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There used to be a shop in wells that sold stuff for smallholders Im not sure of its name but it was very well known , anyway the shop closed down not sure if they moved or went mail order or gave up.

They used to sell wood burning stoves , crosscut saws, beehives, planet wheel hoes ,books, seeds, kitchen equipment, tools ,and lots more and were very nice people .

anyone remember it ?

Sorry, never even been to Wells, and never heard of that shop - but what a brilliant idea it sounds! I'm sure something like that would actually do quite well nowadays...

David remembers it - it was replaced by The Good Earth.... he thinks it might have been called Somerset Smallholding Supplies.

He went to school in Wells and was brought up in that area. I'll ask his mum if she can remember more about it.

well just doing a search on the internet turned up a guy on sythes mentioning the shop by that name so there are two of us who remember it .
we used to do trips to wells just to go to that shop it really was great

http://www.bedales67.co.uk/a_buchanan.html

Apparently the business still exists as mail order only based near Shepton Mallet!

thanks very much I remember the guy pity they dont seem to be online the remains of the shop that is

Maybe SSish should open a new shop along these lines...

Andy, Dave - would that be your next project?

That would be great- I'd volunteer to do one day aweek (for a generous staff discount!). I use Mole Valley farmers for a lot of my 'heavy duty' stuff and the feed prices are reasonable too (compared to some around here)

kind thoughts
Deb

Oh how I remember this shop which from memory was the old cinema. My wife and I were then living in West London and doing our best with 2 allotments etc. That must have been nearly 30 years ago. We would travel down to Wells just to go to this shop and treat ourselves to sausage skins or salt peter or something small. We really hankered after an Atlas mill and although we were making our own bread etc fancied milling our own wheat. Never did get one but used to look and dream. I guess we were considered cranks making our own bread sausages and weren't allotments for the old and retired, our friends never did understand; probably still don't

Thus ends my first ever posting to this site

And a very good one too, George. Hello and welcome.

It used to be called "Self-suffiency and Smallholding Supplies". It used to be one of my regular port of calls on the way down to Glastonbury in the early 80's. Thier old catalouge is one of my prized processions.

Think they're now called "Smallholding Supplies and deal mail order only.

Have searched and can't seem to find their current details. Sound like a little gem of a service. Anyone have their mail order details?

Self Sufficiency and Smallholding Supplies was founded in 1975 by myself and my partner R.Collins in The Palace Theatre (now demolished), Priory Road, Wells, Somerset. UK. The business was retail and mail order and we stocked over 2000 lines for part time or hobbyist farmers or smallholders. Everything from milking stools, cream separators and cheese moulds to goat tethers, wine making equipment and wood stoves (and of course, books). We had a world wide clientele and sent equipment to such exotic places as Tristan Da Cunha, St Helena and the Falkland Islands. We also had many people who would trek from all over the UK and beyond to visit our shop in person.

I left the company in 1985 as my partner wished to take it in a purely mail-order direction. He continued to run it as such for a few more years then sold it to someone based near the Bath & West show ground (near Shepton Mallet). I believe it finally ceased trading 10-15 years ago.

I was amused to notice that someone is offering one of our old catalogues on eBay for £6.95.

A. Buchanan

how interesting - welcome to Selfsufficientish A Buchanan!

A Buchanan - I think I bought a kitchen steamer and a garden machete from you in the 80's. Both still going strong !

:-)

via was mail order though