One of the joists which came out of our old kitchen extension had a Building Scene paper label on it.
Now the name rings a bell but I can't remember if it was a shed like Texas or a precursor to Jewsons and the like.
GINMF
Anyone remember them?
Cheers
Dave R
Erm, no - sorry.
Possibly before your time? ;-)
I dimly remember them as a shed like Texas, not a proper merchant.
Me too.
Maybe they morphed into B & Q?
Sorry, no. But anyone remember Unit Sales in Coventry ? There was one near Far Gosford Street and I think another in Holbrooks. I was wondering who they were associated with. They seems to be the main Coventry DIY outlet in the 70s and 80s. My dad was always popping over there for nails, paint, etc. Simon.
rd Street and I think another in Holbrooks.
was always popping over there for nails, paint, etc.
Lots of local independents all over the country in those days. I worked for one whilst at school that was bought out by Ripolin but the plans for world domination came to nought.
MBQ
my nearest Ripolin is now a Starbucks - says it all, doesn't it.
Street and I think another in Holbrooks.
always popping over there for nails, paint, etc.
When I was building my fruit cage I founds some hinges lurking in a box in the garage.
They were marked with a little peel and stick label marked 'Catos 3/6d'
That was a hardware shop in the village where I grew up. I think I bought them there to repair something for my mum about 1967...and they must have been in a house clearout box I took over when she moved into care in 2003...
Good hinges.
Catos were taken over by Robert Dyas - at least the bigger branches were. The manager of the one in our village tried to run as an independant, but ddin't last long.
Like you, I think I came across indications of their presence, perhaps a label somewhere on a joist. I'm certain I recall their adverts, possibly in magazines of the diy/householder persuasion.
Perhaps - unlikely to have much awareness of retail brands prior to the early 70's I guess...
Either that, or they were regional.
There is still a box of swingline staples in my workshop with a "Birds" price label on them - that was a little independent hardware shop in Westcliff that closed decades ago... They seem to be a size of staple that is never useful!
There was one in Cambridge (on Mitcham?s Corner, where Staples is now), must have been mid ?80s.
Yes. That's the one I remember.
It wasn't too bad. Basically a shed - usual stuff. Woodchip wallpaper, packflat bookshelves. Think Ikea.
Must have been regional then... I would have remembered it from the 80s
The '80s sounds about right - judging by newspapers and stuff found in the debris this was when the kitchen extension was done. As I moved to Felixstowe in the '80s this is probably when I saw the store. Could have been where Texas was before it morphed into HomeBase.
Texas I remember well - it was the first "shed" in our area, and just about at the time I started more serious DIY... ;-)
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