Ludham Saddlers Shop

In the middle of Ludham, next door to the Kings Arms on Norwich Road is a house which was once the Saddlers Shop. It went on to become other shops and a tea room before becoming a house. Here is a history of the shop in words and pictures.

The Saddlers in the 1960s

It is known that this shop was a saddlers from at least 1842. In 1871 it was taken over by Samuel Knights, also a saddler. These shops were very necessary in the days before tractors. It is thought that there were at least 300 working horses in the Ludham area at one time. Samuel's son, Albert joined the business when he returned from the First World War in 1919 where he had suffered from being gassed. He ran the shop from 1937, and as the need for horses on farms grew less, so he diversified, and it became a general hardware shop. He died in 1968.

Here are some photographs of the shop, Albert and his customers.

Here we see Albert in the shop doorway. He was well known for telling tall stories to passing tourists. He sometimes had to be called out of the Kings Arms next door to serve customers.

The lady with the lolly is Yvonne Boldy one of the founding members of the Ludham Archive.

The shop in the 1960s. More hardware than saddles


The shop in earlier times when it really was a saddlers

In 1970 the shop reopened as Tim Gems, a jewellery shop.

Timgems

In 1980 it became a tea room and has been so ever since, under 4 different owners. At first it was Margaret's Tea Rooms and then later, Alfresco.
In the summer its opening hours were 10 till 5 every day. In the winter the shop closed from November until the spring.

The shop became a tea room slightly by accident. It opened as a bespoke furniture shop with Margaret serving tea and cakes. The tea and cakes soon took over and became the main sales.

The shop as a tea room


Tony and Lesley Wright were the last owners to operate the shop as a tea room

This fire mark above the shop is a rare survivor from the days of private fire brigades

You can find more information about the shop and about Albert (Knacky) Knights from Martin Walton on this page.