Shropshire Star

Ellesmere store to close after 140 years in family

The oldest shop in Ellesmere will close down next week after being run by the same family for nearly 140 years, it emerged today. The oldest shop in Ellesmere will close down next week after being run by the same family for nearly 140 years, it emerged today. [caption id="attachment_208016" align="alignright" width="250" caption="Staff outside the Fred Roberts shop in the 1920s"][/caption] The Fred Roberts shop, in Cross Street, dates back to Queen Victoria's reign. It started out as a printer's business before becoming a gifts and stationery shop after World War Two. But it will serve its last customers on Wednesday with the loss of five part-time jobs. The business has been run by five generations of the same family since it opened in 1872 and the shop has become known as an institution in the town. The shop is an Aladdin's cave of gifts, cards, toys, stationery, china and glass including famous name brands such as Wedgwood and Royal Worcester. But now owner Debbie Hayward, who runs the shop with her mother Beryl Hewitt, has decided to call time on the landmark store, which is in its 139th year of trading. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star

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The oldest shop in Ellesmere will close down next week after being run by the same family for nearly 140 years, it emerged today.

The Fred Roberts shop, in Cross Street, dates back to Queen Victoria's reign.

It started out as a printer's business before becoming a gifts and stationery shop after World War Two. But it will serve its last customers on Wednesday with the loss of five part-time jobs.

The business has been run by five generations of the same family since it opened in 1872 and the shop has become known as an institution in the town.

The shop is an Aladdin's cave of gifts, cards, toys, stationery, china and glass including famous name brands such as Wedgwood and Royal Worcester.

But now owner Debbie Hayward, who runs the shop with her mother Beryl Hewitt, has decided to call time on the landmark store, which is in its 139th year of trading.

Mrs Hayward, whose daughter Sarah has also helped out in the shop, said she would miss running the store but thanked customers for their support down the years.

She said the decision to shut the shop was taken for health reasons.

Since announcing the news, Mrs Hayward has encouraged people to share their memories for a scrapbook about the shop's history.

Charles Roberts first took over the tenancy of the property in 1872 when it was a printer's.

His son Fred took over the business after 1914 and began to sell stationery as well, with the printing side eventually dying out.

Fred Roberts died in 1940, although his name remains above the door.

Mrs Hayward, Charles Roberts's great-great-granddaughter, came into the business in 1979 and said she was extremely proud it had remained in the family for so long.

Last year the shop interior underwent a £10,000 makeover – the first in about 50 years – but the shop front has remained exactly the same since the 1970s.

When the shop celebrated its 135th birthday in 2007, BBC Midlands Today visited to film a feature on its long history.

Timeline for traders:

  • The shop began life in 1872 when Fred’s father Charles took over an existing printers business.

  • In 1914 Fred took over after his father’s death. At the time Charles was described in his obituary as the oldest and most respected businessman in Ellesmere’.

  • In 1940, on his death, Fred’s daughter Ivy took over the helm. To this day some residents refer to the shop as Ivy Roberts’s.

  • The printing side of the business came to an end during World War Two when manpower was in short supply.

  • The shop bounced back as a stockist of gifts, cards and other products.

  • Ivy’s niece Beryl Hewitt took over in the 1960s with her husband Glyn joining in 1963.

  • Their daughter Debbie joined the business in 1979.

  • Today Debbie and Beryl run the shop together with a team of about five part-time staff.

  • Last year the shop interior underwent a £10,000 makeover – the first in about 50 years.

  • The shop has grown over the years with items now displayed across two floors featuring showrooms plus the main shop area.

  • Bosses say the secret of their success is ‘our local staff provide a friendly, personal service and nothing is too much trouble’.

By Tom Johannsen

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