1. FIRST SHOPS

2.  In the past, people did not have
shops like the ones we have today.
Instead they sold their vegetables
or goods from open-air stands, like
a market stall. Shoppers would go
from stall to stall buying different
products.

3. Goods: noun
articles of commerce; merchandise
Stall: noun
(in a market) a small often temporary
stand or booth for the display and
sale of goods

4. Here are some examples old markets.

7.  There were also sellers who went
from door to door. They carried
their goods with them and tried to
persuade people in the house to
buy them. The people who earned
money by selling on the streets
were called “hawkers”.

10. “The creaking sounds of wagon wheels
A sound I waited for
Those sounds announced a hawker
Was arriving at our door
They would come in covered wagons
Of many different styles
They'd be on the road for months on end
Traversing 'outback' miles”

11. They called out or sang rhymes to let
people know what they were selling:
“Pease pudding and a suck of bacon!”
“Milk below Maids!”
“Ripe strawberries!“
“Hot Cross Buns! Hot Cross Buns! Two a penny!”

12. Pease pudding: peas boiled with
onions and carrots, then mashed
together and made into a sort of cake.
The pease-pudding seller carried a
piece of bacon on a string. He let each
cutomer suck the bacon for a few
moments before he pulled it back out
of his or her mouth!

13. Milk Below Maids. -
Milk sold at this time was
more than likely fresh, if
of doubtful purity, for
the cowmen kept their
cows in hovels in the
metropolis itself. It is
thought that about 8,000
cows were housed in this
way. The milkmaids
milked the animals early
in the morning, and also
later in the day. The
cry Milk Below Maids was
directed to the servants
living in the basements
of houses.

14.  In the 18th century, some sellers
bought or rented buildings to
open as shops. London was one of
the most important cities in
Europe at that time and visitors
were often amazed by the
wonderful shops they saw there.

21.  In 1786, a visitor called Sophie van
la Roche described Oxford Street in
London:
“ .. A street taking half an hour to cover from
end to end… First one passes a watchmaker’s,
then a silk or fan store, now a silversmith’s, a
china or glass shop… here crystal flasks of
every shape are exhibited… Just as alluring
are the confectioners and fruiterers, where,
behind the handsome glass windows,
pyramids of pinnaples, figs, grapes, oranges
and all manner of fruits are on show”