What’s become of North Yorkshire’s former Woolies?

Graham Soult

Retail consultant, writer, blogger; helping retailers via CannyInsights.com and CannySites.com. Say hello on Twitter at @soult!

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9 Responses

  1. Steve Hack says:

    Graham, not sure if you ever did a follow up article about Richmond but was Woolies originally in what is now Oxfam? I went in there today and the outside had the look of a Woolies about it!

    • Peter Atkinson says:

      The ‘new’ Richmond store which opened in 1980 is at the bottom of the market place, and is interesting in that it was 3 levels, but 1 one level was completely empty and known as “the void”. The ground floor was the sales floor and the other was offices/stockroom etc. I do remember working on the launch of this store, and about 2 weeks prior to opening the safe was delivered, and they ended up having to take part of the roof off and using a crane to swing it into position! The previous Richmond store was on the left hand side of the market place as you go down the hill, and was a tiny little store.

  2. Peter Atkinson says:

    Having worked in various Woolworth’s, including the opening of the Richmond store, your articles and photos have stirred quite a few memories. The year I spent working at 165 Scarborough was one of the happiest years of my life, and it truly was a great store, apart from the day I got stuck on the roof!

  3. Jamie says:

    Interesting article. I have lived in Whitby 21 years and I didn’t realise (until you pointed it out) that the former Woolworth’s store appears to have three storeys from both sides!

  1. January 10, 2011

    […] old Woolies (store #609) is yet another site that has been picked up by Poundland. As in Scarborough, it seems that not everyone was happy about Poundland taking over one of the town’s largest […]

  2. February 7, 2011

    […] However, unlike many of Poundland’s other ex-Woolies sites – such as those in Scarborough, South Shields or Cannock – the rather beautiful and ornate property was not purpose-built […]

  3. May 5, 2011

    […] view from its back door, a feature that it must share with very few other ex-Woolies sites – Whitby, just a short way down the coast, of course being one of them. Esplanade entrance to former […]

  4. March 1, 2012

    […] done when Woolworths was in occupation. The brick slab and strips of windows – also seen at Scarborough – still make it easy to recognise 50s and 60s Woolworths developments from the back or side. […]

  5. October 24, 2015

    […] Source: Soult, G. […]

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