8. White’s General Store

This weatherboard building was built in 1869 and run as a General Store by early Romsey shopkeepers William and Sarah White. It was a valuable component of the 19th century commercial streetscape. It catered for every need including renting and selling land, buying produce from farmers for retail sale and supplying a vast array of farm needs including farm equipment, building materials, whips, stock feeds, prayer books and clocks!

During harvest season, the shop would often stay open until eleven pm to cater for the many potato diggers who came in after a days’ work to spend their wages. The Births and Deaths Registry also operated from the General Store. White’s son, Frederick, ran the business after his parents retired from 1891 to 1948 making it 80 years under White family ownership.