John Lewis Sheffield: Photos show inside store three years after closure, ahead of major revamp

These new photos show inside the old John Lewis store in Sheffield city centre three years after it closed.

They have been shared ahead of a major revamp of the listed building at Barker's Pool, which was formerly the Cole Brothers department store.

Paul Stinson told The Star how he was lucky enough to look inside while he was doing some nearby drone photography.

His pictures show the empty shell of the old store looking barely recognisable, with the escalators and signs for the cafe the only clues to its former life.

Paul, whose drone videography and photography company is called Hovaloft, said he only moved to Sheffield six years ago and never went inside the John Lewis store before it closed.

He was surprised by the reaction the photos generated when he shared them on the public Facebook group It’s all about Sheffield In’it, where it has generated more than 300 comments.

'Really interesting to see inside'

"It was really interesting to see inside because I like old abandoned buildings," he said.

"There was a security guard there and all the doors have massive padlocks on them.

"I couldn't believe the reaction to my photos. I didn't think anyone would be interested."

The John Lewis store in Sheffield closed at the start of the third national lockdown in January 2021 and that March the company announced it would not be reopening.

Plans for shops, restaurants and offices

John Lewis had been part of Sheffield since the 1940s when it took over the Cole Brothers department store.

The building is set to be transformed by Urban Splash, the firm which revamped Sheffield's famous Park Hill flats, and will be called ‘Cole Store’, in a nod to its history.

Urban Splash has announced plans to transform the huge building into a place to meet, eat and shop, with offices and a gym on the upper floors.

It said back in June 2023 that it planned to partially reopen the building in as little as six months and to complete the job in three years.

Photos bring back memories

The new photos brought memories flooding back for many people, with some declaring the old store was the 'only reason' they came into Sheffield city centre to shop.

One person commented: "When I first came to Sheffield in the 70s, I was in awe of the place, especially seeing the lovely Marti Caine walking out of the front door into a waiting Rolls Royce. She looked like an ice queen dressed in a long white hooded coat edged in white fur. Always used to meet up with my friends there."

Another wrote: "Sad. So sad to see. What a waste. That cafe was always full and buzzing."

But not everyone was living in the past, with a third person saying: "Looking forward to what is next for this building. The John Lewis management are to blame for the closure and nobody else apart from customers who perhaps didn't buy enough?

"Sheffield has a lot going for it. The Moor was buzzing yesterday and will be today with the predicted sunny weather. We need to live in the here and now not the past."