Miss Langford’s shop was located towards the bottom of North Hill. She sold groceries and sweets and also served as the local newsagent . Each morning the cart that took Lord Rayleigh’s milk to Hatfield Peverel station, returned with daily papers.
In 1851, Miss Langford’s shop was a beer house, called the Queen’s Head, and the landlord was a Samuel Howard. About 1900 the cottage became Mr Dowsett’s shop. Mr Dowsett left the village to live in Little Totham just before WWI. His only living relative, Miss Edith Langford, then took over the shop and was there until well into the 1940’s.
It is said that Miss Langford finally decided to give up the shop when faced with the additional administrative worry of dealing with ration books!