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A brief synopsis and history of business interests within Corby. The major business concern 400 - 5OOyrs ago is the same as now: land and the management of that land. But if your concern is about the small business man, the earliest record I can find of a business exporting his wares outside of the town was over 400 years ago when a woodsman from Corby had a space provided for him to sell his wares at Rothwell's ancient market. He sold hoe handles (apparently something Corby became quite famous for).
From the middle of the 1700's we had small units based in the family home where weavers produced serge made from local wool, which was sold on to buyers from Kettering. The home weaving industry began to fall into decline in the latter half of the 17th century. Life was hard for those families who had become victims of the recession. There is a written record from the local vicar, where he recalls weavers dying of starvation. With the coming of the railway to Corby, this meant there were manual jobs available over and above working on the land or in service.
There are businesses that were around in the 1600's which survived right into the middle of the 20th century. As a matter of fact, some are still with us now - have you guessed correctly - 'the pubs'. The Nags Head (now Kingfisher House) The White Hart Hotel, The Cardigan Arms, The Village Inn Formally (The White Horse). In the early 1960's the Black Horse was pulled down and one of the longest running businesses in the town ended in the early 1950's. In the 16th & 17th & 18th century, Streather the Builders were recorded as Stone Masons. Right up until the 1920's the village supported Blacksmiths and Wheel-rites over the same period.
1754 saw the start of another family business, which is still going strong today; the Sarrington family bought some land from the Chapman family. Sarrington went on to acquire more land and property, eventually becoming a major stakeholder within the Corby area. As the family businesses developed they became an invaluable asset to the village, eventually opening a bakery and store. In the 1920's they pulled down their old store and adjoining buildings to build the Sarringtons, which now stands on the corner of the Jamb & High Street.
The bakery is still there and is still producing bread. Something to take note of: Mr Sarrington wrote to Woolworth's and Marks & Spencer's before he developed it himself, offering them this prime site, which at that time was the shopping centre for the town (they both declined).
bravenet.com
