Standing proudly at the foot of The Moor, Atkinsons remains the last bastion of department stores remaining in Sheffield city centre, more than 150 years since it opened.
The city centre was once populated with a number of iconic, historic and beloved retail destinations. Household names like Cockaynes, Pauldens, and the Brightside and Carbrook Co-op Society store at Castle House all once served local shoppers.
Post-war years, the family-owned John Walsh later was bought by Harrods before it was bought by House of Fraser in 1959 and renamed Rackhams. It was rebranded as House of Fraser in 1987 and in 1998 closed for good.
In recent years, major high street giants—including C&A, British Home Stores, and Debenhams—have shut their doors for good across the country and in Sheffield.
However, the most devastating blow to the city was the closure of John Lewis in 2021. Located at the historic site of Cole Brothers on Barker’s Pool, its second site in the city after it’s original Fargate base, its shuttering resulted in the loss of 299 jobs and left many residents deeply saddened.
We take another dive into our archive and share with you 33 retro pictures with some of Sheffield’s most memorable department stores from years past. How many of these former high street favorites did you shop at?
1. Fargate
Fargate, Sheffield, pictured on May 10, 1947, with the old Cole Brothers Department Store on the left
2. Leopold Street
Leopold Street, Sheffield city centre, seen from Fargate, some time between 1960 and 1979, showing the Goodwin Fountain, Wilson Peck music warehouse, Marshall and Snelgrove fashion shop, the Grand Hotel and Education Department offices | Picture Sheffield/Ray Brightman, FRPS AFIAP DPAGB Hon PAGB
3. BHS
Sheffield Christmas Illuminations on The Moor with British Home Stores on the left, November 29, 1962
4. Christmas decorations
Christmas decorations on The Moor, Sheffield city centre, in 1963, with shops including Sheffield and Ecclesall Co-operative Society | Picture Sheffield/Sheffield Newspapers Ltd