Guildhall closure?

EasMid

Well-Known Forumite
No-one's mentioned the cafe that used to be at the top of the escalators ( on the right as you look to the college) that was there pretty much right from the opening. There was also a cheap clothes shop between Dalan's & the cafe.
I think allowing the sportswear shop (JJB?) to take over the whole of the upper floor was the start of the demise. When they went it killed the place especially when they took the escalator & made access to the toilets etc harder. That whole top area past Poundland is depressing & it's understandable why no-one wants those units.
 

EasMid

Well-Known Forumite
I’m trying to think off the top of my head what’s in there…

  • Card Factory
  • Clarkes
  • O2
  • A travel agent I can’t remember the name of
  • Jewellers on the entrance
  • The Works which seems to be constantly having a clearance anyway
  • The Entertainer
  • Store Twenty One
  • That bag shop, if it’s still there?
  • Usually a couple of low-effort pop-ups… last time I went in one of those it was an inspiring sweet shop with the guy standing at the counter on the phone the entire time
  • Elements Gym
  • That food place next to the college exit

Did I miss anything? Nothing really inspires joy there at all, and most have alternatives on the high street and surrounding area anyway. We have loads of interesting food places, The Entertainer is basically a showroom for Amazon, Asda sell cards if you really wanna throw £2 at something that’ll be chucked in 2 weeks, Clarkes is generally quite expensive for shoes…

Yeah, you can’t have a shopping centre survive off that.
Is Store21 still there? I haven't been that far in for years & thought it was part of the gym now.
Is there a food place there also?
The only place I've been in for months is the card shop (apart from being dragged around the entertainer just before the Christmas lockdown)
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
Is Store21 still there? I haven't been that far in for years & thought it was part of the gym now.
The only place I've been in for months is the card shop (apart from being dragged around the entertainer just before the Christmas lockdown)
Store 21 went into liquidation in 2017. Last time I passed through it was a furniture shop of sorts.
 

littleme

250,000th poster!
No-one's mentioned the cafe that used to be at the top of the escalators ( on the right as you look to the college) that was there pretty much right from the opening. There was also a cheap clothes shop between Dalan's & the cafe.
I think allowing the sportswear shop (JJB?) to take over the whole of the upper floor was the start of the demise. When they went it killed the place especially when they took the escalator & made access to the toilets etc harder. That whole top area past Poundland is depressing & it's understandable why no-one wants those units.
I did, here...

There were a couple of smaller shops, Dallans being one, a soft play place where you could leave your kids (for a fee), a large sports shop to, Sports direct or JD sports I think. I can't remember if there was a cafe up there, or if it was directly below.

I couldn't remember what it was called though..
 

markpa12003

Well-Known Forumite
We had a Shakeaway!? I missed that, damn.

The big mistake was merging units I suspect, big brands don’t want the stores anyway and the larger square footage puts them out of reach of smaller businesses. They really need to split them up again, then there’s less eggs in one basket

National retailers need / want big square boxes with a big window, hence why the units in the Guildhall was made bigger.

Unfortunately, the previous owners of the Guildhall have always been too slow to react and have made poor decisions, hence the need for the Riverside development.
 

EasMid

Well-Known Forumite
I did, here...



I couldn't remember what it was called though..
Sorry about that, I misread it & thought you meant the Druckers/Churchills(?)etc on the ground floor on the right by the steps.
P. S. On reflection we could both be right. I think it was Churchill’s upstairs & then when it closed it reopened as Druckers downstairs then when Druckers went bust it opened again as Churchill’s. Wasn’t quite the same as the original though.
Wasn't store 21 where the entertainer is now?

The Guildhall used to have some decent stores, but sadly it's very boring now.
I thought Store 21 was right up in the top left corner next to the lift. There was a clothes shop there tucked away in the corner. Is that where the gym is now?
The only furniture shop I remember in recent times was in where the hmv shop was. He moved in there not long after hmv went​
 
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markpa12003

Well-Known Forumite
Sorry about that, I misread it & thought you meant the Druckers/Churchills(?)etc on the ground floor on the right by the steps.

I thought Store 21 was right up in the top left corner next to the lift. There was a clothes shop there tucked away in the corner. Is that where the gym is now?
The only furniture shop I remember in recent times was in where the hmv shop was. He moved in there not long after hmv went​

There was an index store where the gym is now.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
Where Index was when it first opened...
I was always impressed by their catalogue. It was the same height as an Argos one, but a quarter of an inch wider. So, if you put them on a shelf next to each other, there was a good chance that the Index one would stick out and be easier to get hold of. With half the stuff being identical and at the same prices, you might as well use the first one that came to hand...
 

PeterD

ST16 Represent.
I was always impressed by their catalogue. It was the same height as an Argos one, but a quarter of an inch wider. So, if you put them on a shelf next to each other, there was a good chance that the Index one would stick out and be easier to get hold of. With half the stuff being identical and at the same prices, you might as well use the first one that came to hand...
Ooh get you popping the index catalogue on the book shelf.
 

Tumble weed

Well-Known Forumite
Wasn't store 21 where the entertainer is now?

The Guildhall used to have some decent stores, but sadly it's very boring now.
Pretty sure the entertainer was a shop called the hub selling gadgets, then became carbon menswear, before laying empty for probably around 5 years before the entertainer took over.

Store 21 used to be index , before becoming the entrance to the gym. Was a very dark corner iirc, comtel showroom used to be directly opposite, before becoming ntl, then druckers. Then iirc, some local cafe moved in before closing and been left empty since
 
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