Wem High Street - No 56

Year Owner/Occupier Property Useage 1880 Roger Gough Post Office 1880 Mary Gough Post Office 1880 William Stinchcombe- Post Master Post Office 1890 William Bradley Grocer 1911 Dawes Butchers 1930 Dawes & Heath Pork Butchers 1937 Dawes & Heath Pork Butchers 1953 Dawes & Heath Pork Butchers 1961 Len Cowling Garden Shop Kevin and Dorothy Dowling Garden Shop, Pet Food John Lewis Hand made furniture 1993 Memorabilia Antiques 1995 Wem Picture framing - 2006 Gallery & Gifts - 2012-15 Nicola Hughes The Seamstress- Needlecraft This is an early 19th century red brick building with a slate roof and gable ends, built on 3 storeys. Over time, it has had many uses as befits a small adaptable premises. In the latter part of the 19thC and until 1908, it was the Post Office. William Stinchcombe became the Post Master. He was the youngest son of Joel and Sarah Stinchcombe, who came originally from south Gloucestershire, and youngest brother of Eva Tomlins, who ran the bakery at No 17, High St. In 1905 he married Alice Brown, daughter of the innkeeper of the Horse and Jockey Inn In 1881, the postal service was described as 'Letters arrive from all parts at fify minutes past seven morning and are despatched at thirty minutes past five evening' For many years it was the main pork butcher, Dawes and Heath, and Frank Turner of Turner Brothers Pork Pie shop trained there Len Cowling provided a seeds and fertiliser shop for several years in the latter part of the 20th century.