12 Shops That Once Made Every British High Street Feel Alive

In 1909, the first British Woolworths opened on Church Street in Liverpool, and everything inside cost threepence or sixpence. Within sixty years there was one on almost every high street in the country. This is the story of twelve shops that were the heartbeat of the British high street: the record racks, the pick and mix, the catalogue counters and the penny bazaars where a whole town met on a Saturday afternoon. One began as a market stall in Leeds with a sign that read “Don’t ask the price, it’s a penny.” One was started by American businessmen copying Woolworths. One was sold for £1. And every one of them changed the way Britain shopped. In this video: 12. Athena 11. Our Price 10. Tandy 9. Rumbelows 8. Timothy Whites 7. Fine Fare 6. Index 5. Littlewoods 4. Wilko 3. BHS 2. The Marks & Spencer Penny Bazaar Woolworths Which of these shops did your family use? Tell us the exact memory in the comments: the counter, the smell, the person who knew your name. And share this with someone who grew up on the same high street. Subscribe to When Britain Made Things for more stories of the shops, brands and factories that built modern Britain. #Woolworths #BritishNostalgia #HighStreet Tags (comma-separated, under YouTube’s 500-character limit): british high street, lost british shops, woolworths, woolworths uk, british nostalgia, uk nostalgia, shops we miss, bhs, british home stores, marks and spencer history, penny bazaar, our price records, rumbelows, athena posters, tandy uk, timothy whites, fine fare, index catalogue shop, littlewoods, wilko, 1970s britain, 1980s britain, british retail history, high street decline, when britain made things