14 beloved shops that Shrewsbury has lost over the years

From beloved family-run businesses to well-known high street names, many have come and gone, leaving behind memories for those who knew them.

Here we take a look back at 14 vanished storefronts in Shrewsbury. How many do you remember?

Safeway

By 1999, Safeway came under criticism for its performance against other supermarket giants like Asda and Tesco. Safeway was bought by the (at the time) much smaller Morrisons to the surprise of many in March 2004. Most of its 479 shops were rebranded as Morrisons, with others being sold.

John Lewis Partnership snapped up 19 of the others, including the store in Newport.

Netto

Danish company Netto arrived in the UK in December 1990. Before it was sold to Asda in 2010, it operated 193 stores including Wellington and Shrewsbury.

The loss of the shop on Wrekin Retail Park and the next door In-Store allowed the supermarket chain to knock through two units and bring the first Asda Living store to Shropshire in 2009.

Woolworths

The Woolworths store in Shrewsbury shut in January 2009, as part of the nationwide closure of the retail chain following the company entering administration. The store was located on Pride Hill and was a prominent feature of the town's high street

A Shropshire Star reader said of the store: "It was an institution.

"My Aunt took me on Saturdays 65 years ago, for a little box of LEGO, and I took my Grandkids for pick n mix, 40 years later."

Dolcis

Dolcis in Shrewsbury closed around early 2008, as part of a nationwide closure of half of their 185 outlets when the company went into administration.

The Dolcis store was located on Pride Hill in Shrewsbury town centre.

The Past Times gift shop

The Past Times gift shop in Shrewsbury shut with the loss of six jobs in 2012 after the company went into administration.

The store, in Pride Hill, closed its doors as part of plans to shut down all of the company's branches as a result of its financial difficulties.

Laura Ashley

The Laura Ashley store in Shrewsbury closed in March 2020 as part of the company’s administration and nationwide closure of 70 stores.

House of Fraser

The House of Fraser store in Shrewsbury, formerly branded as Rackhams and originally Della Portas, closed in 2019. The iconic High Street building, which had been in operation for 150 years.

Littlewoods

Littlewoods in Shrewsbury closed in 2005. The store, which was a prominent feature in the town, was part of a nationwide closure in which the Barclay Brothers sold 119 Littlewoods stores.

C&A

Who remembers being dragged around C&A at the bottom of Pride Hill by their parents?

The Dutch clothing company which sold budget clothing was a stalwart in the town for many years.

In 1998 the store closed down in the town, and remained empty for a long time.

Blockbusters

Blockbuster Video is one of the more recent closures in Shrewsbury. While the site on Meole Brace retail park is now a state-of-the-art M&S Food store, it was once a place where families from all over the town would travel armed with their account cards and rent films.

Obviously with the introduction of Netflix, Amazon Prime, LOVEFiLM and on demand services, Blockbuster was never going to be able to compete.

JJB Sports store

Another Shrewsbury shopping centre casualty in 2012 was the JJB Sports store. Whether you wanted football boots, tennis rackets or cricket gear, JJB had it all.

The shop in the Charles Darwin Centre was closed down after the company was bought out by Sports Direct, of course now located on the Meole Brace Retail Park.

Adams

This shop has a particular place in the hearts for children growing up in Shrewsbury. It was one place kids loved to be taken clothes shopping.

With disco lights, games and snakes and ladders on the floor, it was always fun to play around while your parents picked out your clothes. While Adams has shut down all of its stores you can still buy online.

Zavvi

On Pride Hill Shrewsbury had a Virgin Megastore, which was bought out by Zavvi. CDs, DVDs, computer games, you name it, Zavvi had it.

But in 2008 it lost its suppliers and was forced into administration. While the stores were closed the group was able to carry on online after being saved by The Hut Group.

McDonalds

Now of course McDonald's is still around and has other restaurants on the outskirts of the town, but we couldn't make this list without a tip of the hat to the Pride Hill restaurant which served its last Big Mac in 2017.

The medieval restaurant was a favourite in the town, whether you were shopping and needed lunch, or heading back from the nightclubs, McDonald's was a regular stopping point in the town centre.

If you have any more memories of shops in the town please leave a comment at the bottom of this story.