East Ham – Store 127
72/76 High Street North, East Ham London E6 2JL
Originally Woolworths opened in East Ham in the 1920s at 193 High Street. It can be seen in this photo opposite the Palace Theatre.
East Ham Woolworths 1937
Source: The Newham Story Forums
East Ham was bombed severely in WW2, and the Woolworths was flattened on September 7th 1940 (Source: The First Day of the Blitz: September 7, 1940, by Peter Stansky)
The store was rebuilt at 72-26 High Street North on the corner of Skeffington Road, and this is what it looked like.
East Ham Woolworths 2008
Source: bowroaduk, Flickr
This was my friend Ruksana’s local store from her childhood. She remembers it being a long store and her mum always buying her kitchenware from here, in particular Tefal. The store closed on 30th December 2008.
Shortly after it closed, Poundland took over the premises. This was one of 4 Poundlands that cut their prices to 97p in 2013 to undercut the many poundshops on the High Street! Today it is back to £1, as I popped in there to buy some chocolates. It definitely still has a Woolworths feel to it.
East Ham Poundland 2014
East Ham Poundland
East Ham Poundland
The original Woolworths which was at 193 High Street opposite East Ham station and the Palace (which became C&A, today a Lidl) is now Sports Direct.
East Ham Sports Direct
Staines – Store 216
95/103 High Street, Staines, Middlesex
Woolworths opened at 101-103 Staines High Street in the 1920s, next to the old White Lion pub, as you can see in the below 1950s photo. The pub was demolished in 1956 when the one-way road system was built.
Staines Woolworths 1950s
Source: pubshistory.com
This photo is from the 1960s, you can see Woolworths on the left next to the M&S clock.
Staines Woolworths 1960s
Source – Did you live in Staines, Ashford or Sunbury Facebook Group
Between the 1960s and the noughties I could find no photos. Somewhere between these decades, Woolworths expanded into the neighbouring building (no 95-99). The Elmsleigh Shopping Centre opened in 1980, so I can guess a back extension took place around then, as there was another entrance to the store inside the shopping centre. This made it a VERY big Woolworths. Here it is shortly before closing for good on 3rd January 2009.
Staines Woolworths 2008
Source: Citykey
Poundland opened soon after at 95-99 High Street, but the main building remained empty until the end of 2010, with it’s fascia still bright and shiny throughout this time.
Staines Woolworths/Poundland 2009
Source: Sharville, Ruth
In 2010, H&M announced they would be moving into the Elmsleigh Shopping Centre on a 10 year lease. Below are photos I took on 31st December 2014, the buildings still looking remarkably the same as they did in the 1950s, just with new retailers inside.
Staines H&M 2014
Staines Poundland 2014
Portsmouth – Store 35
121/127 Commercial Road, Portsmouth, Hants PO1 1D
Portsmouth Woolworths 1920s
Source: Postcards of the Past
Portsmouth Woolworths 1950s
Portsmouth Woolworths 1950s – birds eye view
Portsmouth Woolworths Back 1950s
Source: Woolworths Museum
Portsmouth Restaurant Seating Area
Source: Woolworths Museum
Here is a photo of the finished store in the late 1950s, with Littlewoods next door in a similar styled building.
Portsmouth Woolworths 1950s
Source: Woolworths Museum
Below is a 1970s photo of Commercial Road from ‘A Tale of One City’, with Woolworths on the far left. This was shortly before the road was pedestrianised.
Portsmouth Woolworths 1972
Source: A Tale of One City
Portsmouth Woolworths 1970s
Source: 100thbirthday.co.uk
Portsmouth Woolworths 2004
Source: Woolworths Museum
Below are two photos from 2008 before Woolworths closed down, one from the High Street and the other from the Cascades shopping centre entrance.
Portsmouth Woolworths 2008 – front
Source: Flickr – Jainbow
Portsmouth Woolworths 2008 – back
Source: Flickr – Jainbow
Portsmouth Woolworths closed on 27th December 2008. The shop lay empty for 2 and a half years, possibly as it was such a large space. Then in 2011, neighbouring Primark announced they were planning to extend into the 30,000 sq ft space, creating one giant super-Primark.
Portsmouth Primark 2014
Source: 192.com
Burgess Hill – Store 891
49/51 Church Road, Burgess Hill, Sussex RH15 9BH
Woolworths arrived in Burgess Hill in September 1955 on Church Road (now Church Walk).
Burgess Hill Woolworths c1960
Source: Francis Frith
It was one of the later branches to be opened, as you can tell from the store number, and it looks as though it was medium sized from the photo above. I spoke to Burgess Hill local Robert who remembers the store from his childhood, in particular the pic n mix!
The store didn’t last long though, closing just under 30 years later on 15th September 1984. Perhap it was one of the low performing stores, or it was one of the casualties of the Kingfisher takeover when they closed several stores down to gain capital.
The building was later split into two and occupied by Sussex Stationers and Currys. In 2012 they had both closed down.
Source: Burgess Hill Uncovered
In April 2012, a Wetherspoon pub opened here, after a £1.4 million makeover. During the makeover, the ghost of Woolworths past was revealed!
Source: Burgess Hill Uncovered
The pub is called The Six Gold Martlets – here it is, alongside the shiny new Subway, from when I visited Burgess Hill last weekend. I knew it was a Woolworths 😛
