We all know our beloved high streets are in peril, with the rise of online shopping, free returns and, in this past year, the coronavirus crisis - so shopping from the comfort of your sofa has never been easier.
But what about those afternoons and weekends we used to spend walking up and down the high street trying to find the best bargain or perfect pair of shoes? Or just having a browse in your favourite shops?
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These are just some of the shops we have loved and lost in High Wycombe.
Woolworths
One of Britain’s quintessential high street stores has to be Woolworths.
As children we used to run in after school to grab a bag of pick ‘n’ mix whilst tasting the odd one as we went.
Mums always referred to it as ‘Woolies’ and no back-to-school shop was complete without stopping into the store.
The “Woolworths 3d & 6d Store” was on the Church Street side of Queen Sq, Nos 5&6, and opened to shoppers early in 1927.
It then acquired new premises and replaced the Red Lion Hotel in the High Street.
The new High Wycombe Woolworths store was officially opened by Miss United Kingdom on September 7, 1972.
The store closed its doors for the final time in January 2009, having stood in the town centre for 40 years.
Murrays
Picture courtesy High Wycombe Society
In the mid-20th Century, Murrays was THE iconic Wycombe department store.
The ‘wave canopy’ above the front entrance to the store and the clock which moved up-and-down with the lifts, became icons in the town centre.
The concept of a department store was new to Wycombe in the 1940s (Marks & Spencer did not open until 1958).
Murrays was known as a ‘walk-round’ store, and became an instant success. James ‘Jim’ Rivett, owner of the historic store, has been credited with transforming High Wycombe’s Octagon shopping centre, developing a small shop into a thriving department store.
In the late 70s/early 80s Murrays experienced difficult trading conditions and made substantial losses. The iconic store sadly closed down on March 30, 1985.
Blockbuster
Our grandchildren will never know the excitement of a Friday night trip to Blockbuster to rent a few movies for the weekend.
Before the likes of Netflix and TV on-demand, Blockbuster was the place to go to choose what to watch and get some perfect movie snacks.
There were Blockbuster stores all around the area, including in Marlow, Beaconsfield and Hazlemere.
The video rental store in High Wycombe closed on New Year’s Eve in 2005 to make way for supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, which still occupies the Oxford Road premises.
BHS
British Home Stores (BHS) has been seen as one of the great victims of the collapse of the traditional British high street.
The High Wycombe store, in the Eden Shopping Centre, was one of the first across the UK to close in 2016.
The chain sold a range of items, including clothes, household items, furniture, electronics, groceries, and beauty products and was a familiar fixture in town centre for many years since it was first set up in 1928.
Dixons
Picture courtesy High Wycombe Society
Nowadays, you will only see a Dixons branch if you're in the airport, but remember when it was a staple on every high street?
Dixons was everyone’s go-to store for anything electrical, and it was a sad day in 2006 when it decided to take its business online.
However, most of the physical shops did remain, rebranded as part of the Currys chain.
The High Wycombe store in the High Street stood next to McDonalds in the 1990s.
Imperial Stores
Many readers will have fond memories of shopping at this grocery supermarket, fondly known as ‘the Imperial’.
It was said that the Imperial produced the best bread loaves in south Bucks and customers travelled from all over to buy their bread and then shop at the Imperial.
The store closed in 1977. The International Stores group had in 1974 taken over the Pricerite store on the opposite side of the High Street.
At the time the Imperial employed 31 staff, all of whom were offered jobs in the Pricerite store, but only six accepted, with Betty Twitchen the assistant manager at the time, saying: “This is a special sort of shop, a real family business.”
Archive pictures of Murrays, Dixons and the Imperial from swop.org.uk.
Which stores and memories do you miss the most? If we have missed your favourite by-gone shop, let us know in the comments.
We have launched a new online community to share memories of the area. To join, search We Grew Up in Wycombe on Facebook or visit www.facebook.com/groups/688327338498744.
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