Debenhams building


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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. 

When I  was an apprentice I worked in a salon which was  at the top  of  Alfreton rd we used to have a client come to the salon who knew Mr Griffin her name was Mrs Oakland she was in her 90th year  so my memory fades a little. Back to Griffins yes it did have lifts (before moving stair cases)  i can just remember i'm sure that they also had lift attendant's  who would take you to the floor you wanted. In the center of the shop was a very solid large oak stair case, on the very top floor was the bridle dept and also an hairdressing salon. When I finished work on a Wednesday at 4 00 I would walk into town just so I could walk  into Griffins and sink my feet into the carpet as all the departments floors were covered in carpet that seems at least 3" thick. At the time at home we only had a carpet square with lino around. It was pure luxury to go into Griffins. My wedding headdress was from Griffins it cost £3 10/-   at the time my wage for the week was £5 00  Last memory of Griffin's before it closed When I went into the shop I went from top to bottom on that beautiful Oak stair case. Half way down the stair case was a shelf with a very old book on now!! if I remember it had all the names of the employees written in it, it was just like a book out of a  Charles  Dickens story.

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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

Thanks MargieH     but i am sure I have posted same post before just had a look back and there is another post of mine    put it down to age ??

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Mary, I just love reading people’s detailed memories of when they were younger.  I don’t think I ever went into Griffin & Spalding - too posh for me I think!

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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 knitting, crochet and needlework of all types and this was work she could do from home.  Grandma made up the garments, noting any errors in pattern instructions and observing the required tension.  When completed, the finished garments were displayed in the window of Griffin and Spalding, together with patterns and wool which could be purchased from the relevant department within the store.

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10 minutes ago, Jill Sparrow said:

 the finished garments were displayed in the window of Griffin and Spalding, 

 

This is dated 1908, so maybe around the time when Grandma's work was in the window.

 

https://picturenottingham.co.uk/image-library/image-details/poster/ntgm002617/posterid/ntgm002617.html

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It would have been in the 1920s/30s, CT, but the building would have looked much the same. I remember mum pointing out the exact window where the items were displayed because, of course, I never knew my grandmother.

 

As far as I know, grandma collected the wool and patterns from the Bairnswear factory in Basford, took them home and worked on them in between her household chores during the day. The wool and work in progress was kept in a white pillowcase to ensure it didn't come into contact with anything dirty and no one was allowed to touch it except grandma. When completed, the garment had to be checked against the pattern dimensions and accuracy was a requirement. Wouldn't have been any use my trying it because my knitting is very loose and often full of holes!!

 

 I don't know how long she'd been doing the work or how she got involved in it. Prior to her marriage in 1913, she lived not far from the Bairnswear factory and, given that her husband was in the army from 1914 to 1919, she lived with her parents in Basford. Knitting for Bairnswear would have been a convenient occupation during those years.

 

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MargieH      Don't pull your self down Griffins quote ((might be to posh )  You are as good as any customer who shopped there, I would go so far and say better than some who shopped there.

 

 

What about "TOBYS""  

         and     "PEARSON'S""    did you ever shop there??

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Margie H we weren’t posh either, although my dad gave the impression we were. We only found out after he died and had umpteen mortgages on our house! 
my Aunty worked at Pearsons in the household electrical dept( washers etc)and met her future husband there quite late in life. Unfortunately he walked out of her life one day on the pretext of just going to work and was never found again. It was all a bit bizarre at the time.

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@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 never really appealed to me.  I’ve always preferred ‘cheap & cheerful’ especially when it comes to clothes.  (Does anyone else use that expression?)

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It would have been in the 1920s/30s, CT, but the building would have looked much the same. I remember mum pointing out the exact window where the items were displayed because, of course, I never knew my grandmother.

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On 4/14/2022 at 6:57 PM, Rob.L said:

When BT occupied 47 Upper Parliament Street, above the Post Office, there was a small underground car park underneath the building, accessed from Norfolk Place through a shutter door next to the PO’s back yard.

 

The spiral access down from the gate was very tight. With some users, you could tell what the colour of their car was by the paint they left on the wall.

 

Presumably one of these...there are 3 possible contenders along this wall.  

 

https://goo.gl/maps/UhzDSFafQxLuvD758

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In my earlier post of visiting G&S, my mother and grandmother were not posh merely because we had tea there.

We were a one parent family. My mother, grandmother and I; living in a two bedroomed prefab, that, by necessity, we also had a lodger for a few years at a time to help boost the household income. 

 

I, as a young boy, had to share my room with this lodger, a practice that would be severly criticised and frowned upon today.

 

Posh! not at all. When I reached working age I became the main bread winner, Until I married and my allotment stopped.

 

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All this talk of being posh reminded me of my mother's story about holidays when she was a child.  Sitting on the beach, holidaymakers could buy sweets and chocolates from a man who sold various confectionary products from a basket. Grandma's choice was Toblerone. It was regarded as 'posh chocolate' and never purchased at any other time than as a holiday treat.  It was known in my family ever afterward as 'posh chocolate'. Personally, I don't like the stuff but I always made a point of buying the largest pack I could find for my father at Christmas. One piece of that in his mouth kept him quiet for ages!

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