£+ Victoria Super Store
£+ Victoria Super Store, 127 Wilton Road, City of Westminster, London SW1, 2004 • Not very super Super Store (named after me). The tiny exterior doormat is a thoughtful touch.
Robert Walker Cut Price Sweets Cigarettes
Robert Walker Cut Price Sweets Cigarettes, 75 Deptford High Street, Borough of Greenwich, London SE8, 2002 • Pastel-hued cheap fag emporium which had disappeared by 2014, and by 2017 was (bizarrely) […]
Top Value Drug Store
Top Value Drug Store, 299 Hale Lane, Edgware, Borough of Barnet, London HA8, 2004 • Giant purple plastic sign in plain Futura font – nice. By 2017 it was still […]
Cheap Fashion
Cheap Fashion, 60 West Street, Bristol BS2, 2013 • Unequivocal if unglamorous branding. By 2017 it had become a minimart.
Welcome Shoes
Welcome Shoes, 89 Deptford High Street, Borough of Lewisham, London SE8, 2002 • Price range £2 to £5, very welcome. Nevertheless by 2017 it had become Adebayo beauty salon.
Budget Tyres London Ltd
Budget Tyres London Ltd, 338 Battersea Park Road, Borough of Wandsworth, London SW11, 2002 • Gotta love the Michelin Man. Still there in 2017 (pictured 2012 here).
S.H. Bargains
S.H. Bargains, 2a Brookmill Road, Deptford, Borough of Greenwich, London SE8, 2002 • Nice sign writing, shame about the spelling. Became a hairdresser called Trio Style (2016), while the area […]
Eisenegger
Eisenegger, The Plaza, 120 Oxford Street, City of Westminster, London W1, 2002 • Outlet that was permanently “closing down”, and eventually did. With hindsight, the ISIS posters don’t read too […]
Terry Discount Store
Terry Discount Store, 51 High Street, Gravesend, Kent, 2015 • Large budget emporium offering “Most Products, Less And Bargain Price”. Who could ask for more?
Poundland (Reading)
Poundland (Reading), 118-119 Friar Street, Reading, Berrkshire, 2015 • Unusual arts and crafts-cum-brutalist building, an incongruous setting for a Poundland (apart from the weeds). It has an ecclesiastical look – […]
Govan Discount 2 Superstore
Govan Discount 2, 1014 Govan Road, Govan, Glasgow G51, Scotland, 2010 • I wonder what Govan Discount 1 Superstore is like? This branch is next door to yesterday’s Chung’s, and still looks […]
Marks and Spencer Ltd Original Penny Bazaar
Marks and Spencer Ltd Original Penny Bazaar, Units 133-138, Grainger Market, Grainger Street, Newcastle NE1, 2016 • This is actually the oldest M&S in the world, still trading from its […]
John Turnbull
John Turnbull, 483 Anlaby Road, Kingston upon Hull, 2005 • Bullish old newsie with eponymous plastic illustration, seen from bus. Later became Babylon Supermarket.
Camden £1 Shop
Camden £1 Shop, 35 Camden High Street, Borough of Camden, London NW1, 2003 • Rush hour for £1 items, including toilettries and stationeries. Currently an ice cream-cum-phone shop.
Bargain Booze
Bargain Booze, 22-24 Vauxhall Road, Liverpool L3, 2014 • Bargain booze, bargain sign.
Tutill-Nicol Ltd Jordan Woodrows
Tutill-Nicol Ltd Jordan Woodrows, 1 Richmond Street, Liverpool L1, 2003 • Traditional stationers closed in 2009 after 130 years due to a massive rent increase (article here). Inside, it had […]
Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant
Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant, 54 Berry Street, Liverpool L1, 2003 • There used to be lots of nice old neon signage in Liverpool. This charming example is now totally gone, replaced […]
Aladdin’s Cave
Aladdin’s Cave, 194 Middlewood Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, 2010 • Plucky use of mixed visual metaphors. Despite the magical name, Colonel Sanders is a reflection, he’s not actually in the shop.
‘Agape’ £ Shop
‘Agape’ £ Shop, 88 London Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex, 2004 • An unusual name, with added poignancy given Greece’s financial woes. Although it suggests a mouth agog at the low prices, ‘Agape’ is […]
99p-+ Awamz Store
99p-+ Awamz Store, 82 Rye Lane, Peckham, Borough of Southwark, London SE15, 2010 • Splendidly-clad punter outside a bargain shop whose ‘-+’ allows infinite leeway in pricing. Now a Lycamobile-branded […]
98p Chinese Shop
98p Chinese Shop, Pallasades, above New Street Station, New Street, Birmingham, 2005 • Talk about a race to the bottom. 98p Shop’s erstwhile home, the horrible 1970s Pallasades (sic) shopping arcade, […]
Softys
Softys, 68b Bridge Street, Bolton, Lancashire, 2010 • Its full name was once Softys’ Hard Stuff (sic), but part has fallen off – see the full sign on Flickr, taken in […]
Bikeshire Racing
Bikeshire Racing, 15 New Kent Road, Borough of Southwark, London SE1, 2001 • Charmingly naive motorbike murals, long gone. A small disclaimer under “Free Fitting” reads “(to loose wheels)”. Now a block of […]
Retail Therapy
Retail Therapy, 80 High Street, Poole, Dorest, 2004 • A very distinctive art deco frontage – I wonder if this used to be a Burtons?
