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Anybody Remember Blanchards


darra

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Big department store paid your money and they put it in a tube and into a chute type thingy which made the tube disappear. It came back later with your change and a reciept.Became a tropical fish shop when it closed

Used to have the same set up at Banners I think.

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I remember the name Blanchards, struggling to recall where it was close to West Bar, or was that Laceys?

I seem to recall Blanchards did something with tokens? Free / reduced cost school uniforms perhaps?

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I remember the name Blanchards, struggling to recall where it was close to West Bar, or was that Laceys?

I seem to recall Blanchards did something with tokens? Free / reduced cost school uniforms perhaps?

yes it was just off west bar on infirmary road?

tokens bit rings a bell as well.

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Blanchards was on Infirmary Road immediately opposite the Royal Infirmary building

Thanks tsavo Wards and Stones has destroyed my grey cells over the years... not that I'm complaining mind.

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I bought a "Trench coat" there in about 1976, black, cream and red check, huge lapels, big belt, almost came down to my ankles; looked like a Doctor Who-reject, but I thought I was cool, till someone pointed out I looked a compete prat; and with a silly afro style hairdo, big, big hair ....

Idiot !

Isn't it Wynsors Shoes now; could have been pulled down for all I know ?

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Blanchards was on Infirmary Road immediately opposite the Royal Infirmary building

I remember Blanchards and the money thingy. They had two shops on Infirmary Road - the larger one started at the corner of Albert Terrace Road and went for about half a block towards Bedford Street. The other smaller shop was nearer to Montgomery Terrace Road.

If memory serves me the smaller shop sold just electrical goods while the larger one was more the department store.

I think the larger one may have grown like 'topsy' and was a series of smaller shops that were knocked through as Blanchards aquired them.

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I remember Blanchards and the money thingy. They had two shops on Infirmary Road - the larger one started at the corner of Albert Terrace Road and went for about half a block towards Bedford Street. The other smaller shop was nearer to Montgomery Terrace Road.

If memory serves me the smaller shop sold just electrical goods while the larger one was more the department store.

I think the larger one may have grown like 'topsy' and was a series of smaller shops that were knocked through as Blanchards aquired them.

The 'Money Thingy' was an air tube system developed by Lamson Paragon. Tubes containing cash were carried by air suction through pipes to their destination. The cashier would empty the tube and return it to the counter by the same system. The old Woolworth (40s/50s) in Haymarket used a system whereby these tubes were propelled on wires suspended above people's heads in the store. Today you can see the Lamson system by the side of each paypoint at places like Wilkinson's.

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Guest mackyD

remember me mam spending provident cheques there for clothes and stuff

Yeah I remember going there in the 70's! I recall something about a cheque system thing as well. I know that whenever we went there I got something new to wear! I loved it there - it always seemed to be a big shop, but maybe that was because I was little!

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We tended to be Cartledges customers, kids all thought Blanchards to be very posh.

A great irony is that many kids used to kick up at being bought the much cheaper denim trousers (jeans). Now any mum who could get her child to wear terylene trousers would be a genious.

interesting to see how these prices have reversed.

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We tended to be Cartledges customers, kids all thought Blanchards to be very posh.

A great irony is that many kids used to kick up at being bought the much cheaper denim trousers (jeans). Now any mum who could get her child to wear terylene trousers would be a genious.

interesting to see how these prices have reversed.

I always thought it was the other way round. You needed cash for Cartledges but with Blanchards

you got to pay weekly by taking Provident cheques there as you did with Banners.

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Guest Damasel

My wife Patricia remembers Blanchards very well in her younger days, as her Mother worked there in the men's department. Blanchards a very posh shop selling everything as John Lewis is today.Today it stands where the Pine shop is, before then it was Slater Ward's.What she remembers is the men's department, if you go into the shop now, the staircasewhich is still there, the men's department was to the right & on the ground floor, one side sold gloves hats socks, other sold trousers& jackets coats.The displays were made up of polished dark wood with glass fronts,also the cash tube system used to frighten her as she was only a very small child, the polished brass used to hiss like a snake and she always thought it would suck her in!!.The sales assistants never handled cash so to speak, they placed the receipt and cheques or cash or if posh you had an account with Blanchards into the polished torpedo which opened at each end with rubber stoppers on. Placed it into the tube off it went to a upstairs office where the clerical staff sat on high chairs with ledgers in front of them entering all the sales. While the money was being sorted, the assistant would parcel up the goods, Then with a hiss it ame back and shot out and landed into a wicker basket.

The staff were very smartly dressed in black. No jewelery was to be worn except a wedding ring. All staff were called by there maiden name as my mother was Mrs Witt, she was called Miss Jackson. The head of the department was a man call Mr Hammerton. Also a Miss Dixon worked in the mens department with my Mother, she lived on Ben Lane her claim to fame was that her Brother was Reginald Dixon of Blackpool tower fame.

Miss Pryor was in charge of the ladies underwear she was a corsetier a big posh speaking lady who wore bright red lip stick, with a hour glass figure. she always had the best corsetts to show off her figure.Another thing my wife remembers about Miss Pryor was when she wanted her fist bra, Miss Pryor found one for her, as she was so small they did not usually have her size in stock.( Memories ). Also she went to see her Mother she went on the Tram from Hillsbrough, getting off at St Phillips church. Which has be demolished to make way for the new Super Tram system. PATRICIA WARD nee WITT

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Big department store paid your money and they put it in a tube and into a chute type thingy which made the tube disappear. It came back later with your change and a reciept.Became a tropical fish shop when it closed

Used to have the same set up at Banners I think.

