Redruth Woolworths – Store 813

72 Fore Street, Redruth, Cornwall Shortly after opening in Launceston in 1953, Woolworths opened another Cornish store in Redruth. This one opened on 25th September 1953, in a former grocery store called S&T Trounston Ltd. The store was on quite a slope. Source: Historic England / Archives and Cornish Study Service Source: Francis Frith A…

Launceston Woolworths – Store 812

5-7 Southgate Street, Launceston, Cornwall PL15 9DR Woolworths opened in the Cornish town on Launceston in 1953. It was a branch that only traded for 20 years, which we know thanks to this detailed post by Launceston Then. Source: Launceston Then! In post-war 1950s, new Woolworths stores opened in existing buildings. Here in Launceston they…

Newquay Woolworths – Store 730

24-30 Bank Street, Newquay, Cornwall TR7 1AE Woolworths opened in the Cornish seaside town of Newquay in 1938. It was a purpose-built store, built on the site of the former St. Michael’s Chapel of Ease. The store had a Georgian style facade which seems to have been the preferred architectural style in 1938. The photo…

Penzance Woolworths – Store 651

106-108 Market Jew Street, Penzance, Cornwall TR18 2LA Woolworths came to Penzance in April 1936, opening on Market Jew Street. The store was extended in 1938. Below is a 1955 photo – Woolworths in the centre on the right hand side, with the triangle feature on the roof. Penzance Woolworths 1955 Source: Francis Frith In 1972, the store was modernised,…

Liskeard Woolworths – Store 623

1 Fore Street, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 3JA Woolworths opened in Liskeard, Cornwall, in 1935. It was a small, purpose-built store – in fact this was the smallest Woolworths branch in the UK. Source: Francis Frith They traded from this location for 7 decades, closing in December 2008. Source: Geach, R. It became a Superdrug, but…

Bodmin Woolworths – Store 569

9-11 Fore Street, Bodmin, Cornwall PL31 2HY Woolworths opened in Bodmin, Cornwall, in 1934. It was on Fore Street, which was a very narrow street, in an existing building. I can’t find any early photos of the store. Former employee Emma Davis tells us that her first job was at the store in 1997. Her…

Falmouth Woolworths – Store 306

19 – 20 Market Street, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 3AG Woolworths opened their third Cornish store in the coastal town of Falmouth in 1928, the others being St Austell and Camborne. The Falmouth store was a small one on Market Street, which is literally on the coast. See below the original store with the recognisable Woolworths…

Camborne Woolworths – Store 304

24 – 26 Trelowarren Street, Camborne, Cornwall Woolworths opened their second Cornish store in 1928. The first one was at St Austell (Store 291), opening in the previous year. It was a small store with a traditional frontage, that was extended to the left side over the years. These are some photos of the interiors from…

St Austell Woolworths – Store 291

23 – 25 Fore Street, St Austell, Cornwall Woolworths opened their first store in Cornwall on 12th November 1927. It was a small store in St Austell on Fore Street. On 18th October 1940 St Austell’s Great Fire happened, when eight shops and a café were destroyed, and five others including Woolworths and an inn…

St Ives – Store 863

35-37 Fore Street, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 1HF Woolworths arrived in the Cornish seaside town of St Ives in the mid-1950s. The building they chose was set in a hill by the harbour, with the front facing the busy shopping area of Fore Street, and the back facing the harbour on Wharf Road. Here is the front of…

Truro – Store 836

13-15 Princes Street, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2RF One of the later stores, Woolworths opened during the 1950s in the only city of Cornwall (and place of my birth) – Truro. It was located in quite a prominent area, next to the City Hall, and opposite the Trustee Savings Bank (ie TSB) and a rather important looking statue….