This postcard from the 1970s shows the Spar shop on Church Street, Market Lavington, just to the left of the telegraph pole.

Over the years, it had been the home to various different grocery stores though, in earlier times, the building had been a Baptist Chapel, as seen in this postcard from 1910.

At Market Lavington Museum, we have a flyer introducing the new Spar shop to potential customers. Selling points were its long opening hours – twelve hours on Mondays to Saturdays and four hours on a Sunday.


On the reverse there is the temptation of fresh bread and a wide range of provisions along with the possibility of renting video films.
There is no longer a grocery store in this building, though there is still a Co-op store in the village.