Woolwich WH Smith closed for good today
By the time you’re reading this Woolwich’s WH Smith will be closed for good.
The doors were locked for the final time today at midday and that’s it for the retailer after many decades in the town.
It’s been a staple of Powis Street for what seems forever and many will have their own memories of buying items at the store. For me what lingers in the memory are the games section at the back which became a Post Office years ago and could on occasion snag a bargain.
There was also the upstairs bookshop where as a child I could get one – and only one – book but only if well behaved.
Of course the brand WH Smith is set to leave many high streets across the country after the recent buy-out of shops by Hobbycraft owner TJ Jones. Only the travel shop branches will remain as WH Smith and were not part of the sale.
That should see other stores such as Bexleyheath simply renamed while Woolwich is gone for good.
The photograph below was taken a couple of days ago and being in a rush I sadly had no time for one last visit to capture some further pics.
The loss of the Post Office is also a severe blow. Going back to the old Post Office near where the Tesco store now is you’ll be hard pushed to see a busier branch than Woolwich.
I have less than fond memories of waiting almost entire lunch breaks to be seen. What was there has long been inadequate – let alone losing such a facility.
Future
What comes next? Who knows. It’s a pretty bug shop on two floors.
And it’s not the only large store without a retail occupier. Over the other side of Powis Street sits what was once Littlewoods and last used as a Jobcentre.
That too has seen no shop use for some years.
I recently managed to restore my old Walkman and went looking on eBay for a few cassette tapes. Lo and behold, a few days later comes my prize, complete with a near-mint WHSmith sticker circa 1990. It’s hard to believe that up until 2000, it was usually the first port of call for almost anything you might need (I still have my VHS deck in working order and at least half my tapes are the originals I bought in college). A sad end for a grand idea, I hope its replacement fares better.
The loss of WH Smiths and the Post Offce will be a major blow for Woolwich. Not only was the post office always busy with long queues I have no idea where customers will go now. There is still a need for post office services so I Hooe a new post office can open in the area with longer opening hours. We need our High Street shops to be open until at least 8pm Monday to Saturdays. So people have more tine to shop after work.
I’ll only miss the store for nostalgic reasons. The problem is that this store and the neighbouring ex-New Look store is that they lack car parking. The WHSmith also lacks a customer lift and escalator to the second floor.
You’d imagine a discount chain like The Range may open-up if they can cut a deal. I struggle imagine any other major retailer moving in…
Hi All, I love reading the stories on these pages. Does anyone know when the WH Smith was first opened on Powis Street. I have Googled until my hearts NOT content and all I get is that WH Smith took it over in 2008, but I know I used to buy my Spectrum Cassettes from there way before that time!!
Would be great to know.
TIA
Scott