Village shop up for sale after being in the same family for more than a century
A village store that has been in the same family for more than a century is now up for sale.
The Kinnerley Stores and Post Office has been owned by the Evans family since 1908.
However, the current owner, Andrew Evans, the grandson of the first Evans to run the stores, has struggled with his health recently and despite help from villagers he has decided to retire.
The shop and post office has been owned by the Evans family since 1908 when Stanley Evans became the owner with his wife Lucy.
Andrew Evans said that when Wallace Evans died in 1931, aged only 53, his wife Lucy carried on running the shop assisted by her daughters, Winifred and Rosamund.
Then, after Lucy died, Winifred and Rosamund ran the shop along with another sister, Elsie.
Meanwhile, a younger brother, John, had married Audrey and they had a dairy farm at Wilcott, Nesscliffe.
"The shop sold a wide range of produce including bacon, ham and cheese, all hand cut. There was hardware, from wellington boots to brooms, and there was even a petrol pump outside the shop."
When Winifred and Rosamund died, John with his wife Audrey decided to sell the farm and use the proceeds to modernise the shop premises. They took over the shop ownership in 1972 and they were assisted by their son, Andrew.
When Audrey died in 1974, John and Andrew ran the shop together and after John died in 1989, Andrew has run the shop with local shop assistants.
His ill health over the last five years has meant that he has had to rely more and more on help from the villagers of Kinnerley and he has reluctantly made the decision to retire.
"There have been a lot of changes over the years such as the lottery and the increased use of card transactions instead of cash and also the decrease of cheques," he said.
He remembers a lot of characters in the village who have sadly passed away.
"But there are always new faces coming into the shop as a lot of new houses have been built in Kinnerley. I am pleased that the shop still retains the post office when so many other post offices have been closed."
"I hope history repeats itself with a family who will take on the running of the shop and post office for many years to come."
