South Yorkshire Times February 6th 1965
One hundred years of mining have seen little in the way of change in the villages of Conisbrough and Denaby . . . until now. It is true the villages have grown to townships, have spread their roots and thrived like a sturdy tree in the dust of the minefields. But the tree has remained basically unaltered.
Now things are different. The gardener has come along and grafted on new twigs, and has started tearing away the old and withered branches.
Old houses disappear in Denaby, and new ones spring up in Conisbrough, and with them new shops and almost a whole new centre to the village. Soon it will be Denaby’s turn.
For the housewife and shopper this will mean more than one would at first think, and that is largely because, on the whole, the traders of Conisbrough and Denaby seem to welcome the transition which is overtaking the two communities. At the very least they have come to terms with it.
Plenty of scope
Conisbrough pharmaceutical chemist Mr. E.H. Dickinson perhaps summed up the attitude of many local traders when he told the “South Yorkshire Times” on Monday: “Development should be a good thing. There is certainly plenty of scope for it in Conisbrough.
“And I am looking forward to the time when we reach the happy stage where the shops of Conisbrough can supply everything the public demands.”
A chemist in Doncaster before he came to Conisbrough, Mr. Dickinson opened a new shop of up-to-the-minute design in West Street, Conisbrough about four and a half years ago, to offer his customers the kind of service they demand in the 20th century.
On the other side of West Street is the pharmaceutical chemist’s shop of partners Mr. Gerald Wright and Mr. Phillip Brocklesby, the latter now retired.
Along with Mr. Dickinson, Brocklesby and Wright could almost be said to have set the form of development in the village centre, with fine, well-lit, modern stores which make shopping a pleasure.
Mr. Wright, who has partnered Mr. Brocklesby in the business since 1954, also looks forward to the new Conisbrough and thinks that more development in the village would offer people the goods they now have to travel elsewhere to get.
“Personally we try to offer people service as good as they get in town, with as wide a range of products,” says Mr. Wright.
This then just about sums up what Conisbrough has to offer the trader – more customers – and what the traders themselves can offer Conisbrough and its shoppers – continued high standards of service, a wide range of products from which to choose, and the best possible conditions in which to choose them.
That doesn’t imply, however, tearing down everything that is more than five years old.
Businesses like that of Mr. C.G. Ogilvy, offering a wide range of furnishings, second-hand goods and antiques, standing at the junction of West Street and Church Street.
One of the oldest remaining businesses in Conisbrough, Ogilvy’s started many years ago in Church Street, dealing purely in second-hand goods, and has developed to include modern furniture and high class antiques.
Mr. Ogilvy’s attitude is the “old-fashioned” one of putting the customer first and foremost, and like all good traders he realises the shoppers’ problems.
A little further down West Street, on what is now waste ground, work should start this summer on a shop and display centre for the produce of Mr. Robert Stringer’s Crookhill Road Nursery.
Mr. Stringer is another trader who looks to the development of Conisbrough to enhance the village’s trade by attracting local people to shop locally.
“You can’t expect them to do that if you haven’t the goods to offer them,” Mr. Stringer pointed out at his nursery on Monday, as he worked on one of the floral decorations that his firm is noted for.
“We want to give a better service than we give at present, and hope to be able to do just that when we get more room at the new shop,” he added.
Go-ahead
Part of the old Conisbrough but equally a part of the new, is the firm of funeral director Mr. J.E. Greathead, founded 80 to 90 years ago on a site opposite its present position in Church Street. Present head of the firm Mr. Jack Greathead, helped by his 25-years-old son Tony, extended the firm when he took over six years ago to include everything the do-it-yourself enthusiast or handyman could require, from hardboard to window wedges.
Greathead’s are also gaining a reputation as shopfitters, as Mr. Christopher Martin, proprietor of two local newsagents shops, would testify.
Mr. Martin, who believes that public demand created by Conisbrough’s new housing estates should encourage development, had his West Street shop fitted out by Mr. Greathead last year.
