From Jersey Life, 1966
A Jersey Success Story: Briggs of St Ouen
IF VARIETY is truly the spice of life Mr. Neville Briggs can surely claim to have experienced his fair share He has been a hairdresser, wartime soldier, van driver, potato packer in a local store, restaurant manager, guest house proprietor with his wife and, again in partnership with his wife, a successful shopkeeper in St. Ouen.
The name ‘Briggs of St. Ouen’ is a familiar one in the North West of the island and not only in the North West, the shop is a familiar sight to all ,who pass along the main road from Beaumont to Plémont for it has an attractive and ‘go ahead appearance. Many will remember that some 11 or 12 years ago there was a semi derelict shop on the site but all that has changed and the premises are now a store of which anyone can be proud. All this was not achieved in a day, much hard work, much thought and not a little heartache must have gone into it but now Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are reaping the reward of their work and their faith in themselves and their ability.
It all started back in 1947 when Mr. Briggs, after army service in Africa was demobbed and came to Jersey for a holiday; he had been apprenticed in gent’s hairdressing in his youth and, liking the island, decided to stay here and took a job in hairdressing. He later became a van driver on country delivery to meet people and gain a knowledge of the island, a knowledge which has stood him in good stead.
In 1950 he managed a St. Helier restaurant, gaining more varied experience and a year later he met and married his wife. ‘We managed a five-day honeymoon in Guernsey but have not had a holiday since’ he recalls.
In 1953 the couple took a small guest house in St. Ouen and while helping his wife to run it Mr. Briggs realised that there was no gent’s hairdresser in that part of the island and deciding to put his experience in that field to practical use, opened a salon in an annexe to the guest house opening in the evening between 7.30 and 11 o’clock, he also took an agency for Semtex household tiles and for a short spell worked in a potato store.
In 1950 he managed a St. Helier restaurant, gaining more varied experience and a year later he met and married his wife. ‘We managed a five-day honeymoon in Guernsey but have not had a holiday since’ he recalls.
In 1953 the couple took a small guest house in St. Ouen and while helping his wife to run it Mr. Briggs realised that there was no gent’s hairdresser in that part of the island and deciding to put his experience in that field to practical use, opened a salon in an annexe to the guest house opening in the evening between 7.30 and 11 o’clock, he also took an agency for Semtex household tiles and for a short spell worked in a potato store.
In 1956 shop premises became available at Haut du Marais, the shop had been empty for some time and the adjoining house needed a great deal of work done to it but Mr. and Mrs. Briggs seized the opportunity offered them and having sold the guest house, with the help of a close friend acquired the Haut du Marais property.
They converted the existing shop into two shops and established the hairdressing business in one of them; Mrs. Briggs hit upon the idea of opening the second shop as a small draper’s shop selling wool and baby wear realising there was a potential in the country for an establishment of that sort.
After a year the chance came to open a sub-Post Office—there had been one at the old shop some time before—and this opportunity was grasped. The shop was altered to incorporate the post office, a new wing being built and at the same time the drapery department was extended.
The property had been in a very dilapidated condition but by dint of hard work on the part of Mr. Briggs this was gradually put right; the couple suffered severe flooding three times before the States Main Roads Department put in an extra drain to take off the flood water, that was only one of the obstacles which they had to surmount but sheer grit and determination pulled them through and gradually more space was made available to take more departments. Whilst running the shop Mrs. Briggs also managed to raise her three children, Peter, Jane and Sarah, making most of their clothes herself.
And so the venture prospered, Mr. and Mrs. Briggs were accepted in the parish and came to make many friends amongst their fellow parishioners—they had proved themselves and in any country parish the world over that means a great deal.
They converted the existing shop into two shops and established the hairdressing business in one of them; Mrs. Briggs hit upon the idea of opening the second shop as a small draper’s shop selling wool and baby wear realising there was a potential in the country for an establishment of that sort.
After a year the chance came to open a sub-Post Office—there had been one at the old shop some time before—and this opportunity was grasped. The shop was altered to incorporate the post office, a new wing being built and at the same time the drapery department was extended.
The property had been in a very dilapidated condition but by dint of hard work on the part of Mr. Briggs this was gradually put right; the couple suffered severe flooding three times before the States Main Roads Department put in an extra drain to take off the flood water, that was only one of the obstacles which they had to surmount but sheer grit and determination pulled them through and gradually more space was made available to take more departments. Whilst running the shop Mrs. Briggs also managed to raise her three children, Peter, Jane and Sarah, making most of their clothes herself.
And so the venture prospered, Mr. and Mrs. Briggs were accepted in the parish and came to make many friends amongst their fellow parishioners—they had proved themselves and in any country parish the world over that means a great deal.
After ten years of trading they decided in 1966 that extensive alterations were required to project a more modern image and to display goods to ‘even better advantage and so the present shop was born. The store now included the Post Office, departments for the sale of toys, haberdashery and wool, hardware, baby wear, men’s wear, children’s and girls’ wear and a 12 ft. display stand for greetings cards for every possible occasion by the firm of Forget me Not, a facility which is greatly appreciated by the customers at the store.
As Mr. Briggs now has less time for active participation in the hairdressing section, this part of the business is under the capable direction of Mr. Les Edwards, who has been with Mr. and Mrs. Briggs for the past four or five years. Although the store has been modernized, it has not lost that personal touch. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs are always available to help and advise customers with their purchases. They both like St. Ouen and its people very much indeed, ‘They have been good friends and loyal customers to us’ remarked Mr. and Mrs. Briggs.
This is a success story, success which is richly deserved by this still young couple who have had the grit and determination themselves, city folk in a Jersey country parish, to establish a flourishing store where nothing like it had existed before. That it is a flourishing concern is evinced by the extensions which have been added and by the fact that whatever time of day one passes there are always cars on the car park. Perhaps within the next year or two Mr. and Mrs. Briggs will be able to enjoy that holiday which they have not been able to take all these years.
This is a success story, success which is richly deserved by this still young couple who have had the grit and determination themselves, city folk in a Jersey country parish, to establish a flourishing store where nothing like it had existed before. That it is a flourishing concern is evinced by the extensions which have been added and by the fact that whatever time of day one passes there are always cars on the car park. Perhaps within the next year or two Mr. and Mrs. Briggs will be able to enjoy that holiday which they have not been able to take all these years.
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