Corner shop

This timber corner shop was probably built by Nicholas Le Gros and his wife, Harriet, who acquired a narrow allotment on the corner of Chester and Arthur Streets in 1883. From the mid-1880s, Nicholas and his wife operated a grocery store in the corner shop. Le Gros also built a simple timber cottage at the western end of the lot, facing Chester Street. This cottage is now on a separate allotment. Some records refer to Nicholas Le Gros as Captain Le Gros, suggesting that like other members of the Le Gros family, he had a connection to the maritime industry.After the death of Nicholas Le Gros in 1927, the property changed hands several times. From 1927, the shop was owned by George Heal who died in 1947.The shop is located on land which was part of 119 acres purchased by speculator, James Gibbon, in 1850 and subdivided for residential development from the 1860s-1880s.