Hilda …

Hilda is Bea’s 5^th daughter and lives with her paternal granny in a tenement building on the north bank of the Kennet opposite Blakes Quay.  Although it is far from comfortable, it is convenient to her workplace in Hosier Street in the town centre. Hilda now 16 is one of a twin, her brother was still born, and she dearly misses her sibling. Becoming increasing withdrawn and uncomfortable in the busy home and constant reminders, she moved in with her granny and her uncle who were both too old and unfit for farmwork and no longer entitled to a tied cottage, when council or social housing was not yet available, had to find rooms elsewhere. 

In cramped conditions without sanitation and shared cooking facilities it seems no more comfortable than her home, but she was able to look after her granny who was still well enough to undertake small mending tasks for her neighbours and earn a few pence. Her uncle, who was badly injured in a farming accident, after having a leg amputated, he could no longer plough the fields. He was able to earn enough for his tobacco and a beer or two by helping at the wharf.

The three of them were reliant on the money that Hilda earned at a stocking shop in Hosier Street.  Here she is a trainee, and her main task is to repair stockings. Her customers are quite different from those she grew up with and those she shared her home with now.  In the country not everyone had a pair of shoes and those who did, the shoes were ‘hand me downs’ Hilda has worked every day since she was 6 years old like her sisters and brothers to save for a pair of shoes, that she expected them last a very long time during that time taking them to a cobbler for repair when necessary and after passing them to someone else less fortunate.  In the town, shoes and hosiery were seen as requirement for safety and protection not fashion.  Her customers on the other hand were landed gentry and the new rich, who followed the latest trends and wished to be seen and considered entitled, were constant visitors to the parade of shops that stocked the latest fashion from the city.

Fortunately, Hilda with skills learned from her granny was able find employment that would give her opportunities that she would not find in the country nonetheless town life was harsh and unstable and not as she envisaged. Yet, in the shop she got a glimpse of a different life.

In the quiet of the mending room Hilda would have conversations with her lost brother, some with tears and some laughter that go a long way to soothe her troubled soul.