the King's Arms on the High Street (number 79, now
Ieva Poriete).
In 1830, it was John's third son, Charles, operating from 65 High Street (now Costa Coffee), who was Eton's basket maker (along with Charles Hester at 4 Brocas Street). Charles did not appear again in the later directory (1842) and John does not appear at all at this time, but in 1841 he was living at number 50 High Street, Eton, almost opposite number 92. He was a widower and shared the address with the Cook family.
According to the 1847 trade directory, John, who was by then 79 years old, was running a basket making business from 92 High Street. His neighbours at 91 (now
Eton Antiques)
were Wild & Sons, curriers and tanners (producing leather), replacing William Bowen. Next
door, but one on the other side (94) was Mrs Amelia Hall the dress
maker. Opposite, at number 51 was the Adam and Eve which
I've mentioned on this blog before. Next to that at 52 (now
Warren Property)
was John Wiggington the boot and shoe maker ("Bootmaker to His
Majesty").
By 1851, John Breach had moved to number 93 where he continued to work as a basket maker alongside his eldest son James. He remains listed as the basket maker in the
1852 Slater's Directory. John died in Eton in 1857.
1850s - Richard George - Saddler
In the 1850s, number 92 High Street, Eton was the home and business address of Richard Henry George. Richard was a saddler, born in the City of London on 14th June 1808. He married Elizabeth White in Camden in 1834. Richard and Elizabeth then moved to Eghan, Surrey where their children, Henry Richard (1835) and Amelia (1837), were born. The family then moved to Windsor around 1838 where daughter Priscillia (1839) and son Albert Cornelius (1840) were born. At the time of the 1841 census the family were living on Thomas Street, Windsor. Richard and Elizabeth had another son, Randolph James, in 1844. Richard's wife Elizabeth died two years later in 1846, aged 30.
Richard moved to Eton and was living at 92 High Street in 1851 with four of his five children: Henry Richard, Priscillia, Albert and James. According to the Post Office Directories, there had been no saddlers on Eton High Street in 1844 and Richard George was the only one in 1852 and 1854.
Richard George died in Eton in 1856, aged 48.
1860s - William Hill - Butcher
It looks as though no-one was living at number 92 at the time of the
1861 census, but in 1869 it was operating as a Butcher's Shop, run by
William Hill. There were at least five other butchers on the High Street
at the time (Clark at number 60, Butler at 76, Bargents at 102 and 108, and Elwood at 106). William had been a butcher on Eton High Street in 1864, presumably he was at number 92 then.
1870s - 1900s - Arthur & Frederick Halliday - Wood Carvers, Furniture Makers & Upholsterers
In a
watercolour from around 1870, Louise Rayner depicted Eton College school boys outside number 92. Looking at this image, the iconic Tudor "Cockpit" looks to have changed its appearance more in the subsequent 100 years than number 92 has. 92's distinctive splayed bay front and parapet are clearly visible, although the wooden shop front looks quite different. Artist's improvement, or an image which predates the current shop front? I've seen another painting which looks to also originate from around this time but shows another shop front entirely.
In the 1877 Post Office Directory the business at 92 is listed as Arthur and Frederick Halliday, wood carvers. The Halliday's operated from the premises as carvers, art dealers, upholsterers and cabinet makers for nearly 30 years and had a presence in Eton until the 1930s.
Arthur Halliday was born in 1846 and Alfred (known as Fred or Frederick) Halliday in 1847, in Chilton Polden, Somerset. They were the third and fourth of five sons of William Halliday, a carver, and his wife Anne. According to the book "South and West Somerset" by Nikolaus Pevsner, William Halliday was a self-taught craftsman and responsible for carving the benches at St Micheal's church, Othery and probably worked on Chilton Priory (built 1839).
Arthur Halliday married Fanny James (born 1850, Wells) on 26th July 1869 in Wells, Somerset. In 1871 Arthur and Fanny, along with, bachelor, Fred were living in Eton. In 1872 Arthur and Fanny had a son, Rowland, but three years later Fanny Halliday died, aged 25.
