WHEATON

The following is the first part of a very interesting article written by David Cornforth (1950-2022) in 2005 (revised 2009), and posted on Exeter Memories - an excellent site for Exeter history. I would like to thank Exeter Memories and Sean Creech for permission to reproduce.


From Penny's to Pills

A. Wheaton and Company is one of the oldest, still trading companies in Exeter. It can be traced back to 1780, when James Penny opened a bookshop and printer in Southgate Street. In 1792 he moved to North Street and then to 185 Fore Street. The business carried on in the early 19th century through various changes until it was advertised for sale on the 30th April 1835 and William Wheaton purchased the business on 2nd July in the same year.

An 1844 Old Moore's Almanac has Wheaton's adverts, not only for school books, but surprisingly, also patent medicines. Antibilious pills, Pennyroyal Fennole Pills, and Magic Pills for curing gout and more could be found next to copies of books on Spellings, Grammars, Exercises, Psalters, Tutors Assistants and Catechisms.

William died in 1846 and the business was taken over by his widow, and soon after, his son, Alfred Wheaton.

In 1851, Alfred also died, and the business passed to his sisters, Mary and Anne. At this time they had premises at 185 Fore Street and 19 High Street. In 1880, 186 Fore Street was purchased and joined to their premises next door.

The Great Exeter Fire

Disaster struck when the Fore Street shop along with several surrounding premises was destroyed by what is known as 'The Great Exeter Fire' in 1882. In fact there were two fires, one on 18th January and one on 27th July. An Exeter newspaper report said that ' very little is left but the shell'. When the re-building work was complete, most of Paternoster House, as it was named, after the publishing district in London, became the home of the furniture store Wm. Brock and Co, and the corner shop was occupied by Wheatons.

The building was the first in Exeter to have a lift and is now informally known as Cornish's, a later tenant that closed in the late 1980's. The corner shop houses Snappy Snaps and most of the rest of the building B-Wise.

Wheatons expanded and 223 High Street was leased from 1886 until 1927, when Boots the Chemist took the premises over.

For the full article click here.




Size: 485 x 560 mm. Scale (2 = 38 mm) Miles.

Wheaton's New Map Of Exeter And Neighbourhood Including Exmouth, Dawlish, Sidmouth, Honiton, Tiverton, Crediton, &c., From The New Ordnance Survey. Imprint: LONDON., G W BACON & Co., LTD, 127 STRAND. (CeOS).

The area covered is from Witheridge (Aa) and Saddle Tor (Ad) to Hemyock (Ea) and Weston Cliff (Ee). Railways are complete to Hemyock, Sidmouth (but not Budleigh) and to Ashton/Christow. Map is brightly coloured. The map is printed on paper and folds into red covers with gilt title: Wheaton’s Map of the Environs of Exeter for Tourists and Cyclists with address: A Wheaton & Co., Paternoster House, Exeter.

1. 1890 Wheaton's New Map of Exeter and Neighbourhood including Exmouth.
London. G W Bacon & Co. (1890). DevA[1].

2. 1896 Added imprint: A Wheaton & Co., “The Corner Shops” Exeter. (AeOS). Printer’s mark: 8.9.96 (Ee in border, possibly date of production). Map detail unchanged.


Map is printed on silk-like cotton and folds into a narrow slip case with gilt title: Wheaton’s Map of the Environs of Exeter. Illustrated.

Wheaton's New Map of Exeter and Neighbourhood including Exmouth.
Exeter. A. Wheaton & Co. (1896). DevA, KB.


 RETURN to Catalogue of Maps 

NOTES:

[1] Dating of state 1 is that given by DevA. State 2 is dated on basis of the printer´s printing mark.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Besley 6   Size: 280 x 382 mm.                                                   Scale of English Miles (7 = 88 mm).   SOUTH EAST DEVON . Imprint: Printed & Published by Henry Besley, Directory Office, South  Street, Exeter (CeOS): and signature Engraved by W E Trott   (AeOS) 2 Tysoe St London EC (EeOS). Graticuled border from Dawlish to Lyme and inland to Cullompton. No railway to Hemyock (1876). Thick dashed line Feniton to Sidmouth and thinner dashed line from (approx.) Harpford to Budleigh and Exmouth. 1. 1871 The Route Book Of Devon Exeter. H Besley. (1871). KB. 2. 1876 Both parts of the signature have been erased. Hand Book Of South East Devon Exeter. H Besley and Son. (1876). BL [1] . South East Devon folding into dark blue covers Exeter. H Besley. (1876).
Read more
Image
  John Bartholomew –  Imperial Map 2 W H Smith was   founded c.1820 by Henry Edward   and his brother William Henry (who actually ran   the company). But it was not until Henry’s son, also William Henry (1825-1891), became a partner in 1846 that the firm became the well-known booksellers and stationers. In 1848 he started a newsagent shop at Euston with a concession from the L&NW Railway. This was soon to be converted into a virtual railway book-stall monopoly. The firm soon became the largest newsagent in the country and expanded further into circulating libraries.   William Henry later entered Parliament and became the First Lord of the Admiralty in 1877 (Gilbert & Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore was supposedly based on him). [1] W H Smith used to have an estate in Rewe in east Devon where he had a stable built opposite St Mary the Virgin church for the use of the parishioners so that they could tie up their horses. [2] At the same time as the maps below were on sale a similar
Read more
Image
 John Bartholomew 8 -  for Charles Pearson   Charles Arthur   Pearson produced a number of Gossipy Guides   at the beginning of the 20th century. Styled along the lines of the Ward and Lock series of guides they were full of photographic material in a handy pocket size. The two guides relating to Devon were the Guide to Ilfracombe and District (cover title; number 4 in the series)   and Guide to South Devon (number 8 in the series).   Both British Library volumes have accession dates of 1901. It is interesting that Pearson took maps from different sources to include in his two Devon guides. The map of South Devon included in the South Devon Guide was a transfer of Bartholomew’s map: however, the map of North Devon is taken from the plates prepared by Ravenstein for George Philip & Son   in 1899. The scale reveals that this is a Philip’s map (see Pearson 1 ) .   Bartholomew Imperial Map 8 (Pearson)   Size: 257 x 385 mm.                                    English Miles (8
Read more