4 Mill Street
This property was researched by John Thurston.
There are few early records of this site with the first known owner being John Mantel, an “Artist in Hair and Bird Preserver” who lived with his family at No 4 from 1861 – 1867. He was succeeded by George Knight, a fruiterer and greengrocer, in 1869.
The building appears to have been subdivided by the 1871 Census with No 4 uninhabited and No 4½ occupied by William Alfred Knight, a bricklayer. Frederick Knight and Thomas Boston, builders, are also listed in Mill Street between 1871 and 1876 and may also have been at this site.
The building is not listed on either the 1881 Census or the 1885 Directory, the next known entry being in 1887 when John Bell and Sons, butchers, are trading. They are succeeded in 1890 by Eastman and Company, also butchers, who will remain trading from No 4 and then 4A until 1906.
From 1894 until 1907 John Hague, a currier, is shown alongside Eastmans as the main business on the site. For a single year, 1903, the premises are also used by the L and N W Railway as a Goods and Parcels Receiving Office.
From 1908 Hockey and Son, Auctioneers and Estate Agents, are shown at No 4 with Edward Parson, a Pork Butcher, at 4A. In 1910 Frenchs Gramophone Salon and William Walden, a florist, are shown as the two businesses.
Walden’s will stay at 4A under successive generations (William 1910 – 1920; E William 1920/21 – 1928; William 1929 – 1939 and E Walden 1939). After 1940 the florists retains its name but now has proprietors, A Clarke (1940) and J Frossell (1947 – 1963)
Regarding No 4, in 1911 Miss A Clark, International Bureau and Governess Agency, is present. From 1914 a succession of watchmakers are trading namely Alfred Dyerson (1914), James Mather Richardson, (1914 – 1921), Edmund Stanley Hope, (1922 – 1940), and Mrs E Hope (1947 – 1961).
No’s 4 and 4A do not appear in directories again, the premises being combined as 2/4 Mill Street from 1967. Kilroy and Partners, Estate Agents are the first occupants who stay unti1968. From that date Bachelor Lowther & Jones (Harold Francis Bachelor, George W Lowther, David M Jones), Solicitors and Cheffins, Grain and Chalk, Estate Agents are on site up until 1975. Hunter and Kingston then replace Cheffins as the onsite estate agents.
In recent times Sandwich Express, Fast Food, have taken over No 4 trading from 2009 until the present day [2026].
Summary of Occupiers
1861 – 1867: John Mantel, Hairdresser and Taxidermist
1869: George Knight, Fruiterer and Greengrocer
1871: 4½ William Alfred Knight, a Bricklayer
1871 – 1876: 4½ Frederick Knight and Thomas Boston Builders (speculative from Directory Information)
1887: John Bell and Sons, Butchers
1890 – 1903: 4/4A Eastman and Company, Butchers
1894 – 1907: John Hague, Currier
1903: L and N W Railway, Goods and Parcels Receiving Office.
1908: Hockey and Son, Auctioneers and Estate Agents
1908: 4A Edward Parson, a Pork Butcher
1910 – 1939: 4/4A Walden, Florist
1910: French’s Gramophone Salon
1911: Miss A Clark, International Bureau and Governess Agency
1914: Alfred Dyerson, Watchmaker
1914 – 1921: James Mather Richardson, Watchmaker
1922 – 1940: Edmund Stanley Hope, Watchmaker
1940: 4A A Clarke, Proprietor of Walden, Florist
1947 – 1961: Mrs E Hope, Watchmaker
1947 – 1963: 4A J Frossell, Proprietor of Walden, Florist
1967 – 1968: 2/4 Kilroy and Partners, Estate Agents
1969 – 1975: 2/4 Cheffins, Grain and Chalk, Estate Agents
1969 – 1976: 2/4 Bachelor Lowther & Jones, Solicitors
1976: 2/4 Hunter and Kingston, Estate Agents
2009 – 2024: Sandwich Express, Fast Food