By Janet Archer
When William Alfred Pask and his younger brother Charles, age nine and eight respectively, first came to Reepham they lived on Back Street, with their maternal grandparents, James and Charlotte Loads.
James was a blacksmith and by 1871 they had moved into Staples Yard, now known as Bircham’s Yard, off Norwich Road.
The name “Staples” came from the chemist and druggist Thomas Staples, who ran a business in Victoria House, which stands at the entrance to Bircham’s Yard.
In the 1871 Census, Charles Pask was listed as an apprentice blacksmith and William Pask was already a journeyman tailor, meaning that he had served and completed an apprenticeship and was ready to set up his own business.
In 1881, he had four apprentices and was living and working in a house called Churchgate, now named St Michael’s House, in Market Place, Reepham. He had been married for 10 years and had five children.
Tragedy struck in 1888 when his wife Elizabeth died just a few days after their youngest child’s death. More sadness followed when Clara, his second wife, died in November 1891.
Not only were there family worries but in 1890 there was an examination for bankruptcy during which William stated that he had “been in business since 1875, starting with a capital of £20”. He professed that he “had kept no general cash book and for 12 or 13 years had not taken stock”.
In spite of all these difficulties, William’s tailoring business prospered and he became well known for making hunting outfits, liveries and military uniforms, as well as civilian clothing, with testimonials.
William married again in January 1893 and at some point before 1911 he and his third wife Annie moved to Nelson House in Back Street.
Annie and William had seven children together and in 1943 they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.
William, then age 91, was still a working tailor with branches of his business in Aylsham, Melton Constable and Lowestoft, all run by members of his family.
The occasion was well reported and articles appeared in the national newspapers; pictured below is the brief report from the Daily Mirror.
Information from Reepham Society Magazine, Spring 1990; ancestry.co.uk; Daily Mirror.
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