Bohemia Village Voice  Bohemia Village Voice

For bohemians everywhere

Bohemias longest established shop? Mundays

Mundays Newsagents, about 1928. The gentleman shown is Harry Munday, the present owners grandfather.

Mundays Newsagents, about 1928. The gentleman shown is Harry Munday, the present owners grandfather.

Munday’s in Bohemia Road is the longest-established shop in the Bohemia area, and the present owner, Terry Foord, is the longest-serving shopkeeper in Bohemia. The shop was opened by Terry’s grandfather, Harry Munday, in 1911. Harry and his wife made home-made cakes and ice-cream, and used to serve teas at the shop. There were tables out on the forecourt and a couple of tables inside. Terry said, “It was so popular we had to turf people out at 10 pm!”
They also made home-made sweets, for which they were quite famous. During the second world war, when sugar and sweets were on ration, they had to make an official application for extra sugar. When Terry had a clear-out after his mother died, he found the original signed chitty to take to the ration office in Havelock Road. The sweets were made in the former stabling at the back of the premises, which Harry converted for the purpose. Today the original stable flooring is still there.
Harry was one of the first people in Hastings to make crystal sets. “He made them up as far as two-valve radios, and he also made the cases. Mum and Uncle had to wind coils –  a certain number of coils for each station. After radios became mass-produced, he ran an accumulator charging service, and made the battery chargers to charge them. He was a real entrepreneur.”
It was very much a family business. Harry’s sister also worked in the shop, as did his son Archibald and his daughter, Terry’s mother. Harry ran it for fifty years, then Archibald, Terry’s uncle, took over. He, also worked in the shop for fifty years. He was the last of the Mundays, and had no children, so Terry then took over.
Terry remembers helping his uncle when he was a boy of six or seven. “I was too small to see over the counter, so I helped by getting stuff from the drawers underneath!”
He officially started work at the shop forty-eight years ago, when he was sixteen. He had wanted to be a chef, and had enrolled on a college course, but it was cancelled. “Grandad had just retired and Uncle didn’t have any staff, so I worked for him during the summer holidays. The next chef course was also cancelled, so I decided to stay, and I’m still here!”
With such a family tradition behind him, Terry is a fund of knowledge on local history, and helped to organise the first Bohemia Bygones exhibition. He also used to work as a freelance photographer for the Hastings Observer, from the 1970s until the 1990s.

Picture caption in full: Munday’s Newsagent, about 1928. The gentleman shown is Harry Munday, the present owner’s grandfather. Signs on the left hand window read: W.D. & H.O. WILLS High Class Tobaccos & Cigarettes; Three Castles; Westward Ho & Capstan. The Daily Mail placard reads: “Watch Dogs Mustn’t Bark”. Names in the window include St Bruno, Westward Ho and Hill’s Sunripe. Names on the right hand window include Cadbury Frys Chocolate, Rowntree Chocolates and Frys Pure Cocoa. [Photo: Terry Foord]

Present owner Terry Foord.

Present owner Terry Foord.

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