Furniture Arkade
Furniture Arkade, 320 Lewisham High Street, Borough of Lewisham, London SE13, 2010 • Your one-stop spot for Bed’s, Ward Robe and Sofa. I think that’s Michael Jackson peeking out from the rug, […]
PriceLess Shoes
PriceLess Shoes, 45 Tooting High Street, Tooting, Borough of Wandsworth, London SW17, 2006 • Budget shoe chain with socking great logo, which I always liked for its basic brashness. It […]
Virgo Clothing Big’n’Pretty
Virgo Clothing Big’n’Pretty, 156 Trongate, Glasgow, Scotland, 2008 • Signs in the window warn big’n’pretty browsers to bring “No food or drink inside”. Curiously, big seems to be defined as “16 inches […]
Pound Gate
Pound Gate, 146-152 Trongate, Glasgow, Scotland, 2008 • Not a reference to Watergate, but to the road, Trongate. Later got subsumed by “Scotland’s Biggest Leather Store”, aka its upstairs neighbour Leather Max. […]
Pound Planet
Pound Planet, 19-21 Argyle Street, Glasgow, Scotland, 2008 • Ambitious name meets Scottish flags and unflattering rendition of the Queen. It later became Home Land. Devolution subtext ahoy.
Safe £££ Pounds Store Plus
Safe £££ Pounds Store Plus, 595 Lea Bridge Road, Walthamstow, Borough of Waltham Forest, London E10 6AJ, 2004 • As opposed to a dangerous pound store, I suppose. Now gone.
Pound + Store
Pound + Store, 316 Neasden Lane, Borough of Brent, London NW10, 2014 • Extremely crammed pound emporium with enormous Edwardian-style font. Not sure if the “plus” is part of their name, […]
Pound Stop
Pound Stop, 32 Guildhall Street, Folkestone, Kent, 2008 • Genteel pound shop with DIY logo that looks like a dollar sign. It later moved (with same sign) a bit further […]
Pound Superstore
Pound Superstore, 125-127 Church Street, Borough of Camden, London NW8, 2003 • From the days when pound shops were one-branch, low-tech affairs. It’s still there, though it has to be […]
Poundland (Peterborough)
Poundland (Peterborough), 6 Bridge Street, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, 2015 • Initially depressing, but this is an interesting building – maybe it was a flagship store for someone else once. Poundland are in the […]
Bobe Communication Centre
Bobe Communication Centre, 374 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002 • You may think this is just another boring old international call shop, but one day these will be […]
Brute Menswear
Brute Menswear, 73 Wentworth Street, Borough of Tower Hamlets, London E1, 2004 • Interesting choice of name, especially as the other side of the sign says Brute Menswar.
Street Value
Street Value, 7 The Broadway, Crawley, West Sussex, 2002 • Art Nouveau cut price shop in 1960s new town. The round-cornered window and discotastic Arnold Bocklin font were later replaced, according […]
Supercigs
Supercigs, 20 Richmond Street, Liverpool, 2003 • Now, more politically-correctly, called Supernews.
Motor Budget Centre
Motor Budget Centre, 1 Yattendon Road, Horley, Surrey, 2002 • Still there and with the same stuff in the window in 2012. Presumably a going concern as Google Street View shows […]
Sports Direct.com (Oswestry)
Sports Direct.com, 12-15 Cross Street, Oswestry, Shropshire, 2014 • Another re-used facade from Oswestry, which seems to specialise in downmarket shops in grand crumbly buildings. This one looks like it […]
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill (Oswestry)
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, 12 Cross Street, Oswestry, Shropshire, 2014 • A market hall by Thomas Penson, built in 1842 (more info here) and demolished in the 1960s except for this […]
Economy of Brighton
Economy of brighton, 82 St George’s Road, Brighton, East Sussex, 2010 • More mosaic, watched over by a weird disembodied burglar alarm eye (for more on which see my other […]
F.P. Turner & Sons (Five Star Nails)
F.P. Turner & Sons (Five Star Nails), 31 Victoria Road, Surbiton, Surrey, 2014 • An old sign kept on from a jeweller’s, established 1825 (though not at this premises, where they’d […]
Cost to Cost
Cost to Cost, 227 Shoreditch High Street, Borough of Tower Hamlets, London E1, 2005 • Somewhat meaningless variation on the Costcutter theme. The Cost to Cost logo later got reduced to near […]
Costprice
Costprice, 41 Brick Lane, Borough of Tower Hamlets, London E1, 2007 • Jaunty take on the Costcutter theme. It’s become more sedate since this was taken.
