Sheffield’s epic John Lewis saga: The full timeline from failed plans for a brand new store to Cole Brothers and everything in between

Last week's announcement by John Lewis that it had signed a new 20-year lease on its Sheffield department store amid plans for a refurbishment was the latest development in a saga that stretches back decades.
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It’s a story that encompasses the takeover and eventual rebranding of the city's Cole Brothers shop, failed plans for an enormous brand new store that never came to fruition, and all the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here is every important step on the journey from Coles’ foundation to the agreement of a fresh deal with the John Lewis Partnership.

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1847: John and Thomas Cole set up their own business as a silk mercers and hosiers at 4 Fargate, Sheffield. They were joined by their brother Skelton.

John Lewis in Barker's Pool, Sheffield, today.John Lewis in Barker's Pool, Sheffield, today.
John Lewis in Barker's Pool, Sheffield, today.

1869: The venture grows and a rebuild of the brothers’ stores is commissioned with a new frontage and two extra storeys. The site becomes known in Sheffield as Coles Corner, a favoured city centre meeting place.

1898: The business is incorporated as a limited company, Cole Brothers Ltd.

1920: The firm is sold to Gordon Selfridge, later transferring to his Selfridge Provincial Stores group.

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1940: Selfridge Provincial Stores is sold to the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership. Cole Brothers keeps its name, however.

Cole Brothers department store, in its original spot on the corner of Fargate and Church Street, in July 1905. The streets are decorated for the Royal visit of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Image: Picture Sheffield.Cole Brothers department store, in its original spot on the corner of Fargate and Church Street, in July 1905. The streets are decorated for the Royal visit of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Image: Picture Sheffield.
Cole Brothers department store, in its original spot on the corner of Fargate and Church Street, in July 1905. The streets are decorated for the Royal visit of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Image: Picture Sheffield.

1960: The Gazette – John Lewis' in-house publication – announces the intention to expand Cole Brothers by moving the shop to a new site.

1962: The old site on Fargate is sold for £1 million – £21.5 million today.

1963: A new Cole Brothers department store opens in Barker’s Pool on September 17. It was built on derelict land where Sheffield’s Albert Hall, gutted by a fire in 1937 and then demolished, once stood. Adverts trumpet the new building as ‘one of the newest department stores in Europe’ and ‘a shopper’s delight’. “The whole store is designed to set a new standard for first-class shopping,” one promotional item says. “The staff are eager to serve.”

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1994: The Sheffield Development Corporation and Sheffield City Council commission Hillier Parker and the Oxford Institute of Retail Management to undertake a study of the region. The results highlight the city centre’s decline and recommend the creation of a major retail development.

Cole Brothers' store in Barker's Pool on its opening day in 1963.Cole Brothers' store in Barker's Pool on its opening day in 1963.
Cole Brothers' store in Barker's Pool on its opening day in 1963.

2000: The site of a ‘new retail quarter’ in Sheffield city centre is identified in a City Centre Masterplan commissioned by urban regeneration company Sheffield One.

2001: Hammerson is selected as the new retail quarter’s preferred developer by Sheffield One and the city council.

2002: The location for a new, bigger John Lewis store – the cornerstone of the new retail quarter – is confirmed in April as the site of the Wellington Street fire station between Carver Street and Rockingham Street. A 2,000-space car park would be built on a neighbouring site, off Rockingham Street. Fire service managers say they are prepared to consider moving to a more convenient location.

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2002: Cole Brothers is rebranded as a branch of John Lewis on September 15, a move approved by staff or ‘partners’ as they are known within the company. This was a Sunday, and also represented the first time the shop had opened on this day of the week. But the store was still expected to carry on closing on Mondays for the time being – a longstanding benefit that meant partners got a full, two-day ‘weekend’. The Sheffield outlet’s managing director Andrew Slater told The Star at the time: “I think it's inevitable when we move to our new shop we will be open seven days but whether it will happen before I can't say."

The Cole Brothers sign is removed as the store's name changes to John Lewis in 2002. The partnership wanted to give its outlets a more unified image.The Cole Brothers sign is removed as the store's name changes to John Lewis in 2002. The partnership wanted to give its outlets a more unified image.
The Cole Brothers sign is removed as the store's name changes to John Lewis in 2002. The partnership wanted to give its outlets a more unified image.

2005: Hammerson submits an outline planning application for the new retail quarter.

2006: The outline planning application is approved by Sheffield City Council.

2007: Hammerson appoints award-winning firm of architects O'Donnell + Tuomey to design the new 260,000 sq ft John Lewis department store in Sheffield. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2008.

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2007: The new retail quarter gets a marketing name, Sevenstone, in October.

2009: In January, The Star reports that Sevenstone has been put on hold indefinitely.

2009: In November, Hammerson announces that work on Sevenstone will not start until 2011 because of the recession.

The demolition of the old Cole Brothers store in 1964.The demolition of the old Cole Brothers store in 1964.
The demolition of the old Cole Brothers store in 1964.

2009: Demolition of the Wellington Street fire station starts in December. The idea is to use the site as a temporary car park until work begins. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue had moved to a new HQ on Eyre Street in March 2009.

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2012: In March, John Lewis says it is no longer seeking to move from its existing building into Sevenstone.

2013: Sheffield City Council and Hammerson officially part ways in July.

2014: In April, John Lewis announces it will spend £1.3 million on its Barker’s Pool store. This involves the refurbishment of the ground floor, including a new-look beauty hall.

2015: Detailed plans are revealed for the revised Sheffield Retail Quarter in March. These are centred on an ‘anchor store’.

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2017: John Lewis Sheffield’s head of branch, Tom Holmes, welcomes the prospect of ‘a new generation store for the people who already shop with us, opening up to new people as well’. Talks are still under way between the council, its strategic development partner Queensberry and the retailer about its place in the Sheffield Retail Quarter.

2018: The masterplan for Heart of the City II – formerly the Sheffield Retail Quarter – is revealed. John Lewis is staying put in its existing building in Barker's Pool, it is confirmed – talks will be held to determine how extensively the branch can be overhauled to complement the £500 million development scheme.

2020: John Lewis is forced to close all of its sites in March because of the coronavirus lockdown. A period of uncertainty follows as the partnership reopens its branches in phases, while stating that it is unlikely all stores will return as the business had entered the pandemic with ‘weakening profits’ dented by changing consumer habits. The closure of several shops, including a large outlet in Birmingham, is later confirmed, but Sheffield’s store is spared.

2020: In June, Nalin Seneviratne, the council’s director of city centre development, admits that John Lewis has ‘complained about the overall progress’ with reviving the middle of Sheffield ‘and the fact the city has dragged and dragged’.

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2020: On July 15, members of the council’s cabinet committee are asked to approve proposals to keep John Lewis in Sheffield as part of Heart of the City II – allowing the authority to buy out John Lewis’ long-term ‘nominal’ lease on its building in Barker’s Pool, enter into a new contract with a rent based on turnover, and give the retailer money towards the cost of a revamp.

2020: In August John Lewis announces that it has agreed a new 20-year lease, to run until 2040, on its Sheffield store. This includes plans for a refurbishment – details of this are ‘under review’, the partnership says, but work is likely to start in mid-2021 and the store will remain open throughout.

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