Newcastle’s Lost Shops

National World - LocalTV

With high streets constanly changing, we looked back on some of Newcastle’s iconic lost shops

Transcript

00:00While it's difficult to pinpoint a single year, shops in Newcastle, like many other areas,

00:05began to struggle with increased competition and changing consumer habits.

00:09Especially in the late 80s and 90s, a lot of the traditional stores that had survived wars

00:13in the Great Depression couldn't survive the constant evolution of the retail market.

00:18I'll be looking at Newcastle's iconic Lodge shops.

00:22Binns was a landmark in Newcastle's shopping scene for over a century.

00:26Established in 1860 by William Binns,

00:28the department store became an iconic retail destination for local shoppers.

00:33Originally located on the corner of Grey Street and Market Street,

00:36the Newcastle store opened in 1929 and it was known for its wide variety of high-quality goods,

00:42from fashion to homeware and luxury items.

00:45Binns was synonymous with quality and service and had a loyal following for generations.

00:50However, the end of Binns came in January 1995,

00:53when parent company House of Fraser stated that the Market Street was no longer profitable.

00:58TJ Hughes, behind me here, now occupies some of what used to be Binns.

01:04Now, John Lewis is a name we all know when it comes to British retail,

01:07but before the department store arrived in Newcastle,

01:10the site had been home to another iconic store, Bainbridge's.

01:14The store was also originally located here on Market Street and opened in 1852.

01:19Just over 100 years later, the store became a branch of the John Lewis Partnership in 1953.

01:25This partnership allowed for much-needed investment in the store and in October 1976,

01:30the shop relocated into the newly built Eldon Square Shopping Centre.

01:34In 2002, the Bainbridge name was changed to John Lewis Newcastle.

01:38While the store, of course, looks very different today,

01:40it's still open, even surviving the Covid-19 pandemic.

01:45But what are some of the shops you miss here in Newcastle?

01:49Oh, what was it called?

01:50Oh, there's so many of them gone.

01:52Used to go and have our tea, and my mum used to take us.

01:55Little Woods?

01:56Little Woods.

01:57Oh, I miss that shop.

02:00Well, I suppose, you know, because I was a younger man when I first moved up here,

02:03it was things like record shops I used to go into.

02:05So, I mean, there's ones that I, yeah,

02:08I don't think the buildings that they were in are even still here now.

02:12But, you know, I used to love going and mooching around a second-hand record shop.

02:17Well, the biggest one, the one that's gone recently,

02:19is JJ Windows in the Arcade.

02:21I mean, it's been in Newcastle for over 100 years.

02:24And everybody, I mean, I'm 63,

02:27and everybody of an age used to buy their records in there in the 70s, 80s, 90s.

02:31You know, it was a brilliant place.

02:33You could go to Longstaffle Road, the Cooks,

02:35and you can go in there and you could buy anything in Cooks.

02:38And it's none of them shops now, you know, despite it all, despite it all.

02:43All the little local shops that you used to get in town,

02:47they've all gone and all taken over by major buildings,

02:51you know, that's big businesses.

02:54All the small businesses have gone.

02:55You'd think he's thinking brand new business,

02:57and I don't even know what they're for.

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