I imagine the shop that has changed the most is what is now the Co-op supermarket. These premises used to be known affectionately as “t’ Emporium” and what a grand place it was. There was none of today’s plate-glass frontage. Instead, a grand showcase window graced the centre of the arcade-like entrance. One could walk round the arcade and browse before actually entering the shop – so much nicer than having to stand on the pavement and gaze in the windows.

Inside the Emporium seemed to change very little over the years – the glass doomed roof hovering above the centre of the store and the old-fashioned wooden partitions dividing the various sections of each department. They sold lots of things in the Emporium – from a reel of cotton in the Haberdashery section to new furniture downstairs in the large Showroom. There was a Footwear department and in winter time this was littered with Wellington boots and their distinctive smell wafted throughout. In the Fashion department, clothes were available for every age and every occasion.

One local resident actually purchased her bridal gown and veil there in the 1930’s – all for the princely sum of one pound! The bridal gown had been given pride of place in the central display window of the arcade and the young girl decided it was the dress of her dreams.

There have been so many changes, that the Co-op is probably only one of the few still retaining their original name. Not only has the Co-op Emporium changed, the premises where the Co-op Chemist used to be was once used as a Betting Shop and the old Co-op Bread shop is now an Insurance and Estate Agency.

I doubt if many of Birstall’s newer residents will remember when the Midland Bank used to be in what is now a house (known to locals as “The Bank House”) at the top of Chapel St.  The Midland moved into premises across the road and these were previously a Wallpaper shop owned by a family called Illingworth, but the same premises now also have been turned into an Estate Agency.

Credit: Jennifer Graham.