Eve & Ranshaw
Shop
Removal van
The closure of Eve and Ranshaw has caused much consternation in Louth. Not only is it the end of an era, but as the sign at the main entrance declares: ‘under nine reigns’ – almost a quarter of a millennium. Sadly, Charles III won’t see his name added to the list of his ancestors back to George III. The building on a prominent site at the corner of Market Place and Cornmarket, is on a site that has sold similar goods for more than 350 years.
Adam Eve, the son of James Eve, a foundling, had no wish to follow his father into farming, and took over an established business as a ‘mercer and grocer’ in 1781, at the age of 26. When a previous owner, Judith Hardy, died in 1672 her shop had a comprehensive inventory ranging from hooks and eyes to prunes, mercury and tobacco! The business didn’t become Eve and Ranshaw till the late 1870s, having changed hands through various partnerships, although the Eve family always retained an interest. A young Thomas Ranshaw began an apprenticeship in 1817, beginning his family’s close association with the Eve family.
Shop staff lived-in until as late as 1911, despite gunpowder sometimes being kept on the premises. The census of 1881 shows 28-year-old George Ranshaw living over the shop, with a housekeeper, cook and housemaid, plus 7 male draper’s assistants aged from 19 to 31. Slippers not shoes to be worn upstairs, and a curfew were among the strict rules.
Rumours of the store’s closure began to circulate in town before Christmas 2022. The official notice at the beginning of January 2023 from Marcus Sandwith, son of David who bought the business with his father in 1977, gave a final closure date of 4 March 2023. However, the final demise was swift, and it soon became obvious that the stock wouldn’t last until then. No doubt shoppers made one last nostalgic visit to pick up a bargain and perhaps a carrier bag to keep as a souvenir. By the last day of January the notices in the window announced the final trading day as Saturday 4 February.
Eve and Ranshaw will be missed, but fondly remembered. On-line shopping isn’t quite the same.
Information from ‘Adam Eve and Louth Carpets’, David Robinson, 2010 and Eve and Ranshaw website.