Early closing in Bourne

THE PLIGHT OF THE SHOP ASSISTANT

It is only in recent years that our shops started closing early in the evenings. Before the Second World War of 1935-49, many remained open until as late as 8 pm and 9 pm and it has only been the influence of the off-licences and later the supermarkets that prompted small retailers to extend their hours, although many still resist and continue with a nine to five regime with an early closing day mid-week.

In the 19th century, shops opened as many hours as they could while the weekly markets in Bourne often continued until midnight, bringing complaints about the noise from people who lived in the vicinity, and shops were similarly ready for business until late into the night.

The movement for reducing the working hours and conditions of shop assistants was inaugurated in 1842 when a weekly half-holiday was introduced although many shop owners still exploited their employees whenever the opportunity arose. Shops were open longer in summer than winter, those that catered for the middle and working classes were open longer than those catering for the upper classes while those shops in busy streets kept longer hours than those in quieter streets.

It was usual for a shop assistant to start at 7 am to prepare the premises for the day's trading followed by a 7.30 am or 8 am opening and with only five or ten minute breaks for breakfast and tea, with dinner being snatched whenever possible, they remained on duty until 8 pm and 9 pm in winter and an hour later in summer although there was usually more time needed for clearing up after that. Assistants were not usually allowed to sit down, even if trade was slack, and their health often suffered from the confined atmosphere, long hours of standing and working in gas or oil lighting.

By 1855, shop assistants in Bourne had joined the campaign for shorter working hours and a number of them banded together and appealed to the public for their co-operation, especially during the winter months. The Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 9th November that year: "Early closing.- We have received a communication from Bourne, signed by several young men, requesting us, through the columns of the Mercury, to make known their earnest desire and hope that the public will be pleased to make their purchases before seven o'clock during the winter evenings. It also sets forth that the sanction of all the principal firms except one had been obtained, but that in consequence of the want of unanimity, the whole of the shops are kept open until eight o'clock."

Closing time in Bourne was still 8 pm in 1872 but because of continuing complaints from their staff about long hours and low wages, all of the leading tradesmen of the town finally conceded that opening hours would have to be officially reduced and the Stamford Mercury reported on Friday 21st June: "A movement is now afoot to close the shops at 7 o'clock in the evening, Saturdays excepted, throughout the year, several of the leading tradesmen having expressed their readiness to fall in with it. This will be a great boon to a large number of assistants who are confined longer than is consistent with health and vigour. In a matter of this sort, everything rests with the public, who, by making their purchases early, would set at liberty an hour sooner a deserving class of public servants."

Other shopkeepers agreed with the new closing hours that were subsequently introduced on July 15th that year. This was a local decision by traders and did not affect the rest of the country, and shop owners continued to dictate wages and hours. It was another half century before further reforms were introduced to improve the conditions of shop workers when the provisions of the Shops (Early Closing) Act of 1920-21, which were permanently adopted in 1928, restricted the previous policy of "open all hours".

Shops could then only remain open until 9 pm on one day in each week and on those other evenings they had to close at 8 pm, although customers inside the doors before closing time, or anyone requiring some article urgently in case of illness, could be served. There were, of course, exemptions for special events being held in the vicinity and for seasons such as Christmas, while provisions were also made for holiday and seaside resorts.

It is also interesting to note that these regulations were strictly observed and a shop owner breaking them was liable to a maximum fine of £5 for a first offence and £20 for any subsequent contravention and that the President of the Early Closing Association that brought about these reforms was Mr Winston Churchill.

However, long opening hours continued and were only reduced during the Second World War of 1939-45 to save fuel, restrictions that continued until the arrival of the supermarket began to change our habits. All night opening is now a reality in several parts of the country while Internet shopping is a growth business. It cannot be long before all shops that wish to survive will have to make a drastic revision of their antiquated opening hours.

EARLY CLOSING DAY

Successive legislation during the late 19th century brought about the first very limited steps towards the positive regulation of the employment of shop assistants and the introduction of what we know today as Early Closing Day.

The Shop Hours Act of 1904 gave additional optional powers to local authorities, allowing them to make a "closing order" fixing the hour (not earlier than 7 pm or on one day in the week 1 pm) at which shops in their area had to stop serving customers. Councils could decide which types of shops the order would apply to. The consent of two-thirds of the owners of the shops affected was required to make the order but in practice this proved difficult to obtain. However, the Shops Act of 1911 which formed part of the Liberal welfare reforms of 1906-1914 strengthened the case by allowing a weekly half holiday for shop staff and this became known as Early Closing Day.

In Bourne, Early Closing Day was fixed for Wednesdays at 2 pm and was operational from 1904 onwards, an arrangement which remains to this day but with the spread of the supermarkets, this is no longer a universal practice although some of the older established businesses in the town continue to observe the custom.

REVISED OCTOBER 2016