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Lewis's Department Store

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kandor
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Judy - what year was that then, do you know? I was still queueing after we came to live in Tamworth in 1972. I have a photo of my daughter with Father Christmas taken that year, I may not have been there after that. It was the highlight of my year, Lewis's Christmas Grotto was the best to be found.
 
DavidGrain said:
I was in Liverpool last week. Although the store still shows the Lewis's name it has been closed for many years. This time the front was covered in scaffolding which means that you could not see the artwork over the front door which gave us the line in the song "We meet under a statue exceedingly bare"
Click to expand...
This makes interesting reading but story is a couple of years old..
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12571551
 
Shortie - I don't know what year it would be, but I would still be quite young. I remember my Mom telling me about it. I think it might have been about 1949/50ish. I believe they stopped the queueing on the stairs with the open drop to the basement after that.

Judy
 
Within each Lewis's Department store was a Martin's Bank. I found a website that records lots of memories, but unfortunately the link isn't working. So I've copied the most relevant pages below for anyone interested. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1369118409.523542.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1369118419.592066.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1369118428.664729.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1369118447.576209.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1369118457.522958.jpg
 
HI DEK and Phil
In answer to your requested answer to your thread about lewis ; yes i think it was only one case but there again it could have been two during there history of being there trading
the last one i recal was around the 1958-9 period and that was recorded in the birmingham mail
they had the rails around many years before that because way back in time i am not sure of the period but at least during the thirtys or the
fortys i beleive it was a lady whom ended her life by jumping from the top of lewis,s garden roof top
on the day the last person jumped we discussed this with our mom and we told her about the fella jumping
and she told us there wa a person years ago when she was young thata lady had done it hence the raiing
lewis,s closed that garden roof for that period inthe late fifty and early sixties and afew years later it was finance troubles and looseing
money so they sold out so they just kept the london store which is still raking it in ;
So thats the reason lewis,s closed down;and not because of the jumper
best wishes to each and every one member Astonian;;;;
 
My first bank account I opened in my own name was at Lewis's Martin's Bank and after saving for a few years took all the money out and put it towards deposit on a house mortgage, but I mentioned about it in the other much larger Lewis's thread. There are pictures and posts and many memories from people who worked there. For anyone interested a random selection of posts below and there is the real Father Christmas in one pic.
Because this thread was merged with another Lewis's thread, the links I posted now do not work

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1260&p=463410#post463410

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1260&p=423181#post423181
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=1260&p=441314#post441314
 
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Stephen - you may be right. Maybe the staircase was re-opened later. I spoke to my sister about it today and she remembers the incident well, where the child fell down the stairwell and was killed. We seem to remember the stairs being closed for queuing to see Father Christmas as we don't recall ever doing that again. It would be the late 1940's. So perhaps the stairs were only closed for that year, and we were too old to visit the Grotto again. They were I think stairs at the back of the building and went up perhaps five floors. The queue went to the Toy Floor, town the stairs and right round the building.
 
This has jolted a memory for me. I queued with my mother and sister on the stairs in the 1960's. I well remember my mother making us stand by the wall side of the stairs, we were not allowed by the rail. I now understand why my mother was so insistant. What a terrible thing to happen to a child.
 
I seem to remember the photo studio in the basement passage under the Minories but I may be mistaken and anyway I expect they moved it to a different part of the store every so often like all shops like to confuse the customers.
 
My name is David Neale and I went to work at Lewiss on a temporary basis in September 1964 as a Christmas temp after leaving Handsworth Grammar School after my A levels.

Not sure what I wanted to do did this as a fill in ,I worked with David Field at a temp warehouse in George Street where all the large Christmas toys were delivered,mainly dolls prams,it was just the 2 of us with Dave in charge

After Christmas I applied to work as a management trainee and was posted to the 4th floor bedroom and dining room furniture,managed by John Harwood with John Parkinson as his assistant,Oh Happy days!! Just like Are You Being Served,my colleagues in the dept were Martin Adams and John Parrot,there was also an elderly lady who worked and promoted Nathan Furniture. Pam Brocklehurst came to the dept ,a really good looking blond and it wasnt long before she and I were an item!