Frederick married Caroline (born in Wells in 1854) and moved to Windsor. Widower Arthur married Mary Jane Black (born 1859, Leicester) in Wells in 1877. They lived in Eton and had four children: Sydney (1878), Florence (1881), Ernest E (1887) and Caroline Amy (1889).
The brothers used 92 High Street Eton as their business address from the late 1870s but no-one lived at number 92 in 1881. At that time Arthur Halliday was living at 38 High Street, Eton with his second wife, Mary Jane and baby daughter Florence (born 1880, Eton). 38 is the tall thin house next to the pub, which in 1881 was the Three Tuns, now the Henry VI. Frederick and Caroline were living at 3 St Mary's Villas, Grove Road, Windsor. The Halliday's employed 9 men and 2 boys at the time, making them one of the larger employers on Eton High Street. There probably wasn't any room in 92 for them to live! The bootmaker, John Wiggington, who was operating at 52 (immediately opposite 92 and next door to 53) was also a big employer on the High Street at the time, though neither business had as many employees as the photographer and decorator further along the street.
Around 1884 Frederick and Caroline did move to Eton. They moved into number 92 and lived there for the next twenty years, with their children; Frederick George (born 1877), Mabel Edith (born 1878), Victor Nugent (born 1880), Beatrice Winifred (born 1882), Harold Henry (born 1884), Cecil Alfred (born 1885), Nora Victoria (born 1887), Elsie (born 1889) and Donald Connock (born 1898) (by 1901 the four eldest children had moved out).
Arthur and Mary Jane, along with their children, moved from number 38 to just opposite 92, at number 53. Number 53 now houses Age Concern. I think it is no coincidence that both 92 and 53 have similarly carved features on their shop fronts and none of the other shops on the street do. I suspect Frederick and Arthur are behind them. The age of the shop fronts ties with the time the Hallidays were in residence and although I am no expert in these things, I think the quality of the workmanship is pretty impressive. The Hallidays were some of the best in the business and I'm not sure any of the other 19th century occupiers of these buildings would have had such ornate additions made to the building.
When renovating number 92 I found a piece of carved wood beneath the floor boards which I cleaned up and hung in the shop. I've no idea what it is or where it is from, but could be another Halliday work.
Now I want to date the arch feature in the middle of the shop!
For more than a decade, from 1883 to 1895 the brothers were operating their business from both 92 and 53 High Street, Eton with one brother living in each building.
From 1885 until 1901 the business was listed under "Cabinet Makers and Upholsterers" as A. and F. Halliday, Eton in the London Gazette (
1885,
1887,
1888,
1890,
1891,
1892,
1893,
1894,
1895,
1896,
1897,
1898,
1899,
1900 and
1901). They also appeared as "Arthur and Frederick Halliday, Windsor" under "Carvers and Gilders" although I am not aware of any premises they used in Windsor.
According to the
Slough, Eton & Windsor Observer on the 13th August 1887 a beggar was given two months hard labour for begging in Mr Halliday's shop (possibly 92 as it was Frederick who was mentioned, although it could be 53).
By 1899, they were no longer using number 53. The brothers appear to separate. In 1901 Arthur was living and working from 7 Hatchlands Road, Redhill, Surrey, where he continued to work as a wood carver, along with his son Sydney. Ten years later, in 1911, Arthur was still a wood carver, and also an antique dealer, but Sydney was no longer carving, instead working as a business assistant for his father. A quick look on
google street view shows 7 Hatchlands is now a florist shop, with what looks like a little wooden carving on the shop front, similar to one of those on 53 High Street, Eton.
Meanwhile, Frederick Halliday continued as Eton's wood carver at 92 High Street and was a prominent member of the Eton community.
