Various old shops, now gone.

[Charlie 11]

Hey guys - was there an enormous departmental store on King Street? Waring and Gillows? Don't know why but as I was reading the thread it just popped inot my mind

[.... 23]

Waring & Gillow on King Street was a furniture store, Charlie.

[denshaw 2,812]

If you entered Pearsons on long row (next to Yates) and went up a floor or two you could walk out on Parliament st.

[Charlie 11]

Ok, now I'm thinking Griffin & Spalding. Given the weigh I spell things it looks very much like Waring & Gillows!

Did G&S sell lots of things furniture, TVs and - well everything?

[Charlie 11]

If you entered Pearsons on long row (next to Yates) and went up a floor or two you could walk out on Parliament st.

For some reason I only ever used it as a short cutt off Parlaiment Street 0 wasn't is quite a small entrance at that end?

[Beefsteak 304]

I seem to remember a great big window ( must have been 40ft tall x 40ft wide) on Parliament street, opposite the cafe,( Hollies?) by the 39/72 bus stop ,and some very bright stripes.

[Charlie 11]

I seem to remember a great big window ( must have been 40ft tall x 40ft wide) on Parliament street, opposite the cafe,( Hollies?) by the 39/72 bus stop ,and some very bright stripes.

A window 40 feet high and wide? - the only one I remember had pink elephants on it - but that doean't mean it wasn't there - or the elephants come to think of it. Actually, when Stu Morris was angry he looked 40ft high and wide and no one hung around to measure him!

[Beefsteak 304]

It was made of separate pains of glass with big round brass joiners at each corner conecting to the next pane .

Each individual pane was about 10 foot by four foot

[denshaw 2,812]

Also Primark on long row east (ex Littlewoods) you can walk through and come out on Maypole yard. Colmans dance room used to be there a.k.a. the racetrack.

[.... 23]

Ok, now I'm thinking Griffin & Spalding. Given the weigh I spell things it looks very much like Waring & Gillows!

Did G&S sell lots of things furniture, TVs and - well everything?

Yes, very much a department store (and a very nice one) selling all kinds of different goods. It had (and still has as Debenhams) entrances on Long Row and Market Street.

Here's a pic of it in the background:

[Beefsteak 304]

Another view behind a poor picture of SWMBO

[.... 23]

Another view with Griffin & Spalding on the left.

[.... 23]

Just remembered what the name of the bar is in the building that used to house Toby's.

THE APPROACH

[.... 23]

Waring and Gillows was a fine store.

Did the shop spread down King Street into what would now be other businesses beside Frankie and Benny's, Red?

[connoisseur69uk 2]

I am sure MacFisheries was alongside Slab Square, South Parade, I think!

As for Burtons, it was a fantastic shop that was unique just like a mini Harrods food hall, but I believe it was taken over by Fine Fare in the early eighties or late seventies

I was a rep for Jacobs biscuits and had to call on them every week for their order and it was fantastic under the shops with store rooms and passage ways under the council house

I always remember the fantastic window displays they did especially at Christmas

[poohbear 1,358]

Shops like Burtons are sadly missed nowadays..I remember the smell of bacon,cheese etc as you walked through the door.

Fine fare was the start of the rot that has destroyed the high street,with the loss of stores like Maypole,Home & Colonial,and Meadow Dairies.The old days of personal service and good tasty food,like bacon that's not pumped full of water.

While I type this an ad is on the box for the great god tesco's with another 'celebrity' raving about a shirt he's just bought.

Mac Fisheries was on South Parade...And I was with Crawfords

[firbeck 859]

Thought you might like this:-

[RockitRon 2]

It's a long time ago, but from what I recall the MacFisheries on South Parade was a straightforward supermarket, called Mac Market, and the only non-prepacked food it sold was fruit & veg.

At some point in the early 70s MacFish decided to return to its core business and sold the supermarkets to the Dee Corporation (Gateway). Since the city centre was at that time still well served by other food supermarkets (Tesco Maid Marion Way, Co-op UPS, Sainsbury Broad Marsh, Scan and Safeway Victoria Centre, Burtons of Smithy Row) they just closed the South Parade store.

[The Actual Shedfixman 3]

Macfisheries definately on site of Halfords, South Parade. Moss Bros was on Hockley on right as you walk up. John Collier (the window to watch!)was on corner of Friar Lane and became Burtons.

Big store on King Street was the previous Jessops location before it moved to Vic Centre(Now J.Lewis)

Best thing about Burtons in the Council Buildings was the dapper old Ted who worked in the wines+spirits section - always wore a white stewards jacket and treated and spoke to everyone alike as if they were royalty. I once went in when I was 15 and asked for a bottle of aussie white wine(see Yateses - docs and samples)and he said:"An EXCELLENT choice, if I might say so, sir! I'm sure sir will thoroughly enjoy that. Shall I wrap it for sir? My pleasure, sir." Behind me was the most battered up, minging old tramp I ever saw in my life and he asked for the same, except it sounded more like "AAAHZAGIZZABARRALLA AZZAWOWWOWWA, YER BASSS!" to which the reply came: "Certainly sir! A very popular vintage today, sir! I'm sure sir will thoroughly enjoy that! Shall I wrap it for sir, or will sir drink it now?" "AAAZAGLIKK!" "My pleasure, sir!"

[chasper 0]

Macfisheries was on South Parade alongside the square, i think there was a Norwich Union insurance office next door. It was later a branch of Halfords, Macfisheries did their own budget whisky called MacWhisky! Chasper. smile2

[denshaw 2,812]

I can remember being in that queue as well. At the time i had just started drinking Brake Fluid, but i could stop at any time. !rotfl!

[barclaycon 569]

Burtons was a fantastic food shop. It used to dominate that arcade of shops under the Council house.

They had experts working there who'd been employed for decades. I was very sad to see it go.

MacFisheries was on South Parade facing the Market Square.

[Ashley 288]

Not sure if right re John Colliers becoming Burtons on corner of Friar Lane? I always recall it was Burtons and was thus in 1941

[mick2me 3,029]

There was a tailors where Pearson Brothers used to be, in later years it became Next.

Was that not John Colliers?

[OLDACE 196]

Was Fifty Shilling Tailors shop ever at the corner of Friar Lane?