Richard Pudden was a shopkeeper in the High Street from about 1887 to 1890.

Early life at East Coker

Richard Pudden was born at East Coker in about 1842. He was the son of Richard Pudden, a labourer, and his wife, Ann (nee Mudford), who lived at Coker Marsh.

Richard entered the retail trade at a young age. In April 1861, he was an assistant living in the household of a draper and grocer at Yetminster.

A shopkeeper at East Coker

When he was twenty-two, he made an advantageous marriage. On 5 July 1864, he married Mary Booby, whose widowed mother, Phillis, ran the shop at North Coker. Richard took over the running of the shop. Phillis continued living there until she died in June 1877.

It was not long before Richard was in financial difficulties. On 8 March 1866, Cross, the auctioneer, held a sale at the Corn Exchange, Yeovil, of all of Richard’s stock for the benefit of his creditors.[1]

However, Richard’s business survived. The 1871 census recorded him as a grocer at North Coker.

The following year, tragedy struck when his seven-year-old daughter, Ada Susan, died in June 1872, aged seven.

Like many other retailers of his time, Richard cheated his customers. In September 1874, he was summoned for selling adulterated mustard.[2] In May 1875, he was fined £2 and ordered to pay costs of 7s 6d for having faulty scales.[3]

Despite this dubious conduct, by April 1881, Richard was also the village postmaster.

However, he still struggled financially, and in December 1885, he advertised the shop and post office as available to let.[4]

Move to Hardington

In about 1887, Richard, Mary and their six surviving children moved to Hardington. From about 1887 to 1890, they occupied a house in the High Street, Hardington.[5] Richard must have run a shop in Hardington because, in August 1887, he was fined 2s 6d and costs for having faulty weights.[6]

Return to East Coker

In April 1891, Richard was unemployed and living at Isles, East Coker, with his two youngest daughters, Ann and Frances. His wife, Mary, was a patient in the Somerset Asylum, Wells.

By March 1901, he was a grocer’s assistant living at East Coker. His two daughters, Ann and Frances, were still living with him, and his wife had returned home.

Richard died in 1908, aged 65.

After he died, his wife and daughters, Ann and Frances, moved in with his youngest son, Hedley, a grocer’s manager at Castle Cary. His wife died there in 1913, aged 75.

Children

Richard and Mary had three sons and four daughters.

Their eldest son, Herbert Henry, enlisted in the Somerset Light Infantry in January 1886, and later emigrated to Canada. Their second son, George, became a schoolmaster in London, and their third son, Hedley Joseph, became a grocer’s manager at Castle Cary and then Frome.

In June 1887, their daughter, Phillis Amelia, placed an advert in the Western Gazette seeking a cashier position in a business house. In April 1891, she was a manageress at 38 High Street, Dorchester; in March 1901, an assistant in a restaurant at Dorchester; and, in April 1911, an assistant matron in a Soldiers’ Home at Dorchester. In June 1921, she was a domestic servant in Elm Park Road, Pinner.

By September 1939, Phillis had joined her brother, Hedley, and sisters, Ann and Francis, at Frome. These four siblings never married. Ann and Phillis died in 1947, Hedley in 1952, and Frances in 1960.

References

[1] Sherborne Mercury, 6 March 1866, p.1.

[2] Bristol Times and Mirror, 3 September 1874, p.4.

[3] Western Gazette, 7 May 1875, p.8; 14 May 1875, p.8.

[4] Western Gazette, 4 December 1885, p.4.

[5] Hardington voters’ lists.

[6] Western Gazette,5 August 1887, p.6.