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PAULDENS Department Store in Sheffield City Centre


Sheffield History

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Looking for information and memories of PAULDENS department store in Sheffield City Centre.

On the site of Debenhams, Pauldens seems to have been really popular but what was it like inside? What was it like to shop and work there?

How often did you go there?

When did Pauldens close and change to Debenhams and why?

Anyone know?

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Paulden's was bought out by Debenhams c 1970 (give or take a year or so). My Mum worked there from 1968 to 1980 and it was definitely Paulden's when she started (think the store opened in 1965). Another place with a decent enough eatery (on the ground floor at the back of the store) called the "Derwent Restaurant". There was also a posh cafe type place on the second floor where the Dore and Totley mob used to go!

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My mum also worked there over the Paulden’s/Debenhams change and up to about 1985. May Wood, worked latterly in the lingerie dept.

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Hello all, often used to call in Pauldens in my early working years in town. It was known as quite the 'in' store at the time, very light, spacous and colourful, seemed to keep up with the 'trends'. I remember a cafe downstairs, seem to think it had a large picture on the wall. Bought my first dress there for a works do. Navy with white spots, white lace collar and cuffs, cost £4.10.11( thats £4 -10shillings -11 pence for you youngsters ) Saved up to buy it, don't know how I only earned £4.10.6 a week, Mum had £2, and the rest went on bus fare, dinner and toiletries. But I managed it, remember Mum saying it looked lovely on me, ah! Used to get AQUA MANDA from their perfume dept, it was lovely, really did smell of Orange Blossom. Got my last ever bottle from there.

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Worked there as a Saturday boy probably 1969 or 1970. Worked in the food hall stocking up the shelves eventually got to work on the sweet counter. Can't remember anybody's name apart from Mr Stevenson who was the manager of the food hall and a strict disciplinarian! Got told off for filling up the frozen sprouts with bags of Birds Eye sprouts instead of the cheap ones. Remember going to the staff canteen for afternoon break and listening to the football scores on an old radio they had up there

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Going through the Sheffield Histories archive I noticed postings about Pauldens of Sheffield which later became Debenhams. In our china cabinette I have the scissors which were used by the then Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Alderman JS Worrall J.P. (1965-66) to cut the opening ribbon at Pauldens in 1965. The scissors were made T Hardy & Sons who I believe operated from Wessex Works on Milton Street, which runs from Hanover Way to Fitzwilliam Street. One of my memories of Pauldens was the record bar, as was common in those days in record shops there were two or three small booths where customers could listen to 45's of their choice through headphones. The salesperson in the record bar was a friend called Susan Mann, Susan's dad was 'the Reliable Fish Man' of Leopold Sreet and Broomhill.

Wazzie Worrall.

Pauldens 1.JPG

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Im not quite sure why im suprised that the building that (for me) has always been Debenhams as long as I can remember was actually something different before ! For some odd reason, I assumed it was built and Debenhams moved in - i’m having a Doh! Moment

If it became Debenhams in the early ‘70s, then I wouldn’t know any different as i’d only be a young ‘un 🙄

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On 27/08/2017 at 16:31, Sheffield History said:

s27838.jpg

s18081.jpg

 

Looking for information and memories of PAULDENS department store in Sheffield City Centre.

On the site of Debenhams, Pauldens seems to have been really popular but what was it like inside? What was it like to shop and work there?

How often did you go there?

When did Pauldens close and change to Debenhams and why?

Anyone know?

I was a window dresser at Pauldens and as I was leaving in 1971 we were putting up the Debenhams signage. Hope this helps. 

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11 minutes ago, Lysanderix said:

My uncle supplied their food hall with meat! He made a small fortune dressing up the poor cuts!!!

Did he tell you there was also rat problem and mice in the windows. 😂

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1 hour ago, Ponytail said:

Did he tell you there was also rat problem and mice in the windows. 😂

Where did you think that he got the ingredients for the fantasy pie from?  🤣

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14 minutes ago, DaveJC said:

Where did you think that he got the ingredients for the fantasy pie from?  🤣

So that's why they closed the Food Hall 😂

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On 17/04/2021 at 10:20, Ponytail said:

Did he tell you there was also rat problem and mice in the windows. 😂

They had a problem with mice which culminated with one on the cheese counter (which I tried and failed to catch)  which was doing a circus act to amuse the shoppers.

They never had rats whilst I was there.

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He lost the contract. shortly before they closed the food hall...someone else could supply it cheaper! ( I should imagine mice and rats are still a problem in many a food hall... 

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I was working in the food hall, stacking shelves as a saturday lad around 1972-73 when I was a teenager. This was situated on the front left as you went in the main entrance. The Food hall Manager was a Polish chap, I seem to remember.

The other thing which sticks vividly in my mind was the 'clocking in' machine, even for us saturday staff.

It was about that time when we were in the canteen at the back of the building, when the building behind and opposite (which was being built and is now the multi-storey car park) had a newly-built floor collapse and crash in a pile of dust, to the floor. We saw it happen as we were sitting there, looking out of the window!

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Remember the collapse vividly, I too was sitting near the canteen window with other members of the display staff. The crane collapsed into a crumpled heap as well. Must have been 1970-71 as I left July 1971.

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