Part of our Edinburgh retro series, this video looks back at some of the popular shops we have lost over the years.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello, I'm Neil from The Evening News and this video is part of our retro series where
00:06 we look back at historic pictures of Edinburgh. In this video we will look at popular Edinburgh
00:12 shops that have come and gone over the years.
00:16 British Home Stores was an iconic site on Princes Street for many years, with the premises
00:21 given a Category B listing by Historic Scotland in 2008. The shop would close in 2016 and
00:28 a year later permission to make internal and external alterations to the building was approved.
00:33 The space at 64 Princess Street is set to become home to Japanese clothing brand Unoclo,
00:39 who submitted plans to create a retail space over three storeys.
00:44 Owned by the House of Fraser, Small's department store closed its doors in 1977. In this photo
00:51 you can see a 'Best Wishes' sign above the store, ahead of the 1960 Royal Wedding
00:56 for Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong Jones. More recently, the site received planning
01:02 permission to become a Ruby Hotel that is set to open in 2026 after fashion brand Zara
01:08 relocated to the St James' Quarter.
01:11 Woolworths first opened its iconic Princess Street store in March 1926, to much anticipation
01:18 and excitement. The shop would survive until 1984, when it was then transformed into a
01:23 limpy. Today, the site at the east end of Princess Street is home to the Apple Store.
01:29 Patrick Thompson's on Northbridge originally opened as a small haberdashery and drapery
01:34 store on Southbridge in 1889, but the shop became so popular that it had to relocate
01:39 to a larger site on Northbridge. The store would close in the 1970s and in 1984 the building
01:46 became the Carleton Hotel.
01:49 Situated across the road from Waverley Station, department store chain RW Forsyth, or Forsyth
01:55 as it was known, expanded into Edinburgh in 1906. After more than 100 years of trading,
02:01 the Glasgow department store chain closed stores nationwide in 1983, with the Edinburgh
02:06 branch closing in 1981. In this photo you can see a small statue of the company's founder,
02:12 Robert Wallace Forsyth.
02:15 Peter Allen on Southbridge was one of two Allen's shops on the bridges in Edinburgh.
02:20 In this photo from the 1960s, you can see excited shoppers entering the Southbridge
02:25 store to check out the latest sales.
02:28 The Grant's department store on Northbridge boasted a new extension in 1959, which saw
02:34 the first escalator installed in the city. The store once stood at the corner of Northbridge
02:39 and the High Street before closing its doors in May 1983.
02:45 Located in the west end of Princess Street, Binns opened in 1931, the first store in Edinburgh
02:50 to incorporate electric lifts. The popular shop sold everything from clothes to furnishings
02:55 and even had its own restaurant. The shop would become House of Fraser in May of 1976,
03:01 but is now home to the Johnny Walker Experience. In this photo you can see people anxiously
03:06 waiting to get in and take advantage of the sales.
03:10 Darling's department store on Princess Street was renowned for its high fashion and was
03:14 owned by former Edinburgh Lord Provost William Darling.
03:20 This photo shows Blyth's department store on Earl Grey Street. Here you can see early
03:25 morning shoppers in the 1950s, bracing against the cold in order to bag the best bargains
03:31 at the start of the January sale.
03:33 JNR Allen was a silk merchant and draper. In this photo you can see a fashion show and
03:40 mannequin parade in 1962.
03:43 Goldberg's was a department store that opened in Highriggs, Talcross in 1960. At the time
03:49 it was considered a modern building with five floors, a roof garden, nursery and a menagerie.
03:56 After closing in February 1990, the building would be demolished six years later.
04:02 The Leith Provident Co-operative, known by locals as the Provy, was a popular shop on
04:07 Great Junction Street, opening in 1911. At the shop customers could collect stamps over
04:12 the year and exchange them for goods in the store.
04:16 In this picture you can see Mrs J Carse and her daughter. Mrs Carse won one million co-op
04:21 dividend stamps, making her a stamp millionaire in August 1970.
04:27 If you'd like to check out more retro content, you can visit our website at www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com