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Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
National
David Morton

Fenwick's at 140: Shoppers' memories of the iconic Newcastle department store

Fenwick's has been marking its 140th anniversary this week.

Opening on Newcastle's Northumberland Street as a single, humble shop on March 23, 1882, today the iconic department store is the North East's most prestigious retail attraction.

Readers on the Chronicle's Facebook page have been sharing their Fenwick's memories. Here are a selection of them:

READ MORE: Fenwick's at 140 - 20 photographs from down the years

MILLIE BALL: Six generations of my family have visited the Terrace/Tivali restaurant for our Saturday morning coffee/breakfast. Each generation brought from babyhood. Always lovely staff and best coffee in Newcastle. Happy anniversary.

VERONICA McKENNA: My mum was a waitress in both the Terrace and French restaurants in the 1950s. Still remember visiting the store when I was a child to see Santa Claus and buy clothes. Loved it.

JEAN SMITH: Congratulations, my favourite department store. Loved to take my children and grandchildren to the toy department and the cafe for lovely cheesecake or strawberry tarts. Nowhere did better.

LYNDA TAYLOR: I used to cut through on my way to work at the end of the 1960s. The ladies in the cosmetic department taught me all about make-up. Fantastic for a 15-year-old.

ELAINE PLAYFAIR: The Terrace Restaurant. Went there on Saturday afternoons with friends during our shopping trips. We loved it there, even though we were only in our early 20s.

CHERYL KNOX: This is my mam's, mine and now my daughter's (three generations) favourite shop. It holds so many happy memories. Christmas time is my absolute favourite.

CAROLE MOYES: Congratulations Fenwick. I remember working in the toy department in the run-up to Christmas 1977.

Customers queue for the start of the Fenwick's sale in January 1963 (Newcastle Chronicle)

HEATHER RIPPON: I remember my mam taking me to ride on the rocking horse. That would be during World War II. They also had a bird singing in a cage - of course you had to put a penny into a slot to hear it. I loved it and I have always associated Fenwick's with this wonderful treat when there was so little to enjoy during those dark days.

DAWN EDES: Loved seeing Santa after looking at the Christmas windows. We met an Aunt on a Thursday there and went for a strawberry tart in the restaurant.

RICHARD EMERY: I was taken there by a work colleague for lunch . Loved the place . That was 50 years ago - and I still love it.

DOREEN COCHRAN: Beautiful building. Always a joy to shop there, but the best thing is is the Christmas window - enjoyed by young and old alike even through lockdown.

LYNDSEY FENWICK: Nana taking me to Littlewoods for breakfast, followed by Fenwick's window, and the toy shop on the third floor. Happy memories.

JAN REA: I used to work in the bakery downstairs when I was 17. Great place to work.

ANNE HENDERSON: Love Fenwick's. It’s an old-fashioned department store. It embraces you like a warm hug as you enter, and I used to go with my mam in the 1950s and meet my Nana there. Mam carried on going there twice a week to meet friends.

ALISON MULVENNA: Lots of memories, but one that stands out is being in a bomb scare when I was little. I was with my mam and we were in basement cafe and got separated from each other which was scary. I got taken outside and was on the shoulders of a policeman when I spotted my mam being dragged out the store by the manager as she didn’t want to leave without me. I wouldn’t go back in for years but absolutely love it again now.

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