Colchester

Colchester 1On the junction of Barrack Street and Brook Street.
Colchester 2Luckily we came across this building during raking sunlight.
'A.C. REYNOLDS.
GROCERIES... PROVISIONS'
There's that full stop again after 'Reynolds'. At another time of day, these recessed letters in what is quite old rendering on the front of a former cornershop* would have been more-or-less invisible. The font is a rather smart serif caps. (*Although the brickwork supports to the left of the building suggest that the old shops continued to the shoulder of the crossroads.)  The word 'groceries' looks as if it has been patched over with filler at some time, but is still just readable. Fortunately, the owners over the years have contented themselves with a lick of white masonry paint as the building has changed roles.

Colchester 3
'THIS BUILDING
WAS ERECTED IN THE
YEAR 1791.
FOR THE HABITATION OF
POOR WIDOWS. WHOSE HUSBAND
HAVE DIED IN THE  CHARITY OF
ARTHUR WINSLEY

The Lord relieveth the fatherless & the Widow,
but overturns the Way of the Wicked Ps. CXLVI. 9.
Honour Widows, that are Widows indeed. Now.
She that is a Widow indeed. and defolate.
trusteth in God; and continueth in
Supplication.I.Tim.5Ch.V.3&5'

Not far from the A.C. Reynolds lettering (and just across from the Twist club) on Winnock Road are a group of ancient buildings (with modern additions) which carry oval plaques. The oldest is shown here and it is interesting to compare this with the Tooley Almshouses in Ipswich - although the latter are a rebuild, these seem to be absolutely original. Containing a dots-before-the-eyes plethora of full stops in the oddest of places. And what of the word 'defolate'? An ancient expression of 'leaflessness' after the autumn of life, perhaps.

The former Co-op, Long Wyre Street
Ipswich Historic Lettering: Colchester Co-op1
As so often in our 21st Century high streets, buildings are passed by without a glance, they change and mutate and few notice. This building in... was once the Colchester Co-operative store (see the Ipswich Co-op page for a similar tale of woe). Here the shop is at least still used for retail, in this case by 'The Sale Shop'. The frontage still bears the lettering:
'CO-OPERATIVE ... SOCIETY LTD'
and an attractive harvest motif.
Ipswich Historic Lettering: Colchester Co-op2
The motto on the furled banner across the wheatsheaf is:
'LABOR AND WAIT'
which is interesting on at least two counts. The addage contrasts with the Ipswich Co-op's "Each for all, and all for each" (which seems to make a little more sense). Also the spelling of the word 'Labor' appears to be an Americanism on this most English of institutions.

We learn that the Co-operative movement chose the motto 'Labor and wait', deliberately using the American spelling of labour to express support for those fighting slavery in the United States. The wheatsheaf was used as it was a symbol of cooperation as ‘one stalk cannot stand alone’. This motto can be found in Co-operative societies as far away as Toxteth in Liverpool.
[N.B. A modern retro emporium in Shoreditch is called 'Labour and Wait', from them we discover that the (Anglicised) name comes from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem: 'A Psalm of Life'. Its conclusion is a mantra to taking action:
"Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and wait."]

The local press tells us more about the premises:
"A family-owned shop chain has taken over an empty department store. Townrow, which sells everything from women’s fashion to cooking equipment, has moved into the former Co-op site in Long Wyre Street, Colchester. The store, empty since June last year, has been rebranded the Sale Shop and will offer many discounted goods. Several former Co-op staff have been taken on and a further 20 jobs could become available as the individual departments open over the coming weeks." (Daily Gazette, Wednesday 13th July 2011)

And more Colchester Co-op...
Just down Long Wyre Street from the old Co-op wheatsheaf (opposite Greggs the bakers) we find:
'UNITY IS STRENGTH
FOUNDED 1861  ...    REBUILT 1998'
Ipswich Historic Lettering: Colchester Unity1  Ipswich Historic Lettering: Colchester Unity 3   
The main motto in sans serif capitals curls in a scroll which sits within a rectangualr frame. Similar frames are found on the angled faces of the 2nd Floor bay window showing the dates. The derivation of the motto is random. 'Unity Makes Strength' appears on Belgian flags and crests, as well as those from Haiti. 'Unity Is Strength' is the motto of the Prison Officers' Association in the UK and can be found on the coat of arms of Malaysia. It took a bit of digging but we eventually found a fine website called the Colchester Historic Buildings Forum (see Links) and this building appears described as follows:
"Retained facade and front part of commercial premises, originally for the Co-Operative Society. Red brick with painted stucco dressings. Three storeys. Five bays, of which the outer bays are emphasised by quoins and have within them four-bay windows rising to triangular pediments. The centre bay contains a two-storey canted oriel, flanked by Ionic columns at second-floor level, and has a segmental pediment. Inscription 'Founded 1861' referring to the Colchester Co-Operative Society. Dentilled cornice. First-floor windows of Venetian type. [JB] Opened in 1905. ERO D/B 6 Pb3/1984, 1904, plan of shop, LONG WYRE Street, Colchester Co-operative Society (owner), Goodey and Cressall (architects), G. Dobson (builder) (not checked)." They do not refer to the 'Rebuilt 1998' lettering.
They also show a postcard of the street in 1905 with kind permission of J Jephcott.
Ipswich Historic Lettering: Colchester Unity 2 

There are pages for Manningtree, not far up the railway line from Colchester also Harwich (also boasting a similar Co-op motto).


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