To meet the public demand, Mr. Martin has extended the facilities his shops offer to include stationery, a large stock of greetings cards, toys, pipe tobacco and a dry cleaning service, as well as the conventional newsagent’s services. Mr. Martin puts the accent on personal service.
Mrs. Mary Butler’s Service Stores, opposite Martin’s in West Street, is a shop which offers its customers the advantage of cut price foods through the Danish Bacon Company’s Four Star group system.
Service Stores supply anything that can be termed provisions, and specialise in Danish foods – “they’ve got a good name and keep up standards,” adds Mrs. Butler.
Transport offer
The latest extension of the Wath furnishing firm of W. Flavell and Sons Ltd., is a branch at Church Street, Conisbrough, opened last September.
The stock of fitted or loose carpets, electrical appliances, soft furnishings, hardware and bedding, is a comprehensive one, but nevertheless a limited one. Should customers wish to inspect the firm’s larger selections at the Wath branch, Mr. Peter Flavell, present head of the firm, is willing to transport them from Conisbrough to Wath.
Another fresh building which is leading the way in creating Conisbrough’s bright new centre is the local branch of the Sheffield Trustee Savings Bank.
Opened in November 1962, the branch gives its customers the maximum in comfort and convenience, a fact which has made an obvious impression on depositors. Last year there was an increase of £50,000 in deposits. The branch (manager Mr. E. G. Dickinson) holds just over 2,500 accounts.
In common with most local traders, Mr. and Mrs. A. Dryden believe that their business – a drapery shop in Strafforth Terrace, Denaby – can compete with town shops.
“We keep our prices low and try to give the best of personal service,” says Mrs. Louise Dryden, proprietor-manageress, who runs the shop with her husband and partner Mr. Alf Dryden, and sister, Beryl Reeve.
On a larger scale, but with the same competitive attitude, is the Denaby Main Industrial Co-operative Society.
Headed by chief executive Mr. E. Sheldrake, the Society claims to be the largest retailer in the district, and can offer its customers attractive prices, especially in groceries, in addition to a top dividend of 1s. 4d. in the £.
It is also worth remembering that although there are some items that the Society does not have in stock on the premises, they can be obtained for customers in the shortest possible time.
Hotel alterations
The Red Lion Hotel, Conisbrough, which already offers its patrons value for their money, is going to be an even bigger attraction when landlord Mr. Jack Harding completes alterations there.
At present Mr. Harding is limited to providing evening meals for booked parties, but he plans to extend this section of the Red lion to include breakfast from 8.30, morning coffee, lunches and evening meals, and all at very reasonable prices.
At present entertainment is provided for customers as a whole on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and for all booked parties. This, too, may be extended to give entertainment every night of the week.
Opened in November last, the Ridley Woodworking Company’s “do-it-yourself” store in the centre of Denaby is designed to satisfy a demand which has hitherto been largely neglected in the village. The shop’s wide selection of every commodity, from timber boards – stocked in great variety – and ironmongery, to tools and even an excellent two-hour paint – ideal for the handyman – has appealed to customers, director Mr. J.R. Ludlow points out.
It’s a fact that many Denaby people don’t realise the extent of the service provided by the Gay Sombrero Café. Many travellers along the main trunk road through the village would also appreciate the fact that the Gay Sombrero is not just a coffee bar, but also serves meals from breakfast time up to 4.30 p.m. during the week, and until midnight on Saturdays.
With an available stock ranging from seed potatoes to over 1,000 varieties of flower seed, Middleton’s Garden Centre, in Chapel Lane, Conisbrough, is well worth a visit.
It’s pleasant during the winter months to make plans for your garden, and a Middleton’s catalogue, available at Chapel Lane, is an ideal source of ideas. In Rotherham, too, you can enjoy Middleton’s excellent service, with a visit to the Wellgate shop.