Woolworths was a mainstay of Stroud’s retail scene for almost a century, serving generations of shoppers on the town’s high street.
This evocative photograph taken by Andrew Watton ,captures the old building as it once was, a familiar sight for generations of Stroud shoppers.
Many residents will remember the store’s escalators to the upper floor, its popular pick-and-mix counter, vinyl records and the later arrival of CDs, alongside a wide range of goods including fishing tackle and bicycles, TVs, Amstrad hifi, ZX Spectrum, Vic 20, C64, watches, toasters and hairdryers.
Stroud Times editor Ash Loveridge recalled Woolworths in the 1980s: “As a child, I’d head into Woolworths to watch the football results roll in on the TVs for sale. Riding the escalators felt like an adventure, and flicking through the vinyl racks was a genuine thrill -how times have changed.”
The Stroud branch closed for the final time on January 6, 2009, marking the end of nearly 100 years of trading in the town.
The premises were subsequently occupied by Poundland, before being redeveloped and are now home to the Five Valleys Medical Centre and a Starbucks café.