In 1901
The London Gazette included A & F Halliday, Upholsterers of Eton in the list of tradesmen who held warrants of appointment to His Majesty the King. They were entitled to use the royal arms and retained their royal warrant until at least
1911.
In 1902, according to the
Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer, Frederick Halliday, who sat on the Eton Urban Council, signed a petition asking the charities commission to free the Maidenhead bridge which was then a toll bridge.
By 1903 the business was known as A. F. Halliday, Art Furniture Manufacturer and Wood Carver. It was operating from both 92 and 106 High Street, Eton. Number 106 had previously been the Rose, Thistle and Shamrock public house (which stood where the road Eton Court now runs).
In 1903, Frederick Halliday appeared in the
Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer again, this time in a report of his appearance as a defendant in the Slough Petty Sessions. The write up is fascinating, for what it tells us about Frederick Halliday and his business and also, the times he lived in. Frederick was charged with "interfering with the comfort of passengers on the Great Western Railway" and assault. He had allegedly had too much to drink, bought a ticket from Slough to Windsor which was 1d more than he expected (it is not clear whether he or the ticket clerk was in the wrong), and when the ticket collector came for the ticket Frederick verbally abused and spat at him. Frederick could not remember the events and pleaded guilty. Much was made of his previous good character and character witnesses were offered (but sadly not needed: I would have loved to hear what they said). He was a member of the Eton Urban District Council and for years had been deputy captain of the Fire Brigade at Eton. He had been a carver to Queen Victoria and was currently carver and art furniture maker to King Edward VII and had taught many of the Royal family to carve. He was fined £1 or assault and 10s for bad language which he paid (about £165 in today's money).
On 13th August 1904 the
Slough, Eton & Windsor Observer reported an incident, involving one of Halliday's shops. Seymour Wallace Stevens was charged with stealing a sampler and a tin trunk from the home of Frederick Matthews in Datchet, seemingly at the behest of his mistress, Mrs Matthews. During the proceedings Frederick Halliday the furniture dealer was called to give evidence. The defendant had given him the sampler to sell and he still had it in his shop.
On Christmas Eve 1904 the Bucks Herald reported that Frederick Halliday, operating as an antique dealer from 92 and 106 high street, had filed for bankruptcy. He appears again on the 14th and 28th January 2005 and the liquidator completed his duties in
August 1906.
Frederick retired from the Urban District Council in 1905, left Eton and moved back to Somerset with his wife, Caroline, and youngest son, Donald. In 1911 he was living at 5 Park Street, Taunton, a three-storey, mid-nineteenth century, yellow brick house on a residential street. He continued to run his own business working as a wood carver. He died in Barnes in 1929 leaving his estate to his eldest children; Frederick George Halliday and Mabel Edith Halliday.
But that wasn't the end of the Halliday's in Eton. Frederick's eldest son, also named Frederick, was trading from his father's old premises, 106 High Street Eton, in 1907. He set up a limited company, F.G. Halliday (1909) Limited, with a registered address of 15, Fore Street, Taunton, Somerset, and by 1915, that company was operating as an art furniture maker from both 105 and 106 High Street, Eton and beyond.
On an advertising postcard for his Taunton show room (ye olde Tudor house, 15 Fore Street) the business is described as:
containing show rooms and galleries replete with interesting examples of old world furniture, china etc. for sale at strictly commercial prices.
F.G. Halliday (1909) ltd.antique-dealers.
ye odds & ye ends Taunton, Minehead, Eton, Banbury & Porlock.
Specialities: week-end cottages furnished throughout collections formed and augmented
F. G. Halliday remained at 105 and 106 High Street, Eton until at least 1931. Both 105 and 106 were later demolished; 105 is where Eton Travel now stands, and 106 is Eton Court. F.G.Halliday (1909) Limited was dissolved in 1948 according to the
London Gazette.
