Edinburgh retro: looking back at shops that have come and gone over the years

Edinburgh Evening News

Part of our Edinburgh retro series, this video looks back at some of the popular shops we have lost over the years.

Transcript

00:00 Hello, I'm Neil from The Evening News and this video is part of our retro series where

00:06 we look back at historic pictures of Edinburgh. In this video we will look at popular Edinburgh

00:12 shops that have come and gone over the years.

00:16 British Home Stores was an iconic site on Princes Street for many years, with the premises

00:21 given a Category B listing by Historic Scotland in 2008. The shop would close in 2016 and

00:28 a year later permission to make internal and external alterations to the building was approved.

00:33 The space at 64 Princess Street is set to become home to Japanese clothing brand Unoclo,

00:39 who submitted plans to create a retail space over three storeys.

00:44 Owned by the House of Fraser, Small's department store closed its doors in 1977. In this photo

00:51 you can see a 'Best Wishes' sign above the store, ahead of the 1960 Royal Wedding

00:56 for Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones. More recently, the site received planning

01:02 permission to become a Ruby Hotel that is set to open in 2026 after fashion brand Zara

01:08 relocated to the St James' Quarter.

01:11 Woolworths first opened its iconic Princess Street store in March 1926, to much anticipation

01:18 and excitement. The shop would survive until 1984, when it was then transformed into a

01:23 limpy. Today, the site at the east end of Princess Street is home to the Apple Store.

01:29 Patrick Thompson's on Northbridge originally opened as a small haberdashery and drapery

01:34 store on Southbridge in 1889, but the shop became so popular that it had to relocate

01:39 to a larger site on Northbridge. The store would close in the 1970s and in 1984 the building

01:46 became the Carleton Hotel.

01:49 Situated across the road from Waverley Station, department store chain RW Forsyth, or Forsyth

01:55 as it was known, expanded into Edinburgh in 1906. After more than 100 years of trading,

02:01 the Glasgow department store chain closed stores nationwide in 1983, with the Edinburgh

02:06 branch closing in 1981. In this photo you can see a small statue of the company's founder,

02:12 Robert Wallace Forsyth.

02:15 Peter Allen on Southbridge was one of two Allen's shops on the bridges in Edinburgh.

02:20 In this photo from the 1960s, you can see excited shoppers entering the Southbridge

02:25 store to check out the latest sales.

02:28 The Grant's department store on Northbridge boasted a new extension in 1959, which saw

02:34 the first escalator installed in the city. The store once stood at the corner of Northbridge

02:39 and the High Street before closing its doors in May 1983.

02:45 Located in the west end of Princess Street, Binns opened in 1931, the first store in Edinburgh

02:50 to incorporate electric lifts. The popular shop sold everything from clothes to furnishings

02:55 and even had its own restaurant. The shop would become House of Fraser in May of 1976,

03:01 but is now home to the Johnny Walker Experience. In this photo you can see people anxiously

03:06 waiting to get in and take advantage of the sales.

03:10 Darling's department store on Princess Street was renowned for its high fashion and was

03:14 owned by former Edinburgh Lord Provost William Darling.

03:20 This photo shows Blyth's department store on Earl Grey Street. Here you can see early

03:25 morning shoppers in the 1950s, bracing against the cold in order to bag the best bargains

03:31 at the start of the January sale.

03:33 JNR Allen was a silk merchant and draper. In this photo you can see a fashion show and

03:40 mannequin parade in 1962.

03:43 Goldberg's was a department store that opened in Highriggs, Talcross in 1960. At the time

03:49 it was considered a modern building with five floors, a roof garden, nursery and a menagerie.

03:56 After closing in February 1990, the building would be demolished six years later.

04:02 The Leith Provident Co-operative, known by locals as the Provy, was a popular shop on

04:07 Great Junction Street, opening in 1911. At the shop customers could collect stamps over

04:12 the year and exchange them for goods in the store.

04:16 In this picture you can see Mrs J Carse and her daughter. Mrs Carse won one million co-op

04:21 dividend stamps, making her a stamp millionaire in August 1970.

04:27 If you'd like to check out more retro content, you can visit our website at www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com

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