In the 1950s and 60s, self-service stores replaced local shops in town centres throughout North Staffordshire and South Cheshire.
If your family used self-service stores, please share your memories of shopping there with our readers. Tell them how self-service stores differed from High Street and corner shops.
To read the full post, click on “How England’s First Self-Service Store Heralded the Birth of the Modern Supermarket” below the photograph.
The Old Man of Mow is a local landmark whose origin is hidden by the sands of time.
In 1907, J. W. Harper wrote Mow Cop and Its Slopes, a local history book about Mow Cop and its surrounding villages. During the coming weeks, North Staffordshire Heritage is posting edited extracts from the book. It is out of print and difficult to obtain from second-hand bookshops.
In the first extract from Mow Cop and its Slopes, we post Harper’s description of The Old Man of Mow.
The Old Man of Mow is a great rock. It stands in a rocky dell. The quarrymen of a former age left it intact. Like many things connected with this hill, why it was left is a matter of conjecture. But there it is. It stands alone, looking down over the Cheshire Plain. It is sombre and black with the years of weather it has seen. It remains a curio unexplained for ages.
The Old Man’s rock’s circumference is 76 feet (ca. 23 m) 7 inches. It is 65 feet (ca. 20 m) 6 inches high. All the approaches to the rock are of the most rugged kind. The location appears to be an ideal rockery. It is pure and simple. There are no shrubs to relieve the monotony of stone.
Visitors to Mow Cop often try to access the rocky dell. Some climb to perilous heights on its steep sides. Few consider their visit to Mow Cop finished without a glimpse of the Old Man.
Photograph: © Copyright Colin Park, licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Post Edited by The History Factory 05.06.2025
To learn more about Crewe Woolworths, click “Woolies Buildings-Then and Now” below.
59 – 67 High Street, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 2HA
Woolworths opened their 199th store in October 1925 in the town of Crewe. The store they built had a grand Art Deco style, as you can see in the photo below. It spanned from numbers 59 to 67 of the High Street.
Crewe Woolworths 1960
Source: Francis Frith
The store closed in 1984, another casualty of the Kingfisher closures. Today you’ll find Poundland here, and you’ll happy to see the Art Deco frontage is still there, but it seems to have lost the top floor (compare it to the 1960s photo to see!).
Crewe Former Woolworths – Poundland
Source: Ballysundriven
There was something for everyone at Woolworth stores. They were located on the High Street in major towns and cities throughout England and Wales.
Affectionately known as “Woolies”, these stores were like Aladdin’s Cave. They were stocked with a wide range of goods. These goods attracted customers of all ages from diverse backgrounds. Among the items Woolworths stocked were toys and games, as well as chocolate and sweets. They also sold pop records, portable radios and car accessories. Other stock included household paint, stationery, and stamps. All stores sold electric fires and fan heaters. The larger ones stocked garden furniture and plants. The list is endless…
Everyone who shopped at Woolworths will have memories of the store they bought from. They will remember its staff and the things they sold. If you and your family shopped at “Woolies”, please share your memories with us and tell us what you bought. Email, northstaffordshireheritage@outlook.com
To learn more about Congleton Woolworths, click “Woolies Buildings-Then and Now” at the top of the extract.
35 – 37 High Street, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1AX
Woolworths opened in Congleton in 1927. It was a small store with a typical Woolworths look to the first floor – see below.
Congleton Woolworths 1956
Source: Congleton Through Time, Alcock J.
In 1968 Woolworths bought The Bears Head Hotel and Farrell’s Sweet Shop next door. They were demolished along with Banks Car Garage on Market Street to build a Woolworths superstore. At the time Mr. G. Lamb was the store manager, pictured below with his staff. These photos were in The New Bond (The House Journal of F. W. Woolworth and Co. Limited) June/July 1970 – kindly sent in by Richard Northover. He says “This was the forerunner of Woolworths/Woolies News, which was all about people and stores – not the political rag that was Woolies News!! It was named after the original head office in New Bond Street London…
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The Parson’s Well, near the Methodist Church at Mow Cop, was one of the springs on Mow Hill that were given a stone surround in the 19th century. After erecting stone surrounds around the springs, local people started calling them wells. The two inscriptions on The Parson’s Well read, “The Parson’s Well A S 1858” and “Keep Thyself Pure”.
Photograph: © Copyright Sue Adair and licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
North Staffordshire Heritage 