The Village Voice April/May 20

BRINGING HISTORY HOME
64 THE BISCUIT HOUSE
The deeds of what is today number 64 Milford
High Street, and until 2014 was Gwen’s
Boutique, go back to 1677.
On 23 rd July of that year a plot of land, paddock
& pasture, was leased for the remainder of a
term of a 1,000 year lease to John Scott and
Henry Hiscock at a peppercorn rent.
The land had numerous owners throughout the
1700s and 1800s until Saturday 8 th November
1884 when, at an auction at the Angel Hotel in
Lymington, it was sold as business premises on a
long leasehold.
The plot was developed into a dwelling and
butchers shop comprising: Sitting Room, four
Bedrooms, Kitchen, Scullery, Outbuildings, fourwalled
stable, coach house for four vehicles,
shed, walled-in productive garden and a
Slaughter House!
It remained a butchers, passing through several
different owners until, on 31 st July 1899, W G
Stratton sold it to George Miles. George
continued it as a butchers shop and slaughter
house, remaining in the family for 46 years until
1945. At that time, Annie Miles and Elizabeth Mc
Cullen (née Miles), sold it to a Farmer, Phillip
Thorne, who sold it in turn in July 1947 to
Frederick Cooke.
and the family moved in to live above the shop.
Shortly after being demobbed from the navy, in
1947, Fred bought Hillier’s as well as George
Miles, and continued to call the two businesses
by their original names A. F. Hillier’s – Butchers
and George Miles – Butchers.
At that time, Miles the Butchers, occupied half
of Number 64, with the other half being the cart
shed and entrance to the slaughter house. He
soon converted the cart shed and slaughter
house entrance into a Wet Fish Shop, and both
shops, the butchers and the fish shop, traded
until the early 1960s.
When he retired in 1977, Fred sold Hillier’s and
converted the slaughter house itself and the
stables at the rear of number 64, Miles, into a
‘Granny flat’ where Fred and Lilly stayed until
they died, Lilly in 1978 and Fred ten years later.
Fred and Lily Cooke had two daughters, Gwen
Peden and Anne Perrett who still live in the
village today. Gwen remembers the butchers
with the abattoir in the back and the rope
hanging from the ceiling with a hook on the end
for hanging the carcasses.
Gwen grew up in the flat above Hillier’s and her
sister, Anne, now Anne Perrett, was actually
born there.
When Gwen met her future husband, Edward,
in Southampton, in 1956, he was planning to
emigrate. They got engaged Edward going
ahead to Canada in August that year, followed
by Gwen in March 1957. They married in
Canada on 14 th September 1957.
Gwen and Eddie returned home in December
1961 moving back in to Gwen’s childhood home
above the butchers shop. In May 1964, they
took over the business from her father and
converted it to Gwen's Boutique, supplying
ladies fashions. They carried on trading for 47
The Cookes were a Keyhaven family Fred being years until December 2012 when they both
born at West Cottages Keyhaven in November retired.
1906. He started work aged 14 as a delivery boy
at Hillier’s the butchers, which was at 92, The Following her retirement Gwen sold number 64
High Street, next door to The Crown Inn (now to Clare Southcombe who opened the new
The Smugglers). When Mr. Hillier became ill in business, No64 Biscuit House, in February 2016.
1935, Fred was made manager of the business
6 To For advertise further information call 01590 visit the 643969/07801 MOSHRS website which 562358 is a core part e-mail of its info@lymingtondirectory.co.uk
Bringing History Home project supported by
the Heritage Lottery Fund and Milford-on-Sea Parish Council. website www.milfordhistory.org.uk