Soult's Retail View

Soon-to-be Wetherspoon’s (former Woolworths), Blairgowrie (11 May 2013)

If you like looking at shops and high streets, going on holiday to north west Sutherland, in Scotland – as I did earlier this month – isn’t necessarily the best choice.

The scenery is incredible, of course, but Spars and Costcutters are about as exciting as it gets retail-wise. For someone used to living in a city, the idea of the nearest proper high … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Iceland), Sudbury Hill (10 Feb 2012)

It’s been great to see a new Woolworths-related history blog appear this week, courtesy of longstanding former Woolies staff member Stuart Kew.

His blog, Forgotten London Woolworths, does exactly what it implies, visiting “some … Continue Reading

Lincolnshire Co-op website (30 Jan 2013)

Just one week after Midlands Co-op announced the closure of its department stores, another Midlands-based consumer co-op – the Lincolnshire Co-operative – has revealed that it too is to exit non-food.

However, where Midlands Co-op’s … Continue Reading

Co-op department store, Chesterfield (10 Nov 2011)

Midlands Co-op has become the latest co-operative society to exit non-food, with its announcement today that eight Fashion & Home department stores are to close within six months.

Most of the affected stores are in the East Midlands, including five full-line department stores – badged as Fashion & Home – … Continue Reading

New Jacques Vert Group concession at Tamworth Co-op (21 Dec 2012)

Tamworth shoppers now have access to a raft of Jacques Vert Group womenswear brands, following the opening of a new upmarket outlet concession in the town’s Co-op department store last Saturday (22 December).

As well as the eponymous Jacques Vert brand, the first floor department also features the group’s long-established Planet, … Continue Reading

Detail of late 1950s Valentine’s postcard of Bondgate Within, Alnwick

Back in April I blogged about the apparent location of Alnwick’s original Woolworths, where the chain traded for the first fifteen years of its 55-year stint in the town. As I reported then, I was “yet to find any photographic evidence of … Continue Reading

Marks & Spencer, St Helens (10 May 2012)

Whether it’s long-forgotten remnants of departed retailers, or 1980s fascias that chains have forgotten to update, there’s something satisfying about coming across bits of retail heritage in … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now BHS), Queen Street, Cardiff (17 Aug 2012)

Paying my first visit to Cardiff in twenty years last week, I couldn’t resist tracking down the city centre’s former Woolworths locations – despite the torrential rain making conditions for photography somewhat challenging.

Cardiff still had several Woolworths branches outside the centre at the time of Woolworths’ collapse, in Cowbridge Road East (store … Continue Reading

Promotion for Crawley store on Wilkinson website (15 Aug 2012)

Wilkinson’s “newest and most exciting concept store” has opened at 14-26 The Broadway in Crawley this morning (15 August).

Designed to “offer the community a more modern and interactive shopping experience”, the new store further evolves the modern look that Wilkinson has been rolling out across its estate, such as … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Peacocks), Stowmarket (2 Aug 2012)

Alongside its new-look Clintons, the Suffolk town of Stowmarket seems to have come off fairly well from recent retail administrations.

Earlier this year, its ex-Woolworths managed to avoid also becoming an ex-Peacocks, while its … Continue Reading

Site of original Woolworths(?), High Street, Spennymoor (5 Jan 2012)

I suspect it will have passed the townsfolk by, but today – 13 August – is the 85th anniversary of Woolworths opening in the County Durham town of Spennymoor in 1927. However, the location of the new shop (store #278) wasn’t where you might think.

In previous blogs, I’ve written about how the Woolworths … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now BrightHouse), Fleetwood (10 May 2012)

As I mentioned earlier, I paid a long-overdue visit to the North West last week, visiting smaller towns such as Prescot and St Helens as well as major centres such as Liverpool, Wigan, Preston, Lancaster and Blackpool. It’s certainly given me plenty of inspiration and … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Poundland and Mountain Warehouse), Cirencester (13 Nov 2011)

I often talk about how the fate of ex-Woolworths stores provides a fascinating ‘window’ on the changing high street, and the ex-Woolies in Cirencester (store #394) – which opened on 26 April 1930, 82 years ago today – is no exception.

Looking at the new occupants of former Woolworths gives us a flavour of … Continue Reading

Postcard of unknown Woolworths shopfront, 2 April 1938

The last time I shared an old photograph of an unidentified Woolworths store, Soult’s Retail View readers were quick to identify it as the original Woolies on Aberdeen’s Union Street (store #228) – a store that closed in 1990 but whose former premises still survive.

This latest teaser is a … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now HomeFayre), Crewkerne (5 Oct 2011)

With a visit to Taunton on the schedule for later this month, it seems an appropriate time to write about the Somerset ex-Woolworths stores that I’ve already visited.

Back in August, I blogged about the stores that I’d checked out in North … Continue Reading

Poundstretcher (formerly Woolworths and Alworths), Tiverton (9 Sep 2011)

With another shop-spotting visit to Devon scheduled for later this month, now seems like an opportune time to share the ex-Woolies photos that I took during my last trip to the county, back in September.

I blogged about the Sidmouth store (#729; now M&Co) last month, while the Tiverton ex-Woolies at 18 Fore Street (#404) … Continue Reading

Former Woolworths (now Iceland), Monmouth (8 Oct 2011)

On 9 April 1932, Woolworths opened its doors in Monmouth, in Wales. Today – the 80th anniversary – therefore seems like a good time to dig out the photos from when I visited the store at the end of last year.

Opened as store number 464, the building at 24 Agincourt Square is one of those instantly recognisable purpose-built … Continue Reading

High Street West, Wallsend (8 Aug 2011)

Over the last few weeks I’ve highlighted some of the North East towns – including Houghton-le-Spring and Alnwick – where Woolworths originally opened in one location only to then relocate … Continue Reading

Original Woolworths location, Alnwick (31 Mar 2012)

In the same way as Houghton-le-Spring’s Woolworths was originally in a different location to where it ended up, I recently discovered that Alnwick, too, has a long-vacated ex-Woolies site. Having enjoyed my previous visit to … Continue Reading

Newbottle Street, Houghton-le-Spring (13 Mar 2012)

If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ll know by now that Woolworths in its prime had a long record of modernising its estate: both in terms of redeveloping existing sites (such as Middlesbrough’s Linthorpe Road), and, as in … Continue Reading