Jump to content

Redgates Toy Shop Layout - Anyone Remember ?


Sheffield History

Recommended Posts

Does anyone remember Redgates toy shop layout ? Here's what I think I remember about Redgates

Ground floor as you walk in - to the right I bought a toy gun, there were soldiers and marbles in stands that you could pick up, play with

Lower ground floor of Redgates was bikes wasn't it ?

The top top top floor was prams and baby stuff

Anyone remember anything else ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rubbish stamps for sale from a spin-around stand in the basement.

Does anyone remember Redgates toy shop layout ? Here's what I think I remember about Redgates

Ground floor as you walk in - to the right I bought a toy gun, there were soldiers and marbles in stands that you could pick up, play with

Lower ground floor of Redgates was bikes wasn't it ?

The top top top floor was prams and baby stuff

Anyone remember anything else ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rubbish stamps for sale from a spin-around stand in the basement.

By "Rubbish stamps" are we talking philat.., phill...philatt, Er, stamp collecting here.

Were the "Rubbish Stamps" Stanley Gibbons rejects?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I distinctly remember that there were bikes downstairs. Also, the Star Wars toys were on the left as you entered the Toy shop, this was around the time of Empire Strikes Back. Didn't there also use to be a comic shop upstairs in later years?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone remember Redgates toy shop layout ? Here's what I think I remember about Redgates

...

Anyone remember anything else ?

Which era shop though?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Which era shop though?

Good question.

The comments and post made so far seem to indicate that we are talking about the last Redgates, - the one on Furnival Gate

However, if anyone has memories of Redgates in previous locations and can describe it's layout that would be even better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do remember the old store which was round the corner on The Moor. It became Lonsdale Universal or something like that when Redgates moved to Furnival Gate. It was a lot smaller than the Furnival Gate store. On the Ground floor was a showroom for Prams, Bikes, Pedal Cars etc and all the toys were in the Basement. I don't remember the exact layout but I know the Model Railways section was down there ( as it was in the new store when that opened) In the 60's when I was a kid a trip down the Moor was a real treat as you could go in Redgates. When we went into my Mother never went to Both ends of the Town Centre on the same day. It was either Moor or Haymarket end. There was of course Wilson Gumpets Toy shop in Fitzalan Square but that wasn't the same as Redgates. Btw did you know that Redgates had other Branches besides the Sheffield City Centre stores. There was one at Hillsborough and one in Chesterfield ( Wilson Pecks Music Store also had a Branch in Chesterfield)

I remember going to Hamley's in Regent Street in London and while it was a good Toy Shop Redgates was a good second to it especially when they opened the Furnival Gate store ( which had 4 or 5 Floors and a Lift if I remember correctly)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do remember the old store which was round the corner on The Moor. It became Lonsdale Universal or something like that when Redgates moved to Furnival Gate. It was a lot smaller than the Furnival Gate store. On the Ground floor was a showroom for Prams, Bikes, Pedal Cars etc and all the toys were in the Basement. I don't remember the exact layout but I know the Model Railways section was down there ( as it was in the new store when that opened)

Was Lonsdale Universal the shop that then became Quadrant Stationers?

...and wasn't there a physical link on the basement floor allowing you to get from one of these shops to the other?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Real Mild Child

I remember that there used to be Wooden Trains on wooden tracks to play with. I am not sure what floor this was though, sorry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was Lonsdale Universal the shop that then became Quadrant Stationers?

...and wasn't there a physical link on the basement floor allowing you to get from one of these shops to the other?

I remember there being a link as well just can't remember what to though. I feel sure though it came out on an alley type of place <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember there being a link as well just can't remember what to though. I feel sure though it came out on an alley type of place <_<

I feel fairly sure it went through to the basement floor of one of the shops just around the corner on The Moor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest serelle

I worked at the old Redgates on the Moor in the 60s, it was my first job after leaving school. I worked downstairs in the games and lego department. The stairs going down from the ground floor were in the middle of the store and there were prams and cots etc.on the ground floor. Michael Nunn, a member of the Redgates family, was the owner and we had to call him Mr Michael, the uniforms we wore were light brown nylon overalls with white buttons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi serelle ....... Not sure if you have seen this photo posted by "syrup" back in February 2008 but here are the Redgates staff from the 1960's ....... too much to hope I suppose that you are in the photo ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi serelle ....... Not sure if you have seen this photo posted by "syrup" back in February 2008 but here are the Redgates staff from the 1960's ....... too much to hope I suppose that you are in the photo ?

Most of the staff look quite elderly and serelle has said she was a school leaver (so about 15 - 16 then) at the time.

The girl 5th from the left appears to be the only one in the right age group, could that be serelle?