1910s - Samuel Roe - Upholsterer
By 1907 number 92 High Street, Eton was occupied by Mr Samuel Roe from Cambridgeshire. He was a married man of 49 years of age and operating from the premises as an upholsterer. At the time of the 1911 census the building had 7 rooms, which were split between the business and providing a home for his family. His 45 year old wife of 21 years, Mary Ann, also from Cambridgeshire and five of their seven children lived with him:
17 year old Helena who was born in Windsor and teaching at the school.
15 year old Samuel who was born in Windsor and working alongside his father.
12 year old Thomas Lathan who was also born in Windsor and was at school.
10 year old Alice and 9 year old Edith who were both born in Eton and at school.
In a
1914 sketch by Fred Richards, for the Windsor and Eton Sketchbooks, number 92 is barely visible, hidden behind the sign for the Turks Head. Nonetheless the pencil sketch shows how the street would have looked in Samuel Roe's day.
In the
1915 Kelly's Directory of Buckinghamshire (page 104), the business is listed as Roe Samuel & Co. Furniture Dealers.
Samuel Roe left Eton between 1915 and 1924 and for the rest of his life lived at 27 College Avenue, Upton. He was living there when his youngest daughter, Edith married in 1926 (a wedding reported in the
Slough, Eton and Windsor Observer on 30th July). Samuel retained the freehold to number 92 High Street and the large warehouse behind it. He died at Albert House Infirmary in Slough in 1942 (aged 80), leaving his estate of £4439 18s 1d to his sons Samuel Roe, a carpenter and Thomas Latham Roe, a plumber. Samuel's wife Mary Ann died in 1945 (aged 79).
1920s - 1960s - Ernest Martin - Furniture Dealer & Funeral Furnisher (& undertaker), Cabinet Maker & Upholsterer
You can just about see number 92 in
Peter de Wint's 1924 painting of Eton High Street (its the tall white building on the right).
From the 1920s, to the 1960s, number 92 was the premises of Ernest Martin junior.
Ernest Frank Richard Martin was born in Eton in 1898, the third of four children of Ernest William Martin and Marion Brooks (from East Harling, Norfolk). Ernest's father, Ernest, was a carpenter and undertaker who was also born in Eton (1865). As a child (1901 and 1911) Ernest junior lived with his parents and siblings at 7 Brocas Street, from where his father had worked since at least 1895.
In 1919 Ernest married Ethel Isobel Reynolds in Melksham. From 1924 until 1963 Ernest worked as a Furniture Dealer at 92 High Street Eton, and (until 1938 at least) also as an undertaker at 11 Brocas Street.
In
the 1990s, the then shop-keeper met an elderly lady who remembered a
trip down Eton High Street with her mother and sister (probably in the
1930s). She was dawdling behind them and when she saw them turn into a
shop she ran to catch up. She burst into number 92, and on not seeing
her family, ran to where the step now is, and drew back a thick black
curtain which hung there, expecting to see her mother. Instead she was
confronted with a dead body. A memory which evidently remained engraved for
decades.
In 1946 Ernest purchased the 92 High Street premises from the sons of Samuel Roe; Samuel Roe and Thomas Latham Roe. Presumably until then he had been their tenant. He bought the building for £1000, but not the large warehouse which stood behind it (where Wiggington Court now stands).
Ernest, Ethel and their three children, lived behind the shop and on the two floors above. Their sitting room is what is now the shop's store room.
In the early 1960s, Ernest Martin is listed in the telephone directory as a funeral furnisher. According to his son, Ernest's main business was with Eton College, supply boys "sets" to each new college boy in some of the boarding houses (Waynefleet, Westbury and Mustians). A boys "set" consisted of a bureau bookcase, brush box, boot box, ottoman, window curtains and bed curtains.
Ernest died in Eton in 1963 and left his estate of £4499 to his widow Ethel Isobel Martin who also took over the funeral furnishing businesses. In 1964 the shop part of number 92 was used as a storage unit by Ethel and her son Peter for their antique business. Ethel lived in the rooms behind the shop, while Peter and his family lived above.
