However, as we browsed along the shelves we found a booklet of "Redditch on old picture postcards" by Chris Jackson (1994) and were somewhat shocked by one of the images. There, in black-and-white, printed large across a double page (pages 12-13), was an image labelled "The Market Place, Redditch, No 949." and "H W Huckfield's Series" ...
In the foreground is a cluster of young children standing in the roadway and staring at the camera. Behind them is an indifferent horse in harness between the shafts of some out-of-view cart or waggon which we can only see as a shadow on the ground. In the background, above the doorway of a shop is a large, bold sign declaring:
Underneath the picture, the accompanying caption text (page 12) says, "Market Place when it had a market. For many year the stalls backed onto the church railings. Hepworth's Corner at the top of Unicorn Hill is in the centre of this postcard in the 'Huckfield' series (no.949) and McQuay's milliners is on the left."
Temporarily distracted from the tough McQuay pin pointers, I set to work investigating the distinctive McQuay milliners. It seems that John McQuay and his wife Mary Ann, formerly Hollis, whom I have mentioned in previous posts here, had a daughter-in-law who was Mrs McQuay, Milliner in the 1888 Kelly's directory and the 1891 census, then Milliner and Dress Maker in the 1901 census.
In 1964 Redditch was designated a New Town which led to the demolition and redevelopment of many historic streets and buildings. Many addresses no longer exist, now under the Redditch Ringway or the Kingfisher Shopping Centre. However, 15 Market Place is still a valid address and if you go there you will find the Redditch Library (see Find the library on a map). In a sweet twist, people can now access resources to research their namesakes from the precise spot where a McQuay family formerly lived and worked.