Debenhams building


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Hi,was browsing last night and was interested in the questions about griffin and spaldings and change to debenhams.Well I started work at griffin and spaldings in 1968 when although it was owned by debenhams the name remained griffin and spaldings until 1971,myself and two other girls were decimal dollies and also Miss debenhams ,fond memories of a great place to work, if anyone out there remembers me my name then was Carole Newbery ,love to here from you

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Memories of Griffin n Spalding  mu mum was a seamstress and before I came along she worked at Debenhams factory on Castle blv that belong to Griffins this is were all the wedding dresses were made. 

I've possibly mentioned this before but when my mother was a child, her mum was employed by Bairnswear to test new knitting patterns for baby clothes, using their yarns. Grandma was very skilled in kn

@MRS B how dreadful for your Aunty not knowing where her husband had gone… I think that is a very cowardly way to end a marriage!   @mary1947 I suppose it’s just that expensive shops have ne

A lovely store, always good quality items. My mother used to drag me there in the 50's. THE 50's , not my 50's.

A warm welcome Carole.

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We have a lot of trivia going back pre-Debenhams http://nottstalgia.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4908&hl=debenhams#entry100185

I started work at griffin and spaldings in 1968 when although it was owned by debenhams the name remained griffin and spaldings until 1971,myself and two other girls were decimal dollies

Excuse my ignorance but what a decimal dolly?

I'd guess your job was to explain the complicated "new" money to little old ladies who were still working in shillings and pence.

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It's embarrassing to say but decimal dollies were young ladies that stood at the main entrance of the store dressed in hot pants long white kinky boots and a blue debenhams sash with debenhams emblazoned on it telling as you say little old ladies how to convert old money into decimal money it was great fun

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Hi Carol, I shall add my welcome to Nottstalgia.

I remember very well Griffin and Spalding, and though as a young child I dreaded going in as it meant a visit to the haberdashery department and endless hours (so it seemed) of boredom while Mum chose patterns and material, at the same time I much preferred the old shop to the now Debenhams, mainly because there isn't the haberdashery department, perversely!

Have to say I do not remember the decimal dollies, but I was only 13 in 1971.

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My older sister worked in the haberdashery department and then the record department. Fond memories of the latter with it's listening booths and all the great, newly released sixties records my sis would bring home.

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The building there now hasn't been there all that long.

In the 1860s the site looked like this. The "Fluck" building is where Debenhams now is, and the road to the side is Market Street (then called Sheep Lane and much narrower)

market.jpg

This was built in the late 1860s for Griffin and Spalding and lasted till the 1920s

griffinmid.jpg

And now...

deben.jpg

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Griffin & Spalding- made 'Grace Brothers' seem normal. Half the staff in the Menswear were a bit odd; the Manager bought way too much absolute crap that we couldn't sell then complained about the new owners (Debenhams) central buying policy. One lady would arrive late every morning with new excuses 'accident on Trinity Square' - 'late buses on Mansfield Rd' which was weird 'cos she only lived three hundred yards away on Sherwood St. Had weekly staff meetings, one where management decide we weren't to say 'can I help you?' any more as too formal. Everyone nodded their heads and greeted their next customers 'can I help you?'. They always did the 'are you free, Mr Flynn?' thing.. I was always dying to say 'FFS this is the first customer in three hours- you can SEE I'm free!' but had to go through the motions. When I started I had a succession of old-timers come up to me demanding to know what I earned. I'd tell them six pounds, ten shillings and they would snort and tell me they earned half-a-crown when they started, and were glad of it. Woman came in one day and asked where she could get felt, so the male assistant told her.. and got sacked. The only 'normal' staff in menswear were actually the gay ones; although I did find myself acting as an agony 'Aunt' sometimes when the latest love affair had gone wrong. I lasted a year there, then fell into a job at the Co-op Bank on Friar Lane. They had a dish on the counter that was supposed to be full of water to splash in your face if a robber threw acid over you. If he had a gun, you had to throw it over him I think. But at least the staff were reasonably sane there!

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The one and only time I 'played nick' as we called it - or hookey to others - my friend and I skipped off Biology one Friday afternoon and spent the time in Griffin and Spaldings, drinking coke in the restaurant which I think was on the top floor? She was very posh as she smoked Embassy while the rest of us had crafty drags on No 6 or No 10s.

I had a Saturday job at Pearsons - is that still standing? It was another family business, three brothers I think who lived in The Park.

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Doubt very much if there’ll be anything I want or need in Debenhams this week so won’t be bothering. 

I feel the same about restaurants and pubs opening tomorrow ...... as much as I enjoy eating out, I don’t want to be queuing and then sitting outside for the pleasure.  

 

I’m at the hairdressers in the morning though, that’s something I can’t put off any longer as I’ve not been since beginning of December.  My hairdresser popped round on Friday to give me a ‘patch test’ as I have colour on my hair.  Apparently there’s a new directive ...... if one has had Covid or a Covid jab this test is necessary, something to do with the chemicals used.  Suppose someone has had a severe reaction when having their hair coloured, but seeing as hairdressers have been closed all the time we’ve been getting jabbed it makes you wonder how this has been discovered.  

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Same here Lizzie...ref queuing and sitting outside...was looking forward to Bulwell in the morning but now having second thoughts.....see how i feel.........

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I'll be popping into the Dog & Bear for a couple of Worthingtons, then across the road into The Fountain for a Home Brewery bitter and that'll do me! Doubt there'll be any queuing. 

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The problem with Debenhams was it was neither one thing or another. It was never a ‘must go to shop’. I’m not surprised that it’s closing down. House of Fraser was similar. The only shop worth going to was John Lewis but I’m not paying the extortionate fees to park in the Victoria Centre.

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On 12/19/2015 at 6:41 PM, LizzieM said:

One of the Pearsons lived in a very big house in Mapperley Park. It's now a Nursing Home

That's jogged my memory, Lizzie, something I'd long forgotten. I believe it was Mrs Pearson lived in The Park and we went to service a lift she had there (1962?). There would be a connection as our company, W J Furse, had lots of 'masonic' connections within Nottingham. When we'd finished she gave us a cup of tea and a sandwich.

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35 minutes ago, philmayfield said:

The problem with Debenhams was it was neither one thing or another. It was never a ‘must go to shop’. I’m not surprised that it’s closing down. House of Fraser was similar. The only shop worth going to was John Lewis but I’m not paying the extortionate fees to park in the Victoria Centre.

I get all my gear from Jeff's down Hockley!

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  • Cliff Ton changed the title to Debenhams building

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