Kendal Oral History Group aims to compile a picture of earlier times through the recorded memories of the area’s older residents. David Byrom was born in1922 and interviewed in 1992

QUITE few of the customers at our furniture shop in Highgate, Kendal, were farmers and the haggling stage was sometimes a long procedure.

The farmer would come in with his wife and the daughter, who was about to get married. The wife and daughter would select the items of furniture and they would go off to do some more shopping.

The farmer would then enter into a very prolonged debate with my father about the price. This was a semi-friendly sort of haggle, but it could go on for anything up to an hour and a half before they finally settled on a price.

We used to live above our shop that is to the sort of side rear of the shop. There were three other cottages in Colin Croft Yard that were also occupied. One of the occupants was quite a colourful character. He was in and out of work but on a Sunday he used to take his barrow to main road near Prizet Filling Station and just sell bananas. We used to call him the 'Banana King' and he made quite a business out of it.

The people in the top cottage, the lady and the husband had two unmarried daughters who, I think worked at the K Shoe factory.

Further on up Colin Croft, Hadwins had a small engineering shop right at the top on the left hand side there was a blacksmiths. With his leather apron and his furnace he used to make quite a lot of things.

On the other side was Colin Croft Brewery – this was a separate brewery before it was transferred down to its present site before it was taken over by Scottish Brewers.

It was a busy yard with the horse and carts that used to come up and take the beer away in barrels. The wheels on the carts just used to fit inside the pavement.

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