The Sunderland store which had its own money - a reminder Joplings as we mark 10 years since it closed

There were Santa parades, fashion shows and celebrity visits.

It was Joplings and today, we take a look back – with the help of Philip Curtis and the Sunderland Antiquarian Society – at the John Street venue which closed ten years ago today.

The story started in 1804 when the shop was first established.

Within 17 years, it had already moved into High Street premises in 1921 from its smaller shop situated further down the street.

And, by 1954 it was together with Binns, Liverpool House, Blacketts and Kennedy’s, part of the thriving, active commercial shopping area of the town.

But disaster was to strike on December 14, 1954, the night Joplings store was destroyed by fire.

Following the devastation it would have been easy for the store to call it a day but the directors were determined to rebuild as quickly as possible and a

suitable site was available close by in John Street.

This was the bombsite where St Thomas’ Church and its vicarage had once stood before being destroyed in March 1943 by a German parachute mine.

The vacant site was ideal and agreement was quickly made for Joplings to have their new store rebuilt there.

In the meantime the store carried on in a number of premises. Furniture, electrical and china were sold from the Home Gift Centre in Blandford Street.

The Fashion Centre in John Street catered for ladies clothing and the footwear department was housed in a temporary store back on the High Street site.

A men’s shop dealing with bespoke tailoring was also housed further along the street.

Work on the new store in John Street progressed quickly and, by December 1955, one year after the fire, the new floors of the shop were nearing completion

and an escalator as well as a lift was being installed.

Amidst great excitement, Joplings’ new store opened in May 1956.

Wearsiders were not disappointed – outside was a commissionaire on duty to greet customers and the store boasted the town’s first ever escalator (although it only went one way - up).

John Street had been brought back to life so much so that Woolworths, in Fawcett Street, extended its own store to include an entrance in John Street across the road from Joplings.

The store was never slow to introduce innovation. It produced its own currency in the form of tokens which could be repaid over a number of weeks.

Saturday was always the busiest day and most departments employed extra staff to deal with the high number of customers. These were usually young

teenage girls looking to earn a little extra spending money (in the mid 60s the store usually paid these girls 12/6d for the day).

Philip told us: “During the 1960s there were regular appearances at the store by television personalities including Michael Miles, Ken Dodd, Val Doonican and the stars of Coronation Street.

“Wearsiders usually packed out the store whenever any of them were there. Regular fashion events were also arranged with the region’s top models showing off the latest clothing on sale in the store.

“However the best days were slowly coming to an end.

“The westward movement of the commercial centre of the town placed increasing pressure upon shops and stores situated outside The Bridges to retain

profitability. Many old established family businesses as well as stores closed down and Joplings eventually became a casualty.”

It final day came on June 19, 2010 and the store which served Wearsiders since 1804 closed its doors for the final time and yet another piece of old Sunderland was lost forever.”

Our thanks go to Philip and Sunderland Antiquarian Society. To find out more about the society, visit its Facebook page or its website at http://www.sunderland-antiquarians.org/

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