Costcutter Supermarket (NW1)
Costcutter Supermarket, 53-55 Chalton Street, Borough of Camden, London NW1, 2005 • Unusually elegant art nouveau-style lettering for this understated minimart near Euston station, which is now a more strident […]
Richer Sounds (Leeds)
Richer Sounds, 74 New Briggate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, 2014 • Looks like a baddie’s castle, but is in fact a budget hi-fi store in a former public dispensary.
Marks & Spencer (Kirkgate Market)
Marks & Spencer, 1904 Hall, Kirkgate Market, 28-34 George Street, Leeds LS2, 2014 • Blimey – the first-ever M&S, opened 1884. And it’s still there! Actually, it isn’t – this […]
Valley Vapes
Valley Vapes, 20 Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, 2014 • I’ve never seen a shop for these creepy devices before. Lovely step and entranceway, though.
Gordons the Jewellers
Gordons the Jewellers, 27 Strutton Ground, City of Westminster, London SW1, 2012 & 2007 • Last days for this old-style jeweller which looked on the verge of closure even five years […]
Bargain Suites
Bargain Suites, 433 Anlaby Road, Kingston upon Hull, 2013 • Trad sign writing on a crumbling Victorian terrace opposite Hull’s KC Stadium. Since demolished.
Chainstore Massacre
Chainstore Massacre, 152 High Street, Herne Bay, Kent, 2004 • Closed for crimes against fashion, perhaps. Appropriately, the burglar alarm has a picture of a judge on it. Later became a […]
A217 Indian Take Away
A217 Indian Take Away, 9 The Parade, Brighton Road (A217), Burgh Heath, Surrey, 2001 • Yet another grim example of the festive season in Surrey (which is where I used to […]
Christmas Bargain Store (Dewhurst)
Christmas Bargain Store (Dewhurst), 135 High Street, Poole, Dorset, 2004 • Ah, the grim pursuit of festive cheer. Everyone looks fed up. The baby’s bum is hanging out. The D of […]
£1,000,000 Bankrupt Stock
£1,000,000 Bankrupt Stock, circa 16 Richmond Street, Liverpool L1, 2003 • Really? There’s a million quid’s worth of watches, shirts and slippers in there?
Burma Fish Bar
Burma Fish Bar, 6 Hackney Road, Borough of Hackney, London E2, 2002 • More old-style Hoxton – note yummy £1 menu. Now reinvented as internet caff Burma@Access.
Marcon & Co.
Marcon & Co., 14 Leytonstone Road, Borough of Newham, London E15, 2006 • DSS-friendly carpet store enlivened by layers of classic signwriting. Local aspirations must have changed, as it later became […]
Costcutter (Old Coulsdon)
Costcutter, 1-2 The Parade, 266 Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon, Borough of Croydon, London CR5, 2001 • A half-timbered Costcutter! There’s posh. Now has a sign saying “Old Coulsdon” stuck over the […]
Faith for Sale
Faith for Sale, lamp post, Alie Street, Shoreditch, Borough of Tower Hamlets, London E1, 2004 • Nice to see that faith can be bought from a lamp post – though one […]
Value 4 Money
Value 4 Money, 161 Kilburn High Road, Borough of Brent, London NW6, 2007 • Depends what you consider value for money, really. Became the more upmarket-looking (which wasn’t difficult to achieve) […]
Designer Clearance Store
Designer Clearance Store, 19 Deptford High Street, Borough of Lewisham, London SE8, 2002 • Yes, I expect they’ve got some top designer brands here. Are those guano heaps on the windowsill?
Budget Carpets
Budget Carpets, 1a Penrose Street, Walworth, Borough of Southwark, London SE17, 2002 • Incongruously grand classical facade for a budget emporium, still in business today.
Beddy Buyz Ltd
Beddy Buyz Ltd, 197-199 East Street, Borough of Southwark, London SE17, 2002 • It might look like a closed-down ruin, but it’s still going strong. Note tiny “snores” emerging from the […]
Bargain World
Bargain World, 7 Central Parade, Central Avenue, West Molesey, Surrey, 2001 • A closed world of bargains from the heyday of chavs. Now a Chinese takeaway called Orient Express.
Adfa Ventures Limited
Adfa Ventures Limited, 446 New Cross Road, Borough of Lewisham, London SE8, 2002 • Mmmm, their hi-tech sign is really giving me confidence. Now replaced by a solicitor, however.
Byrite
Byrite, 140 Oxford Street, City of Westminster, London W1, 2002 • Remember the chain Mr Byrite? It started in 1912 as hat shop Levy & Son; and here is is in […]
Beige Plus
Beige Plus, 7 Hoop Lane, Golders Green, Borough of Barnet, London NW11, 2003 • Nice logo, but possibly not the most enticing of advertising hoardings…
Y2K
Y2K, 33 Liverpool Street, City of London, London EC2, 2006 • A video library for the new millennium – how wrong can you get.
African Prices
African Prices, 390 Walworth Road, Borough of Southwark, London SE17, 2001 • As opposed to princes. By 2012 it had been renamed Sofisticats.
Shopfront Elegy 