These photos take you back to a golden age for the British high street, long before internet shopping changed the face of retail.
They capture scenes on shopping streets around Yorkshire during the 60s and 70s, including many of that era’s most popular brands.
A family shopping trip back then might have included stops at British Home Stores for some new school trousers, Saxone or Dolcis for fresh footwear, Mothercare for nappies, and, if you were lucky, Woolworths for pick ‘n’ mix.
This retro photo gallery features all those once iconic British shops, plus many more that have been lost over the years.
There are also some that you’ll probably only recall if you’re from Yorkshire, like Vallances, in Leeds, which helped a generation of pop pickers broaden their musical horizons; or Sheffield’s beloved Redgates toy shop, which was affectionately dubbed the Yorkshire Disneyland.
Popular department stores of the day included Marshall & Snelgrove, Cole Brothers, Lewis’s, Walsh’s and Cockaynes, while John Collier, Peter Robinson, Richards and Wallis were among the leading fashion outlets.
What were your favourite shops in the 60s and 70s, and were there any that you particularly hated being dragged to as a child?
45. Cockaynes
Angel Street, Sheffield city centre, in 1962, showing shops including Cockaynes department store | Sheffield Newspapers Ltd
46. Catch of the day
Shoppers choose the catch of the day in the new fish market at Leeds in November 1976.
47. Woolworths
Woolworths at Seacroft Shopping Centre, Leeds, in July 1977 | National World