I worked at Blanchards when I left school aged 15. I worked in the cash office at the top of the building,sending change down to the customers via a metal tube down a chute. The office was next to the store room and we had to go in a lift with a metal sliding door. I remember one day some young men from a cafe down the road were hanging about in the menswear dept and they sent a white mouse in a tube up the chute. I opened the tube expecting some money in it and the mouse ran out. I don't know who was more scared . Me or the poor mouse.

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Guest blueybar

In 1963 I was working at Rotary Electrical, a company near Blanchards when me and a couple of mates used to go int Blanchards Rainbow Room Cafe at the top of the stairs. I remember having, for the first time, spam fritters sat on a plate of stewed tomatoes, great stuff...

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My wife Patricia remembers Blanchards very well in her younger days, as her Mother worked there in the men's department. Blanchards a very posh shop selling everything as John Lewis is today.Today it stands where the Pine shop is, before then it was Slater Ward's.What she remembers is the men's department, if you go into the shop now, the staircasewhich is still there, the men's department was to the right & on the ground floor, one side sold gloves hats socks, other sold trousers& jackets coats.The displays were made up of polished dark wood with glass fronts,also the cash tube system used to frighten her as she was only a very small child, the polished brass used to hiss like a snake and she always thought it would suck her in!!.The sales assistants never handled cash so to speak, they placed the receipt and cheques or cash or if posh you had an account with Blanchards into the polished torpedo which opened at each end with rubber stoppers on. Placed it into the tube off it went to a upstairs office where the clerical staff sat on high chairs with ledgers in front of them entering all the sales. While the money was being sorted, the assistant would parcel up the goods, Then with a hiss it ame back and shot out and landed into a wicker basket.

The staff were very smartly dressed in black. No jewelery was to be worn except a wedding ring. All staff were called by there maiden name as my mother was Mrs Witt, she was called Miss Jackson. The head of the department was a man call Mr Hammerton. Also a Miss Dixon worked in the mens department with my Mother, she lived on Ben Lane her claim to fame was that her Brother was Reginald Dixon of Blackpool tower fame.

Miss Pryor was in charge of the ladies underwear she was a corsetier a big posh speaking lady who wore bright red lip stick, with a hour glass figure. she always had the best corsetts to show off her figure.Another thing my wife remembers about Miss Pryor was when she wanted her fist bra, Miss Pryor found one for her, as she was so small they did not usually have her size in stock.( Memories ). Also she went to see her Mother she went on the Tram from Hillsbrough, getting off at St Phillips church. Which has be demolished to make way for the new Super Tram system. PATRICIA WARD nee WITT

I seem to remember Blanshards, not sure, but I do remember the 'money tube' system the Cooperative at the top of Wynyard Road had one as well, as a child I found it fascinating. Are you the Patricia Witt who lived on Wynyard Road, my grandparents Mum and uncle Dave lived at number 47. I spent a lot of my early childhood there and always think of it as home.

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I think that the word check was in common usage at the time to represent a voucher issued by a " Tally Man" against a promise of repayments with interest over a lengthy period.

They were not cheques in the generally accepted sense. I suppose they were named such to avoid legal issues.

If you took a check to Banners store you got any change in "Banner's Money".

HD

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I think that the word check was in common usage at the time to represent a voucher issued by a " Tally Man" against a promise of repayments with interest over a lengthy period.

They were not cheques in the generally accepted sense. I suppose they were named such to avoid legal issues.

If you took a check to Banners store you got any change in "Banner's Money".

HD

That makes sense to me - I hadn't thought of that as it was something I have never (knowingly) experienced.

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That makes sense to me - I hadn't thought of that as it was something I have never (knowingly) experienced.

From the amount of discarded "Banner's Money" that was about in the fifties, I think it was something many working class Sheffielders had experiance of.

If kids went carol singing or "penny for the Guying" they were certain to end up with some low denomination "Banner's Money".

HD

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Guest bullerboy

Didn't Blanchards also have a smaller store near Hillsboro baths?I believe mr Blanchard is resting in Wadsley church yard.

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Guest aubreylambert

Surprised anyone remembers Cartledges....64 to 68 Upperthorpe Road......on the junction with Portland street.

A lot smaller than Blanchards though.

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An advert from The Sheffield Telegraph and Independent dated 16th June 1942 showing Blanchards ladies range for the simmer of 1942.

I also wish that had known about the beneficial effects of smoking Craven A's - this is the type of information that should still be made available to smokers nowadays!

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Guest JillHelders

I remember Blanchards, near West Bar, my Dad worked for Wigfalls and for some reason he got cheques or vouchers to spend in Blanchards so we would always go there for our Whit Sunday outfits etc., this was in the 60's I guess. I remember it being a bit like Grace Brothers in Are you being served! We seemed to spend all bliimin' day there whenever we went or perhaps that's just because I was a little girl and bored! I also remember the tubes whizzing around the pipes to the cash office and when I worked at Yorkshire Building Society in the 90's we had them on our counters as we were open plan and couldn't risk having large amounts of cash in our drawers.

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