6 High Street, Sidmouth, Devon EX10 8EL Woolworths opened in the seaside town on Sidmouth, Devon, in 1938. It was a purpose-built store with a Geeogian style front. Source: Avery, K. Source: Cornfoot, R. The store lasted until the end, trading from this location for 70 years. It closed on 30th December 2008. Most recently…
Category: Devon
Bideford Woolworths – Store 708
75-76 High Street, Bideford, Devon EX39 2AJ Woolworths opened in the historic port town on Bideford, North Devon, in 1938. It was a purpose-built store with a Georgian style. They traded here for 71 years and incredibly kept their original 1930s windows right until the end. You can see them in this photo. Source: Lamey,…
Brixham Woolworths – Store 691
18-20 Fore Street, Brixham, Devon TQ5 8DX Woolworths opened in the seaside town on Brixham in 1937. It was originally a small store on Fore Street. Source: Exeter, I In 1969 the original store and the shops next door were demolished so that Woolworths could built a new larger store. This was a superstore that…
Totnes Woolworths – Store 630
23-25 High Street, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5NR Woolworths opened in Totnes in 1935 in a rather interesting looking building. Source: Historic England They traded from here until the end. Former employee Daniel Pritchard-Tagg sent in these photos. Jane London, then known as Jane Edmonds, worked there back in 1994/95 and she remembers Mandy was the…
Tavistock Woolworths – Store 621
51 Brook Street, Tavistock, Devon PL19 0BL Woolworths opened in Tavistock in 1935. From this photo it looks like it was a purpose-built store that was extended to the right and painted cream and white. It was a Garden Centre store too. Source: Massey, D. This is a 1980s photo from inside the store. Source:…
Newton Abbot Woolworths – Store 522
34 Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 2DT Woolworths opened in Newton Abbot in October 1933. It was a small store that you can see in the below photo on the left side. Source: Kingsteigntonhistorysociety.com Woolworths moved from this building in 1971 and today it is Clinton Cards. 26 – 28 Courtenay Street, Newton Abbot,…
Exmouth Woolworths – Store 510
37 The Parade, Exmouth, Devon EX8 1RQ Woolworths opened in Exmouth in 1933. It was on The Parade, where it looks like the shops were on a higher level than the road from this photograph. Source: Facebook Woolworths traded here for 75 years, although there was a makeover at some point, as the building has…
Paignton Woolworths – Store 477
63 Victoria Street, Paignton, Devon TQ4 5ED On 22nd July 1932, Woolworths opened in Paignton, ‘the family resort of picturesque Torbay’ as the town is described on vintage railway posters. This was 12 years after the neighbouring Torquay branch opened. Paignton Woolies opened on the former Dellers Hotel site next to the level crossing at Paignton Station,…
Teignmouth Woolworths – Store 466
7 Bank Street, Teignmouth, Devon TQ14 8AN Woolworths opened in the harbourside town of Teignmouth in March 1932. It was a small store that opened in the former premises of Mr W R Parkhouse’s Agra Engineering shop. In 1959 the store still had all of its original features, apart from it’s fascia. The high island counters were made…
Tiverton Woolworths – Store 404
18 Fore Street, Tiverton, Devon EX16 6LL Woolworths opened in Tiverton in 1930 on Fore Street. The store was purpose-built, the building having the classic 5 bay frontage, but a more simplified and flatter upper floor. They traded here was nearly 80 years, closing in December 2008. Source: Clarke, L. It became an Alworths, which…
Ilfracombe Woolworths – Store 246
25 High Street, Ilfracombe, Devon Woolworths opened in Ilfracombe, North Devon, in 1927, in a building that was a very short-lived cinema between 1913 and 1926. Woolworths acquired the building and opened their store in 1927. They traded here for just over 60 years, closing in August 1988. It became Superdrug, and quite recently they found…
Barnstaple Woolworths – Store 204
69 – 70 High Street, Barnstaple, Devon Woolworths opened in Barnstaple, North Devon, in 1925. We don’t know what the original store looked like, as the only photo I can find is this one which looks 1970s or 80. From the style of the building we can guess there was a 1950s makeover. It is…
Exeter Woolworths – Store 151
190/191 High Street, Exeter, Devon EX4 3DX Woolworths first opened in Exeter on 1st December 1923 on Fore Street, in former tobacconist building H C Lloyd & Son Ltd. In 1934 they moved on to the High Street, purchasing 190 and 191, which were Garton & King and Pinder & Tuckwell. The two buildings were…
Torquay Woolworths – Store 88
122/126 Union Street, Torquay, Devon TQ2 4QB Torquay Woolworths first opened in Union Street on 7th February 1920, extending in 1931. The neighbouring Paignton branch opened in 1932. Below is an image of colleagues preparing for their town carnival entry in 1928. Most Woolworths stores entered a float in their local procession, winning many gold medals (Source: woolworthsmuseum.co.uk)…
Devonport Woolworths – Store 69
9-11 Marlborough Street, Devonport, Plymouth, Devon PL1 4AG *All this information has been researched by Liz Cook who writes Devonport Online. F.W. Woolworths, Store 69, was established in Fore Street Devonport in June 1916. It was destroyed in the blitz of WWII, on the night of 22nd/23rd April, 1941. The company continued trading into the…
Plymouth Woolworths – Store 56
66 – 68 New George Street, Plymouth, Devon PL1 1RS Woolworths originally opened in Plymouth in 1915 at 39 Tavistock Place, in an ordinary street house according to cyber-heritage.co.uk. In 1930 the store was extended and had an Art Deco facade added. In the Second World War, Plymouth was severely hit and Old Town Street…
Dawlish – Store 940
2 The Strand, Dawlish, Devon EX7 9PS Woolworths came to the Devon seaside town of Dawlish quite late on, in 1956. The building they occupied was on the Strand, and was actually built in 1919. Designed in eye-catching black and white pseudo Elizabethan style, half of the building was occupied by Cridge’s Cafe (see photo below). Source: dawlishhistory.org.uk…
Woolies Buildings - Then and Now 