I have something of a collection of old grocery bottles, jars and bowls. I’ve been collecting them since I was a teenager. I have sold, broken and given away lots of my collection over the years but I still have a number of these always on display at home.
They are solid and simple, natural, neutral colours; brown, beige, cream and white. Some have their provenance stamped on them; Boots or Manchester Brewery... many do not.
Stoneware was the Victorian and Edwardian storage jar of choice, while flagons were used for beer and spirits. In the kitchen fruit & vegetables would be salted and laid down for winter in large jars. They would be covered with cloth or paper & tied with sturdy string.
These days the jars are ideal for preserving, holding kitchen utensils or for use as a vase. Along with the bottles and large flagons they are terrific for decorative purposes.
I love the simple functional nature of these pieces of ceramic. They had a simple purpose usually to hold or cook food in. They are always the same, yet each piece unique, the shape and glaze never identical from one piece to the next.
Most of all, in this time of throw away consumerism and plastics destroying our environment, they show another way. We could reuse and recycle our packaging, if we only had more traditional grocers that would weigh and measure out our dry goods into containers that lasted, were beautiful enough to want to display on our shelves and keep in our larders.
Then we could return with them to the grocers time and again to be refilled and returned to the kitchen.
And so that is what we are doing at LHSTORES. At the moment you can buy; organic red or green speckled lentils, organic brown or white basmati rice, organic corn cous cous, organic omega seed mix and organic oats to weigh and take away in your own containers. We plan to expand this offering as demand increases.
The jars & flagons on sale in Little Hadham Stores are all original grocer's stoneware and each is unique.
Small Jars - 20cm tall, diameter of base 14cm, diameter of opening 10cm (All measurements are approx)from £12
Large Jars - approx 30cm tall, diameter of base, 16-17cm (All measurements are approx)from £20
Flagons - approx 31cm tall, diameter of base, 16-17cm (All measurements are approx)from £25
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