Welcome to Sheffield History serelle and thank you for posting the additional information about Redgates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest serelle

Thank you for this - but it says 1960 which was quite a bit before my time there. It's interesting though, for a start the uniforms are different, ours were kind-of 'snazzier' lol......and as you say there don't appear to be many young staff members in the photo - and there were quite a few when I was there, at least 6 that I can remember. The counter I worked on was directly to the right as you came down the stairs, there were 3 of us working on it - the 'head' of the counter was a Mrs Ellis, then a girl called Kay was next in line and I was the junior.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for this - but it says 1960 which was quite a bit before my time there. It's interesting though, for a start the uniforms are different, ours were kind-of 'snazzier' lol......and as you say there don't appear to be many young staff members in the photo - and there were quite a few when I was there, at least 6 that I can remember. The counter I worked on was directly to the right as you came down the stairs, there were 3 of us working on it - the 'head' of the counter was a Mrs Ellis, then a girl called Kay was next in line and I was the junior.

For a shop that sells childrens toys it did look strange that most of the staff appeared to be elderly and miserable looking.

It wouldn't set the right sort of "feel" for this sort of place would it, - it would be more likely to scare kids off when the staff look like grumpy old schoolteachers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember there being a link as well just can't remember what to though. I feel sure though it came out on an alley type of place <_<

The link was between the 'new' redgates and the lonsdale universal in the old building. The Redgates stuff started almost straight away if you were entering from Londale. My memory is that there was a slight down slope from the old shop to the new. After some tiome, it was sealed off at the old building end, but ther were still some bits and pieces left in Redgates - one of the attractions for me being the scalextric/model railway repairs counter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone remember Redgates toy shop layout ? Here's what I think I remember about Redgates

Ground floor as you walk in - to the right I bought a toy gun, there were soldiers and marbles in stands that you could pick up, play with

Lower ground floor of Redgates was bikes wasn't it ?

The top top top floor was prams and baby stuff

Anyone remember anything else ?

Furnival gate store then:

In the main entrance, stairs in front of you going down to the basement. Turn left to the plastic models and probably scalextric and train sets. Chemistry sets and materials in the far left corned, next too the side stairs out. With that combination, I don't think I ventured far from that part of the shop! ...

... but I did, though this is much hazier. Matchbox etc cars to the back of the store, Downstairs was, I think, board games and action man stuff, though I may be getting confused with the moor store, Certainly, whilst the tuneel to lonsdale universal was open, the first part of that was for galt toys.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The one oustanding memory i have of redgates is this.

It must have been early eighties and pinned up behind the pay counter at the rear of the shop (dont know if this was upstairs or downstairs) was a C3-PO play suit.

Today it probably wouldnt look all that, just a gold all in one suit and a gold mask with an elastic band but to a young lad of about six or seven it was just the best thing ever!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I remember Redgates only sold 'Action Man' dolls and all the 'AM' extras that could be bought to go with them,

a mate of mine had an 'Action Man' and they weren't cheap at the time, nor were the extras

that could be purchased.

I had to settle for the cheap copy of Action Man and cheap inferior xtras that could be purchased from the market

:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I remember Redgates only sold 'Action Man' dolls and all the 'AM' extras that could be bought to go with them,

a mate of mine had an 'Action Man' and they weren't cheap at the time, nor were the extras

that could be purchased.

I had to settle for the cheap copy of Action Man and cheap inferior xtras that could be purchased from the market

:(

Was the "cheap copy" of Action Man" called G.I. Joe?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The link was between the 'new' redgates and the lonsdale universal in the old building. The Redgates stuff started almost straight away if you were entering from Londale. My memory is that there was a slight down slope from the old shop to the new. After some tiome, it was sealed off at the old building end, but ther were still some bits and pieces left in Redgates - one of the attractions for me being the scalextric/model railway repairs counter.

Yes that's how I remember the tunnel.

Lonsdale Universal was later Quadrant Stationers and at the back of the shop near the tunnel they had geometry and technical drawing equipment.

In my "pre calculator" days they also had a nice range of slide rules. (To which anyone under the age of 50 immediately says "What's a slide rule?")

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Furnival gate store then:

In the main entrance, stairs in front of you going down to the basement. Turn left to the plastic models and probably scalextric and train sets. Chemistry sets and materials in the far left corned, next too the side stairs out. With that combination, I don't think I ventured far from that part of the shop! ...

As well as plastic kits (Airfix) they also had the Keil Kraft range of balsa wood kits in this area. Unlike the big model shops which specialised in this type of flying model they mainly had gliders and rubber powered models and not much in the way of control line or radio control models.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was an Airfix fan, but only aircraft. I always thought them far superior to Revell! Redgate's was an Aladin's cave. I have to admit that when I graduated to sizeable gliders and control-line I moved on to Hobbies on St Paul's Parade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good question.

The comments and post made so far seem to indicate that we are talking about the last Redgates, - the one on Furnival Gate

However, if anyone has memories of Redgates in previous locations and can describe it's layout that would be even better.

I can remember when Redgates was at the bottom of Ecclesall Road, opposite the big S&E Co-op building. My Gran lived round the corner on Clarence Street, and every other Saturday we'd visit, get off the bus in the middle of town and walk down the Moor then past Redgates. I can't remember anything about the layout except it wasn't very big but it was crammed with stuff! I guess it was their temporary home between being blitzed and moving back up the Moor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...