By Nichola Court, Archivist
On 10th June, Explore Your Archives will be celebrating business records. West Sussex Record Office holds the records of many of our county’s businesses, from farms to estate agents, to engineering and building firms.
Sometimes overlooked by researchers, as well as detailing the output of a particular firm, business records can often provide evidence of wider social and cultural changes and developments within society and also help us to explore local history, as well as telling a company’s own story. WSRO is fortunate to hold the records of Shippam’s, the Chichester-based food manufacturer, fondly remembered by many for its popular range of potted meat and fish spreads.
The bulk of the Shippam’s collection was acquired in 1995, with a further significant deposit received in 2013, although we receive small deposits of records relating to the business on a regular basis, usually from former members of staff or their relatives. To date, the collection includes over 1,400 catalogued items – although this number will continue to increase as new deposits are received and catalogued.
A number of records were catalogued and added to the Shippam’s collection during our Closed Fortnight in 2022, and these clearly demonstrate the breadth of information that can be found in business archives. Alongside a large series of annual accounts and reports, which give a clear picture of the company’s growth and financial situation, records relating to two of the firm’s social clubs were also catalogued: the Horticultural Society and Cricket Club, both of which were established in the 1930s. The records for these societies include headed receipts and papers for a number of other local firms – such as H Wakefore (Florist and Fruiterer, South Street, Chichester), AJ Faith (Practical Watch and Clock Maker), Sidney C Lacey, Ltd (based on East Street, Chichester, they were not only commercial and retail stationers, but also dealers in fancy leather goods!) and the Chichester Steam Laundry, amongst many others – thus helping us to understand the commercial landscape of the city and wider area. In addition, we find the names and cards of local bands and entertainers, giving us a glimpse of the area’s social life.
The records of the cricket club in particular provide evidence of the strong link between work and play that businesses provided over the decades, a highlight being the annual fixture between Shippam’s and Rockware, the company’s Middlesex-based glass provider, as well as matches between Shippam’s and other local firms, such as Wingards and the Southern Electricity Board. Sadly, the records also show that link gradually deteriorating as the nature of work and society changed in the latter half of the 20th century, with people more mobile and less likely to remain in jobs and firms for decades, and workforces reduced due to improved technologies; for example, the annual fixture between Rockware and Shippam’s had to be discontinued after 42 years of ‘friendly rivalry’, with the last match played in 1971.
These were just two of the many social clubs formed at Shippam’s, several of which are represented in the collection. The records of Shippam’s various social clubs help us to tell not just the story of the firm, but also the people who worked there and contributed to its success and develpoment. They also shed light on the wider social, cultural and commercial landscape of the county.
The entire Shippam’s catalogue can be viewed via our online catalogue (click on this link and enter ‘shippams’ in the CatalogueNo field) and records from the collection can be viewed in our searchroom. An illustrated talk and film show about the history of the company, The Story of Shippam’s, can be booked by local groups; please contact us for further information and to book. And if you’d like to find out more about what we got up to in Closed Fortnight 2022, take a look at our video on YouTube; you can find it by clicking on this link .
Stay up to date with WSRO – follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
West Sussex Record Office 
Remember it well -my father described it as a “necessity” on any decent tea table but also more pot than paste
LikeLike