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Trade Directory Entries Not 1823, 1829 Linen & Woollen Drapers and Haberdashers. Fisk William, George Street [1839] Fisk Wm, linen & woollen draper, agent Dissenters fire & life, High Street [1846] Fisk William, linen & woollen draper, hatter, undertaker, agent for Blackmore's bolting cloths, & agent to the General fire & life office, High Street. [1851] Fisk William, draper, High Street [1855] Fisk William & Son, wholesale & retail linen & woollen drapers, hosiers & milliners, High Street. [1866] Fisk William & Son, wholesale & retail linen & woollen drapers, hosiers & milliners, 11, 12, 13 & 14 High Street. [1880] Fisk William & Son, wholesale, retail, linen & woollen drapers, silk mercers, hosiers, glovers, haberdashers & merchant tailors, 11, 12, 13, 14 High Street & Holywell Hill. [1890 & 1895]				Almanack 1883
				Almanack 1889
				Almanack 1894
				Almanack 1898
				Advertising Card
				Kelly's Street Directory 1909

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Mike Roberts has provided some excellent material on the Fisk family of drapers (including a portrait of James Fisk) who came to St Albans in 1834 and were still trading well into the 20th century. The business clearly expanded into adjacent shops but the question remained as to whether the business ever moved. One way of doing this is to compare near neighbours in the censuses to see if there is any continuity of neighbours. I have attempted this for the 1851 to 1891 censuses and a quick analysis shows that during this period the Fisk business was next door the the public house "The Little Red Lion" but  may have moved from one side to larger premises on the other side between 1871 and 1881 (or they may have simply expanded to either side of the public house.

The following table should be taken as my rough notes and should be taken as a starting point rather than being definitive.

NOTES

1. Numbering of properties did not come into effect until about 1880 and originally adjacent numbers were on the same side of the street, but later the odd/even side numbering was adopted. Difficult images for the 1881 census, and possible uncertainties about the numbering of individual properties do not help. I have not checked against the series of annual street directories in the St Albans Central Library.

2. The census records families living in properties, and not the businesses - except where the shopkeeper or tradesman worked from home. For most old towns, such as St Albans one street front business might cover several households either living on the street front or in buildings in the yards behind. Over the 19th century some of the shopkeepers and traders would have moved to the new out-of-town centre villas leaving the business properties with no residents - and so not mentioned in the census - or only mentioned as an empty property if there was unoccupied residential accommodation remaining.

3. Despite what is said in note 2, the south side of George Street/High Street and the west side of Holywell Hill are special cases (which is why all the big coaching inns were to the north or east). In medieval times these roads skirted the grounds of the Abbey and the early properties were built on small plots against the Abbey boundary - so there was no room for rear yards and outbuildings. The census returns show little evidence of multiple households associated with one "shop front".

4. Trade directories show that the Little Red Lion public house had the following landlords in the 19th century:  Burrows (1823 & 1828); Bennett (1839); Franklin (1846); Evans (1862 & 1870); Sutton (1882) and Spiers (1898). See The Inns & Public Houses of St Albans in the 19th Century

Little Red Lion	Burrows, W		High Street	23
Little Red Lion	Burrows, Wm		High Street	28
Little Red Lion	Bennett, Charles Wm.		High Street	39
Little Red Lion	Franklin, Thomas		High Street	46
Little Red Lion	Evans, Charles		High Street	62
Little Red Lion	Evans, Charles	10	High Street	70
Little Red Lion	Sutton, John		High Street	82
Little Red Lion	Spiers, Benjamin	19	High Street	98

St Albans Museum has a number of photographs of James Fisk, his son William Fisk, and the shop.

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