Absolutely wonderful.! such memories. i bought 7" singles from woolies in the late 70,s into the 80,s, pick and mix and sat in the cafe with my mum. then i worked for M&S from 1990 after it expanded into that old Woolies store next door. then when my partner moved up to norwich in 2004 his first job was in woolies at Riverside. One store that is still sadly missed today.
I remember little Woollies down Magdalene street had wooden floors and around there it was also known as the little city . Wow thanks I haven't lived in England for a very long time and that brought back some great memories
Seeing the Cafe brought back memories, when I first married we used to meet my Grandfather there on a Saturday, have a chat and a meal, he was estranged from most of the family but my wife and I loved him to bits.
I remember going to the Rampant Horse St branch with my mum in the 1980s, I vaguely recall the escalator and the view from the top (very glassy?) which was more interesting than other dept stores. For my birthday in 1987 I received a used Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer. For those few months between getting it and the store closing, it had an excellent range of cassette computer games. I was very upset when it closed down and taken over by 'fuddy duddy' Marks and Spencer next door. It was quite a long wait for an 11 / 12 year old for the new Woolies on St. Stephens st to open up, vacated by Sainsburys.
I loved Woolies and bought my first duvet cover there in the early 1970'. It is my favourite cover and is still in regularly use. I also remember cycling from Hellesdon to the city to buy cheese from the cheese counter. A wonderful shop and greatly missed.
I wa the catering manager of the Rampant Horse Street Woolies for a few years. At 225 seats, it was the second biggest in the country only beaten by a few seats by the one in Peterborough - !
A wonderful trip down memory lane! I think just about everyone misses good old Woolies on our high streets. Enjoyed finding out more about it's history.
It was a special treat to have a meal in the woolworths cafe as a child. I bought my first christmass tree form there when married and i still have the bag😁 Fond memories.
I remember the rampant horse street store, use to go in there with my mum and nan in the mid/late 80s, remember as you walked in there were cookers and fridges on display, mum use to get a cup of tea from the upstairs cafe which had a balcony which looked over the store, can still see it now in my head. I remember when it moved, didn't it catch fire or something before moving to St Stephens? I loved the St Stephens store, there was a plane they ran along the ceiling on a track carring a sign, HUGE toy department at the back and pic n' mix near the tills, use to nick the sweets sometimes, lol!
An interesting video. On the subject of the now empty Debenhams building, have you ever noticed the sash windows? The only place you could view them properly was by entering the corridor that led to the toilets & goods lift as the rest were all covered by displays. They are of the very traditional sash type but are entirely constructed from folded aluminium sections, joined by lovely corner pieces that appear to have been machined or cast. They are of superior qaulity & I would say they are straight out of a re-purposed WW2 aircraft factory. I would suspect Boulton & Paul. If the windows are replaced as part of the new development, I would hope that some examples are preserved for the Norfolk Museum Service or similar.
Thanks very much for your comment. I hadn't noticed the windows before, but I imagine that you could be correct given the timing of the building of the original store.
there was a woolworths in nairobi kenya early 90, have to admit i remenber those wooden stalls. as a little kid me and a mate used to go lift keyrings and toy cars.very bad boys.in the end my mate got caught and his dad was a copper.did not go down well.he never ratted me out.good mate was chris.
Ah Woolies, pick and mix etc. The bain of my life during school summer holidays, there I'd be, enjoying the long break then, Wallop! "Back to School" signs all over the windows! My Mum taking me in to try on Clarks Commandos and getting a pencil case complete with protractor and compass (I bet those compasses are banned in schools now)
You forgot to mention Woolies stocking Airfix kits John - ! Woollies and Airfix agreed a stocking and distribution deal many years ago, thus assuring that any branch of Woolies would stock Airfix kits, much to the delight of a generation of enthusiastic young lads - ! 😁🤗
80s used to be an ice cream stall right-hand side as you entered the main entrance. Chatted up the ice cream girl only had 2 dates before she dumped me telling me her dad didn't like londoners 😂 hope she found a nice norfolk boy and is happy
@@cccumberr572 this video may be of interest if you haven't seen it, but I haven't got much more. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zsdkwkBkN10.html These may also be of interest. norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolke/eaton/eatofh.htm and norfolkpubs.co.uk/norwich/rnorwich/ncrry.htm Was there anything specific you were looking for?
Ahhhh, my mum, now in her 80s, recently recalled the day I got my finger stuck in a ring attached to the staircase railing. It must've been the mid-1970s. Does anyone know what this ring or rings were for? For the record, a kind man took a tube of cream off the shelf to ease my finger out. A very missed chain of shops, even in my town where I now live.