Ethel died in December 1967. The building was passed to her three children and sold for £5900 to David Stern, who also owned number 52 opposite, from which he operated his insurance and pension business.
1970s - Minitiques - Antiques
In 1972 and 73, number 92 was an antique bric-a-brac shop called Minitiques. Previously, in 1970, Minitiques had been operating from 52a (part of the building opposite that had previously housed John Wiggington the boot maker).
 |
| From Public Eye 1970s |
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, ABC/Thames Television made a seven-series TV detective programme called Public Eye. The show starred Alfred Burke as private eye, Frank Marker. From series 5 onwards, Marker's office was in Eton. The opening credits from the later series feature Marker walking around Eton (there was only one location I didn't recognise in the episodes I've seen). Marker's office was the shop next door to number 92 (93).
The show still has a following and I regularly meet people who have come to Eton to see Marker's office. From chatting to Marker fans I know what the shop looked like in the early 1970s: a white shop front with pink/purple door.
1980s - Eton Cottage Antiques
In the 1980s number 92 became Eton Cottage Antiques run by Ann Johnson.
1990s - Mostly Furniture - Antiques
 |
| From Gary Munday 1990s |
Eton Cottage Antiques moved to number 60 High Street and number 92 became the new home of Gary Munday's Mostly Furniture (which, like Minitiques, had previously occupied 52a, opposite).
In 1992, according to "The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain: A Discerning Traveller's Companion" by David Kemp, number 92 is operating as one of the thirteen antique shops on Eton High Street: Mostly Furniture. Eton Cottage Antiques was still in existence at number 60.
Like John Breach, the basket maker, 150 years before, Gary moved from number 92, to the building next door, number 93.
2000s - Cat Out of the Bag - Gifts
 |
| From Property Listing 2006 |
Number 92 became Cat Out of the Bag, the first in a chain of gift shops for cat lovers, owned by Kathryn (Kathy) Lambert and Michael Dunning. The shop front changed from black and white to orange.
Hazle Boyles included Cat Out of the Bag in her Nation of Shopkeepers ceramics series. The
Hazle Ceramics guide still has an image of the piece from it's Windsor launch in 2004.
Cat Out of the Bag closed in 2005.
Tastes Delicatessen
And that is where Tastes Delicatessen moved in. The shop front was painted green and the interior refurbished. The retail space was extended to include what had been the store room for Cat Out of the Bag and the workshop for Mostly Furniture and the shelves packed with edible delights. I wonder what the nineteenth century basket maker, sadler, butcher and wood carver would make of the things we sell.
 |
| Jo Hurn's Watercolour |
Like the businesses who were here before us, Tastes Deli has also been depicted artistically. One of our customers made me a beautiful Christmas card with a watercolour of the shop front on. This is of course my favourite.
I've also seen a
2008 illustration by Matthew Wright on a greetings cards on sale at
Eton Stationers and spotted a Mandy McAllen illustration on
Artists and Illustrators.
Eton high street has continued to be used as the location for British television shows. In my time here I've seen two episodes of Midsommer Murders being filmed, one at number 88, Eton Antique Bookshop and another at number 100, which was then the Barker Gallery. In that episode an elderly lady carried a large painting on her shopping trolley past number 92. I've yet to see the episode though so don't know if Tastes Deli made it into the broadcast. But I do know some of our
pate was used in a scene of Downtown Abbey when that was filmed at Eton College! I'm now going to watch some old episodes of Tutti Frutti which, like Public Eye, was filmed next door. You never know, I might be able to spot number 92.
Can you add to this potted history? Do let me know.
Of course everything written above most be caveat-ed with the disclaimer that this is just what I believe to be true. I have worked through mountains of historical documents, consulted with long time residents (many thanks to Graham, Gary, John and Peter) and tried to find at least two pieces of evidence to support each claim, but it could of course be wrong.
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