Bakers and Tea Shop – George Panting

A short history of Eric Pantings Lambourn Family.
Thank you to Eric for sharing this information

My Grandfather had a very interesting life in Lambourn

On the left is the Store and Tea Shop circa 1911

George Albert Panting was born in Ramsbury in 1858.
In 1881 he was lodging in Newbury Street/Station Road, Lambourn as a bakers assistant with the Knapp Family. He eventually ran a bakery and general store which is on the corner of Station Road and can be seen in the photos above and below.

The building can be seen in the centre of the photo on the corner of Station Road/Newbury Street in the above photo

He worked up his business from the time he came to the village aged 12 as a bakers boy, and rented an allotment. From the sale of his potatoes he earned enough money to buy a pig, and through fattening a succession of swine he managed to hire a bakers oven and delivered the bread to customers in a truck. From there he was able to acquire his own premises and by the time he was 22 had several properties in the village. Besides his shop, which had confectionery, grocery, china, hardware, secondhand furniture and ironmongery and he ran a boarding house. He provided wagonettes and other horse-drawn vehicles to carry the entire cricket and football teams of the early 1900’s. A member of the team would drive, thus saving the cost of a special driver. George Panting was alive to any opportunity of trade and was known to hastily discard his bakers apron, duff coachman’s apparel and from the bake-house at the corner of Newbury Road and Station Road would meet the incoming trains at the Lambourn railway station. Alongside the store was a popular tea garden of the times.

In 1911 he was helping Layley family at the Stores Beenham along with his two sons George and Arthur which was also a Bakers and Confectioners. Although he was still registered as owning the Store/Tea shop in Lambourn.

From Kelly’s Directory 1911