Retro: Seventies Sheffield - When shops were on top

Long-gone Sheffield department stores like Redgates, Cockaynes, Pauldens and Walsh's are being celebrated once again.
Big queues for the sale at Hodgsons Camera Shop in Sheffield city centreBig queues for the sale at Hodgsons Camera Shop in Sheffield city centre
Big queues for the sale at Hodgsons Camera Shop in Sheffield city centre

The city’s retail dominance of the Seventies is being marked by the relaunch of a hit book on Sheffield social history.

Neil Anderson’s Shopaholics Guide to 1970s Sheffield is back in print and includes scores of photos and memories from the city’s golden era of retail.

Models at Sheffield store Sex Rexy's, featured in Neil Anderson's book, Shopaholics Guide to 1970s SheffieldModels at Sheffield store Sex Rexy's, featured in Neil Anderson's book, Shopaholics Guide to 1970s Sheffield
Models at Sheffield store Sex Rexy's, featured in Neil Anderson's book, Shopaholics Guide to 1970s Sheffield
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Renewed interest in the 1970s and the book has come about thanks to multi-million-pound investment on The Moor and development around the New Retail Quarter.

Neil Anderson said: “It’s reassuring to see Sheffield city centre retail turning a corner and it’s fair to say that developers could learn a thing or two from its position in the early 1970s.

“Thoughts of Meadowhall would have been laughed off the high street.

“We boasted some of the biggest and best department stores in the UK and people used to travel from all over the North of England to enjoy the experience.

Jackson the Tailor on Fargate in 1978Jackson the Tailor on Fargate in 1978
Jackson the Tailor on Fargate in 1978
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“Facebook groups are awash with people reminiscing about the stores and Sheffield in the 1970s and it looks as though the book is going to prove popular once again.”

Shopaholics Guide to 1970s Sheffield is priced at £12.95 and available now from ACM Retro with free postage.