Going Down- The Department Store

The are a number of adages in the English Language.

We in this country have had a few hammered home in the last few weeks and months such as "You Get the Government You Deserve" but there are many more enshrined in our culture.

Some have derived from the Bible although I expect that I will be pulled up on my chronic lack of theological knowledge by quoting a few more of them such as "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" and"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy".

I have adapted one that holds some relevance in today's consumer world and that is "You get what you shop for".

Let me explain. Up until recent years we, as the general public, have just got up off our backsides and gone out to the High Street or out of town Retail Park to do our shopping. Yes, it was a pleasurable experience, on the whole, even allowing for traffic congestion, parking problems and cost, overcrowding and the inevitable queue-ing.

These latter negative factors will have been uppermost in the mindset of those clever marketing moguls in promoting the concept of On Line shopping to the masses. Those and cheaper prices, instant delivery to your door and a seemingly endless catalogue of goods and goodies and you can appreciate that many of us, me included, have deserted our traditional High Streets with the inevitable outcome of failed and boarded up shops and premises.

I was still shocked however, to be confronted with the almost deserted scene in the centre of my home City and worst of all the complete absence of that shopping magnet of a Department Store, of which there used to be three, British Home Stores, Marks and Spencer and Hammonds. Closures have not always been a modern phenomena and in the late 1970's what was described as the Harrods of The North, Carmichaels closed its doors after many years of service to the people of Hull.

They were splendid places, commercialised palaces - welcoming and with a uniqueness of offering everything under their one roofs, the USP being a One Stop Shop.

A visit in the weeks approaching Christmas was red lined on the calendar as amongst their ranges on their multi-storey layout it was a dead-cert that you could find a suitable gift for even the most difficult to shop for relative or friend. Notwithstanding their attractions at Christmas a Department Store will have played a major role in our modern existence. That purchase of first pair of shoes, starting school wear, first work suit and other acquisitions at key life stages will likely have been at a Department Store. In our family it was the place where we spent our gift tokens and got told off for messing about on the escalators.

Hammonds of Hull

They were always themed for the seasons  of the year but in December always conveyed an extra special atmosphere for the shopper.

A typical Ground Floor layout was dedicated to Perfumery and Cosmetics with all of the famous brands represented on small kiosks with their own sales assistants hovering around to squirt samples on wrists to offer a consultancy on skin tones and shades.


The Menswear Department was to be found at the back of the ground floor to distract the menfolk whilst their better halves sought to make a pampering purchase. The Lingerie section was always extensive and rather intimidating for male shoppers even if a purchase was intended.

M and S, Hull

Upper floors provided all manner of household goods from kitchenware to beds, soft furnishings and interior decor. It was entirely possible to fit out a house from top to bottom from within those walls and indeed many a couple starting out in life made use of the Wedding Present Service that larger stores offered.

The Toy Department was always my favourite when I was a youngster with imaginative displays of the latest Christmas Must-Haves  as well as a good stock of Lego, Meccano, Airfix, Subbuteo and Palitoy brands.

Many an hour could be lost in such surroundings although a drink or a snack meal in the cafe/restaurant was always part of the Christmas Tradition.

The younger children  in the family could also visit Santa's Grotto for which there was always a bit of a waiting time, made more excruciating by the excitement of meeting and talking with the Father Christmas.

Former Co-Op and BHS, Hull

These memories are very strong in most of us at this time of the year and my wife and myself could not help feeling sad at the sight of the vacated and abandoned former Department Stores in our own City Centre.

Quite a few shoppers just seemed to be wandering about aimlessly as though unable to find anywhere to fill that gap in their own Christmas shopping tradition.

On the plus side, I got home to find a delivery from an order that I had placed on line just a matter of hours before. I plead guilty to contributing to the demise of the Department Stores on the High Street.

Harrods of The North