Darlington has seen a number of brands and shops come and go over the years – some leaving more of an impression than others.

Residents of the North East town came out in droves after we asked them what shops they missed from the town centre.

A number of shops and stores were named with many people reminiscing about the “glory” days of Darlington’s town centre.

Here’s a list of several shops people miss along with some nostalgic pictures:

Woolworths:

The Northern Echo:

The Darlington branch of Woolworths was mentioned a number of times by residents of Darlington as a big miss after it closed down in 2008.

The store was one of the first to close after entering into administration with Deloitte and by early January 2009 all of its stores closed down.

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Other stores across the North East also closed down including Barnard Castel, Chester-le-Street, Consett, Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, MetroCentre, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Northallerton, South Shields and Whitby.

The store was set to employ 2,500 to 3,000 people in the region.

Dressers:

The Northern Echo:

The Northern Echo:

The Northern Echo:

The Northern Echo:

Dressers is another store in the North East town that people greatly miss.

The Northern Echo has reported extensively on people’s memories of the North East store back in 2020.

Margaret Ellerton spoke to The Northern Echo about her time working at Dressers, she said: “I joined Dressers for the first time in about 1962 in the store on High Row where Santander now is, and I was employed to help set up and work in the new toy department upstairs. I stayed with Dressers for about three years and then left to take up an apprenticeship in hairdressing.

“In the early 1980s, I was once again employed by Dressers and I worked in the book department under the care of Freda Lofthouse, a wonderful woman whose knowledge and love of books was inspirational.

"Dressers was an extremely traditional business with old-fashioned values. For instance, we were not allowed to use first names on the shop floor, it was always Mr, Mrs or Miss, and it was frowned upon for a Dressers girl to sit on a bench outside of the store eating lunch

 “Dressers was a beautiful store that sold fine china, superb leather goods, quality pens and stationery, toys and of course the best book department in the area, and I was proud to be part of the business.

“I progressed from the book department into the office and after almost 13 years left to continue my career with a new and up-and-coming company in Darlington called Hutchinson Telecom, soon to become Orange.”

Dressers announced its closure in January 2001 after accepting a conditional offer from a property developer for the company.

The 66 staff members who worked at both stores were given individual interviews and advised of their redundancy position.

The store, which sold books, maps, stationery, gifts and toys, had been in Darlington for more than 150 years.

BHS:

The Northern Echo:

The Northgate store first opened its doors in 1935 and its closure led to the loss of 27 jobs in 2016.

Staff gathered at the site on the store’s final day to say goodbye.

At the time, the combined total staff experience amounted to 317 years of service.

The shop had been a victim of what some claimed as the 'unacceptable face of capitalism' and the former BHS boss Philip Green had been heavily criticised by politicians for seemingly allowing the company's demise whilst lining his own pockets.

All 164 shops nationwide closed, leading to around 11,000 people losing their jobs.

Thornley:

The Northern Echo:

Started in 1896 by Edgar and Mary Ellen Thornley, the shop was well known for selling a bit of everything including stationery, newspapers and tobacco.

By the 1980s the shop had grown to fill the Northgate space between the citadel and the church.

Sadly, the store closed down sometime around 1999, however, we cannot be exact about the date as all records of the shop fade from The Northern Echo’s archive around this time when we believe the third generation of pram-sellers, John Thornley, retired.

M&S:

The Northern Echo:

Marks and Spencer closed its doors on Northgate, Darlington in 2018 for the last time.

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We asked Darlington shoppers what they thought of the closure.

Anne Lewis from Darlington said at the time: “It’s devastating. I come into town to shop in Marks & Spencer and now I’ll have to go to Middlesbrough. The one at West Park is too far out of the way.

“There’s not much choice for shops in Darlington anymore it’s full of banks and bakeries, the town looks like a ghost town.”

Doggarts:

The Northern Echo:

Doggarts was mentioned a number of times by residents, however, pictures and information on the store is limited.