From Stanley to Spennymoor – another gallery of North East former Woolies stores
Tags: B&M Bargains, Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Gateshead, Morpeth, Newton Aycliffe, Next, Peterlee, Spennymoor, Stanley, Store Twenty One, The Original Factory Shop, Woolworths
Former Woolworths, Peterlee (12 March 2010)
Only counting the (33) North East Woolworths stores that closed down following the company’s 2008 administration, my quest to photograph the full set is nearing completion – with five more new ones featured in this post, only Berwick, Billingham and Stockton’s Portrack Lane are left to get.
However, the ever-expanding list of stores that had already closed down in previous years – currently standing at 17, of which 7 have been photographed – means that I’ll be kept busy touring the North East’s towns and suburbs for a little while yet.
First up, however, are a couple of revisits, with the old Gateshead Woolies store (#154) still determinedly empty.
Former Woolworths, Gateshead (12 March 2010)
Better news in Chester-le-Street though, where the old Woolies (store #267) had been taken over by B&M Bargains since my previous visit a couple of months earlier.
Former Woolworths (now B&M Bargains), Chester-le-Street (12 March 2010)
The first new stop is Stanley in County Durham, where Store Twenty One has done a good job of turning the old Woolies shop in Front Street (store #873) into a bright and appealing fashion and homewares store.
Former Woolworths (now Store Twenty One), Stanley (12 April 2010)
Less impressive is the company’s website - firstly for not having the Stanley shop listed in its store locator, and secondly for having the phrase “cheap clothes” within its title tags. To me, the words “cheap clothes” conjure up an unpleasant – and probably unfair – image of the retailer’s range being 100% driven by price at the expense of fashion. Indeed, using such language surely undermines the more effective “fashionably affordable” tagline that is used elsewhere on the site. Hopefully these issues will be addressed when the promised new site launches later this month.
Staying in County Durham, the 5,000 sq ft former Woolworths in Peterlee’s Yoden Way (store #987) was still empty when I visited in March, and as far as I know remains that way.
Former Woolworths, Peterlee (12 March 2010)
Though hardly the most beautiful building, that row of shops holds some historic significance as the first part of Peterlee new town to be built. The Francis Frith website features a rather quirky shot of the Yoden Way shops surrounded by empty space – certainly a contrast to today’s busy and built up shopping centre. The Woolworths shop is easily recognisable in the old photograph by its distinctive, pale façade.
Former Woolworths, Newton Aycliffe (12 March 2010)
Down the road in Newton Aycliffe, we have another new town, another empty Woolies (store #1007), and another property that wouldn’t win any prizes for its looks.
On to Darlington next, where the formerWoolworths at 12-18 Northgate (store #28) was in the midst of building work to turn it into a new branch of Next. I understand that the Next store is not open yet, but is due to be finished later in the summer.
Former Woolworths, Darlington (12 March 2010)
Cornmill entrance to former Woolworths, Darlington (12 March 2010)
Finally to Spennymoor, and the old Woolies there (store #278) is one of many nationwide that has been taken over by The Original Factory Shop, the self-styled “low-price local department store”.
Former Woolworths (now The Original Factory Shop), Spennymoor (12 March 2010)
The chain has a policy of opening in smaller towns with limited non-food competition, and this is reflected in its choice of North East locations to date – among them Ashington, Crook, Prudhoe, Shildon and Stanley.
Interestingly, The Original Factory Shop’s own website indicates that a new store will be ‘opening soon’ in Morpeth, in Northumberland – I can’t find any further details yet, but presume that it will be in the former M&S Simply Food unit, vacated last year following the opening of a full M&S store in the new Sanderson Arcade.
stephen moody said:
Jun 04, 10 at 09:54blimey !! what were those new town planners on at the time ?? I know money was tight , but the 50′s and 60′s gave our high streets some hideous buildings , which only look worse with age … they all seem to be off the same blueprint – concrete where possible !!
great blog btw , I look in daily , and find it fascinating , am trying to look at ex woolies in east anglia !
Adam said:
Jun 18, 10 at 15:28The Woolies in Peterlee is the spitting image of the one in Billingham.
Graham Soult said:
Jun 18, 10 at 16:02I haven’t got to Billingham yet Adam – one of the three I’m missing!
What is the old Billingham Woolies now, anyway? I know it was Ethel Austin, but I’m not clear whether it’s one of the stores that was later rescued or not.
Adam said:
Jun 18, 10 at 18:18It was an empty Ethel Austin a couple of months ago but I have no idea of its current state. Back to Woolies, I think they may have ditched the ‘local’ branding from the Billingham store by the time it closed. Obviously the signage is now long gone now anyway.
Graham Soult said:
Jun 18, 10 at 18:22Thanks Adam! I will get to Billingham myself in due course :)
Soult's Retail View» Blog Archive » Ten minutes in Billingham town centre said:
Jul 22, 10 at 23:29[...] I try and look for the best in any of the town centres that I visit – no mean feat, given some of the places I’ve been to. Billingham, however, was a challenge indeed. I’ve already resolved that I must return in the [...]
Soult's Retail View» Blog Archive » The Original Factory Shop in Morpeth – a shift towards more upmarket locations? said:
Jul 28, 10 at 19:39[...] branches across the UK – such as the one I visited in Porthmadog, and, closer to home, in Spennymoor. Established Original Factory Shop store in Stanley (12 Apr 2010) The Original Factory Shop, [...]
Rich said:
Sep 15, 10 at 02:35Gateshead Store will be Poundland which will open in a month or so (maybe sooner) :)
Soult's Retail View» Blog Archive » One bus ticket – 11 former Midlands Woolies said:
Nov 02, 10 at 01:26[...] jaunt in search of old Woolies is complete without a store that has been taken over by B&M Bargains, and the Leicestershire town of Hinckley was able to oblige in this case. As is usual with the [...]
Soult's Retail View » Blog Archive » Woolies photo updates from South Shields, Wallsend, Jarrow and North Shields said:
Nov 17, 10 at 19:14[...] of the town’s former Woolworths store (#434), facing Bede Precinct, back in July. Just as in Stanley, Store Twenty One has installed a modern and attractive shopfront that greatly improves the [...]
Soult's Retail View » Houghton has a le-Spring in its step – the changing fortunes of the North East’s ex-Woolies sites said:
Mar 03, 11 at 01:25[...] ex-Woolies back in November, closely followed by Hartlepool and Middlesbrough. This left just Newton Aycliffe, Peterlee and Newcastle to take a look at over the last couple of days, with my visits confirming [...]
Soult's Retail View » 5-7 Southgate Street, Launceston – historic birthplace and former Woolworths [updated] said:
May 28, 11 at 18:05[...] in new towns and shopping precincts – such as Brentford (#829, opened March 1954) or Peterlee (#987, opened c.1958) – alongside some infilling in smaller market towns that had missed out [...]
Soult's Retail View » Swindon’s former Woolworths store – past, present and an uncertain future said:
Jan 16, 12 at 11:31[...] to the more elegant, cinema-style façade that existed previously – similar to the one still found at Chester-le-Street. However, the attractive turreted Next building (in the middle of both shots, above and [...]
Soult's Retail View » Reflections on Spennymoor High Street, 85 years to the day from Woolworths’ arrival said:
Aug 13, 12 at 14:51[...] traded from its latterday site at 3 Festival Walk – today’s The Original Factory Shop – from 28 September 1967, but its location for the previous forty years was, I’ve [...]