Jenkinson's

John Jenkinson established his grocery and drapery business in the mid to late-1820s in premises on Northgate; by the 1830s, local trade directories show the business had moved to Market Place and was under the ownership of Thomas Jenkinson: it is possible that Thomas may have been John’s son, but this has not been confirmed.  

Thomas appears to have retired to Sunderland Street in the late 1860s, and the business was taken over by his younger son George; trade must have been good, as the 1881 census shows he had employed William Baddiley and Charles Druton as apprentice grocers. By the turn of the 20th century, his younger son Thomas was working as a grocer & draper’s assistant; on George’s death in 1909, the business passed to Thomas, who continued to trade on Market Place until the 1940s; during the 1930s he combined the roles of grocer and draper with that of insurance agent.