Graham Barker continues his occupational history series with John Collins, a Victorian fishmonger and game dealer

Wander through Leicester Market Place today and you’ll see that it’s in transition; the 1970s indoor market has been demolished, plans are in hand to create a piazza behind the Corn Exchange, and a new food hall – angled and curved in glass and steel – is set out with tempting displays of fresh fish, cheeses and cooked meats.

Such change is nothing new; it’s simply the latest instalment in the history of a market that has evolved since the 13^th century. John Collins – a Victorian fishmonger, game dealer and publican – also witnessed many changes hereabouts. In this article, Graham Barker delves into the archives to find out more. Click to download: John Collins, Victorian fishmonger and game dealer

Take a look too at the other articles in our Trading Stories, Working Lives series:

Mary Ann Norman, Victorian laundress of Paradise Place

John and George Firn, monumental masons

Polkey boatmen of Loughborough

The Harrisons: gardeners, nurserymen and seeds merchants

George Robinson, Victorian letter carrier

It’s 11 o’clock on a Monday morning in April 1861. Just off Leicester’s Oxford Street – opposite the Swan & Rushes – a narrow alleyway leads into Paradise Place. Seven cottages nestle around a courtyard, alongside the Mission School. Listen to the click and rattle of framework knitters in several of the cottages. At No 5, Mary Ann Norman has already spent three hours beating bed-sheets with a dolly in the washtub. Now she’s ironing linen, helped by her mother, Fanny Wells. The air is damp, with petticoats drying on a line strung across the room.

For about 30 years, Mary Ann worked as a laundress. It’s fortunate that her work merits a mention in each census return;  women’s employment was often under-recorded. Yet the particulars of Mary Ann’s work are scant.

In the latest of our Trading Stories, Working Lives articles, we take a closer look at life as a Victorian laundress. Click to download: Mary Ann Norman, Victorian laundress of Paradise Place

Take a look too at the other articles in our Trading Stories, Working Lives series:

John Collins, Victorian fishmonger and game dealer

John and George Firn, monumental masons

Polkey boatmen of Loughborough

The Harrisons: gardeners, nurserymen and seeds merchants

George Robinson, Victorian letter carrier