It really was a male paradise,must have been 10 females to every guy,and although I eventually had a very successful career in the Motor Trade (I am now retired) The 4 years I spent working for the company with the tag line "Satisfaction guaranteed or Money refunded" were the happiest working days of my life!!!
 
Stephen0002002 said:
Bananna milk shakes in the basement cafe were gorgeous. And the Sound of Music seemed to be on for years at the Gaumont opposite.
Click to expand...

It was, Stephen. All three of them, from 18 April 1965 to 6 July 1968. A certain Miss Alice Jackson allegedly 'did the ton' or six of them even by attending 600 times. Hmm. That's what I call obssessive:rolleyes:
 
Hello Colin. May I ask a great favour? Could you expand a little on information about the Miss Selfridge set up within Lewis's.
My e mail is lauriehornsby@btinternet.com. I would be eternally grateful for your assistance. From one Brummie to another, Laurie
 
Greetings Laurie. I have obviously heard of Miss Selfridge but I have no knowledge of it, sorry. I am sure someone out there will know something about the subject. Regards Colin
 
I remember Miss Selfridges in Lewis's very well as I used to buy some of my clothes there. I don't know much about it though presumably it was a concession department belonging to Selfridges in London. I would guess it opened in around 1966.
 
Miss Selfridge started up in 1966 in London, then in 1967 spread around the country. They were concessions located within department stores. They later opened up some independent high street shops too. I remember both the Oxford Street concession and the Lewis's store ones well. Although aimed at teenagers, their prices were a bit higher than other clothes shops. But the designs were good. Seem to remember the Lewis's store painted quite dark inside, like many of the high street boutiques of the time. In fact I guess it was trying to be a distinct boutique within a departmental store to attract younger shoppers. For Lewis's at the time it must have been quite a brave move as their other departments were pretty traditional. I expect the 'Selfridge' name was the aspect that appealed to them. Viv.


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I remember the children`s hair dept and sitting on the animals. The lady would "singe" my hair with a lighted taper ! never understood why, just terrified the life out of me ! The roof garden, was it only open for a short time? because I only remember going the odd time. Mom and myself were in the Minories and everyone was looking up at a lady climbing out of the window, I saw her fall and still recall the noise of the crowd and then the quiet and then all hell broke loose. Horrible. Poor woman. But Father Christmas, he WAS the real Santa. such a long queue and Mr Holly and the Elves. Always a lovely present, was it always wrapped in red crepe paper ? Father Christmas always made me feel so special. Magic. Boxes of broken biscuits in the grocery area, I loved the fig rolls and Mom always asked for some broken chocolate biscuits, a bit like kitkats. The fashion dept was wonderful, no eating in there or children hiding in the racks !
 
Hi Colin,

I think you may have knew my mom Emma O'Neill, she worked on the Power Tools I do have a photo somewhere of her demonstrating a lawnmower, I must sort it out & post it.
Was your boss a Mr English?
 
I remember the spaceship, but I thought that was at the Co-op. Lewis's was always better. I remember one year passing various scenes, one was the sandman throwing sand into the sleeping children's eyes. Lovely, the best memories ever from Lewis's.
 
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I have fond memories of Lewis's as a child. The wonderful toy department on the 6th floor with the huge model train displays. The restaurant on the top floor, food was lovely and the views were too. The record store in the subway where you could listen in the booth before deciding to buy the disc.
I was working in Liverpool recently and passed an old empty Lewis's store. I believe the head office was based in Liverpool.
 
Great memories - and they cant take them away :-)

Dapper Commissionaires with uniform lanyards and white gloves, Lift operators in brown overalls, Lattice metal work on the inner and outer lift doors, Toy Dept (5th floor in my day), Bananna milk-shake in the cafe. Escalators carrying loads of shoppers, Sound of Music on at the Gautmont over the road forever. Happy days.
 
I remember passing the record store in the 70s, and they were playing The War Of The Worlds soundtrack . I just stopped there listening to it amazed. Promptly went in and brought it , on vinyl of course , still have the double album today .
 
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