Exclusive:End of an era as beloved 'oldest shop' in Sheffield neighbourhood shuts after 60 years trading

It has been a familiar site on a busy Sheffield street for generations.

But shoppers in Sheffield’s Walkley neighbourhood will have to find somewhere new to buy their electrical goods now, after the long serving boss of Walkley Television Services finally closed the business where he has worked since 1981.

A closing down sale at the shop finally ended on Wednesday April 29, bringing to an end a small piece of Sheffield’s retail history, dating back to the year England won the men’s football’s world cup.

When Paul Skelton first joined his dad Brian, and co-owner David Fox, at the business, it was common to see queues at the door in the morning, as people waited to get their televisions fixed.

But after the recent death of his business partner David, Paul decided it was time to close.

Paul said: “I started here in 1981, and I’m 64 now. But David Fox, the proprietor and my business partner, sadly died recently, and that’s why we’re shutting now.

“David passed away, and it was not viable for me to carry on the business, but we had planned to shut next year anyway.

“I think we were the oldest shop on South Road. It first opened in 1966, and David took over in 1976, with my dad, Brian, getting involved in 1978.

“It was a proper electricals shop. On Thursdays there would be a queue round the block, because it was pension day, and the Post Office was opposite the shop. Pensioners would come in with their irons that needed to be rewired or heating elements that needed fixing.”

Prior to its most recent use, it had been a dry cleaners in the early 60s. And the shop expanded into a former sweet shop which was next door in the early 80s, using the space as a showroom for products they sold.

Paul recalls former customers having included the industrialist and philanthropist Sir Andrew Cook, of William Cook, and and David Laver from Arnold Laver.

He said television repairs were a big source of business traditionally, in an era when televisions contained valves, which had a tendency to wear out. But he says modern sets last much longer, and can be more difficult to repair economically because of the prices the manufactures charge for replacement parts.

They were also kept busy with contract work for organisations including John Lewis, South Yorkshire Police, and Sheffield University.

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At one time, they also had a television hire business, in the days when many people hired sets because televisions were so expensive, but that was taken over by Valances in the 1980s.

During the Covid pandemic, Paul and his team used to ask people to leave their televisions outside their house, and they would pick them up and repair them. He said it was important to them during the lockdown.

Paul said: “I will miss the customers.”

It is the latest business which was once known for its electrical repairs to close in the area.

Hillsborough Electrical once provided a repair service in Crookes, around a mile away, but close their doors in 2016.

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