For more than twenty years of his working life, Albert Edward Smedley ran a fish, game and poultry business at 20 High Street. As a teenager he worked as a fishmonger’s assistant before coming to Stamford in his early 20s. Perhaps there were family connections in the town or maybe the property was advertised across the Midlands?
Later he was to advertise in such newspapers, not just in Stamford, for an assistant. When he married, back in Derby in 1899 aged 25, he was already settled at 20 High Street and the 1901 Census tells us that he was working on his own account. By that time, he and Florence had a baby daughter and the next year they also had a son.
When the children were older, Florence assisted in the shop and they employed a general servant who lived in.

Albert joined the Stamford Tradesmen’s Association and the business appeared in Kelly’s Directory throughout the first two decades of the 20th century.
He seems to have specialised in fish and is usually called a fishmonger although he also dealt in game and poultry.
Around 1920, the Smedleys moved away to Nottingham where Albert seems to have worked for others rather than on his own account. He died at the age of 90 in Doncaster where his daughter lived.

20 High Street was initially taken over by Mac Fisheries - part of Unilever. Mac Fisheries later moved to 17 High Street and this shop was then taken over by J E Kingan and continued as a fishmongers until at least World War II.