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?
33. Austin Reed
Austin Reed on the corner of Fargate and Chapel Walk, Sheffield, with Richards ladies fashion shop on the right, in March 1969 | Barrie Aughton
34. Stead & Simpson
A new shopping precinct in Kirkgate, Leeds, running from Briggate, in June 1972, with shops including Stead & Simpson | YPN
35. John Collier
High Street, Sheffield city centre, in 1965, showing John Collier tailors, Swears and Wells furriers, H. Samuel jewellers, Bewlay (Tobacconists), and Manfield and Sons shoe shop | Picture Sheffield
