An extract from: A HISTORY OF CATERHAM: Cont

In the greengrocer's fruits were only provided in season. Shop boys used to saw blocks of salt which was sold in 1 d or 2d lumps. Shop owners were very knowledgeable about their stock and could give advice to the customers. There had to be a strict control on the perishable foods until large scale refrigeration changed this. Bookkeeping in shops was an important job. Ledgers, order books, sale records, time sheets, petty cash, invoices and balance sheets were all part of this. In many shops there was a cash railway on an overhead wire. This sent the customer's cash to a central desk, where it was checked with the sales docket, entered in a ledger, receipted and returned.
Today there are two large supermarkets. Waitrose opened in November 1982. A small brick inserted into the wall by the entrance records the birth of Prince William on 21st June 1982. It was built on the site of the British Rail car park and land at the rear of 31-63 Croydon Road, R. Amos, the manager, has been at this store since it opened.
On the opposite side of Station A venue the Valley Hotel was demolished in 1988 to make way for the entrance to a new shopping precinct named Church Walk where long before there used to be a tennis court, croquet lawn, rose garden, fountain and Mr. Woollet's nursery. Safeway's Supermarket opened with a great flourish in the Precinct on January 23rd 1990, making it possible to buy all one's provisions at one time. Stock is delivered by articulated lorries which back into the unloading bay day and night. A multi-storey car-park with lifts is provided for shoppers. Current retailing methods have led to changes in diet, for the food we can buy is often pre-prepared and ready to cook.
Common to supermarkets is the strongly-made wire shopping trolley, which can be loaded, pushed to the checkout, where goods are paid for at computerised tills. Supermarkets are now open for long hours seven days a week, in the same way as the small family run shops which were in Caterham from the mid 19th century.