Swanage Woolworths – Store 784

26 Station Road, Swanage, Dorset BH19 1AG Woolworths opened in Swanage in 1952 in a former garage. You can see it pictured on the left in the below photograph. To save on costs after the war, new Woolworths stores were often opened in converted buildings, rather than being purpose-built. Source: Avery, K. Swanage is a…

Parkstone Woolworths – Store 742

380 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset BH14 9DH Woolworths opened in Parkstone, Poole in 1939. It was a purpose-built store with the recognisable architecture. Source: Facebook This Woolworths traded from this location to the end, closing in December 2008 after 70 years. Source: JJ Justin Today you will find Parkstone Delicatessen here, but you can…

Sherborne Woolworths – Store 714

55 Cheap Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AY Woolworths opened in the market town of Sherborne in 1938 in a beautiful character building. Look how the fascia is wooden. Source: Sherborne Archives This Woolworths closed in January 2009. Today there is an M&Co store in the building. Source: Ballysundriven

Bridport Woolworths – Store 685

23 East Street, Bridport, Dorset DT6 3JX Woolworths opened in the market town of Bridport in 1937. It opened in an existing building, which you can see pictured below. Source: Hunt, S. They traded from this location for over 70 years, closing in January 2009. Source: Flickr Leon Smallwood Dally Today there is a Spar…

Wimborne Woolworths – Store 637

17 The Square, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1JA Woolworths opened in Wimborne in 1935 on The Square. The store wasn’t purpose-built. It opened in an existing brick 3-storey building that was built in late C18-early 19. It had double sash windows on the first and second floors. Below are some photos of the store over the…

Southbourne Woolworths – Store 606

34-34a Southbourne Grove, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset BH6 3RS Woolworths opened in Southbourne, Bournemouth, in 1935. It was a purpose-built store that really stood out amongst the other shops on the street. Source: Bournemouth Echo The store traded from this location for 73 years, until the end in December 2008. Source: dontstopliving.net Today it is a…

Christchurch Woolworths – Store 551

47 High Street, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1AN Woolworths opened in Christchurch, Dorset, in 1934 on the High Street. It was a purpose-built store next to the Regent Cinema. Source: Dorset Life The store traded here for 74 years, closing in December 2008. Source: JJ Justin It became a 99p store, which then became a Poundland….

Winton Woolworths – Store 513

370-374 Wimborne Road, Winton, Bournemouth, Dorset BH9 2HD Woolworths opened in Winton in 1933. It was on Wimborne Road. Richard Northover sent in the below photo of the former Store Manager of Winton – Mr P G Webber  aka ‘George’. He says, “Between 1966-70 my father Dennis was the Store Manager of 179 Boscombe, a…

Dorchester Woolworths – Store 403

47 South Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1DL Woolworths opened in Dorchester in 1930 in a rather beautiful building. It doesn’t look purpose-built, I would guess it is Victorian. They traded here for nearly 80 years. Source: Mykura, N. When the store closed down in December 2008, it was to become the most famous of all…

Weymouth Woolworths – Store 139

10 – 14 St Mary Street, Weymouth, Dorset Woolworths opened in the seaside town of Weymouth in 1923. It was a premier 1920s store, finished in Portland stone. The ornate look of stores like this was nicknamed the “cinema front”. Source: Historic England Source: Woolworths Museum In 1938 the store was extended with a grand…

Poole Woolworths – Store 84

123 – 125 High Street, Poole, Dorset BH15 1AR In 1920 Woolworths opened in Poole at 78 High Street – you can read a fascinating history of the building at the Poole High Street Project. They traded at this building for 39 years, until 1959 when they moved to bigger premises. Number 78 became many…

Bournemouth Woolworths – Store 54

18/20 Commercial Road, The Square, Bournemouth, Dorset BH2 5LZ Six years after the first Woolworths opened in the UK in 1909, the fifty-fourth store was opened at 18 Commercial Road, The Square, Bournemouth in 1915. Source: Historic England The store was extended to include 20 Commercial Road (previously Bon Marche, drapers and milliners) in 1931…