Page 24 - Jigsaw March 2020

Glance at the past.......................................................................................
Taking a ladder to bed? Eric Franklin remembers Phil Loaring
When we moved to Thrapston in 1982 one of the first Thrapstonians I met was Phil Loaring who exuded enthusiasm for the town and its history. He was born in town in 1927 and his family ran an outfitter’s
and tailoring business in the High Street,
on the site of the butchers today. They
also sold boots and shoes from county manufacturers such as Loakes and Barrets. His grandfather, who was originally from Exeter, decided to move to Thrapston to start his own business in 1886. He chose Thrapston because he considered it to be
a much better town than Oundle to start a business, being on the junction of two main roads with two railway stations, more shops and a market.
Two of his early memories follow.
“Our shop was at 58 and 60 High Street. We moved to the shop when I was three years old. The building was altered when we made the two shops into one, but when we moved in the stairs weren’t finished to get to the second floor and the bedrooms. We had a ladder right from the ground to the second floor where one of the windows was taken out. I remember my eldest brother who was
eleven years older than me carrying me up to bed on his back up this ladder.”
He also recounts an incident from his youth:
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The shop is shown to the right of the picture which was taken during the 1920’s.
.