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Woolworth: adding character to the British high street, 1909–1939

ABSTRACT The architectural standard of stores erected by Woolworth and other multiple retailers in the course of the twentieth century is often denigrated. This assessment is challenged here, by looking more closely at Woolworth’s approach to building new stores during the first 50 years of the company’s existence, from 1909 until 1939. It is argued that Woolworth stores were more varied architecturally than is generally thought, and were affected by numerous extraneous factors, including the conservation lobby. Moreover it is suggested that buildings erected in the middle of the twentieth century by companies such as Woolworth and Burton should now be embraced as part of the traditional, archetypal British high street, something which should be formally acknowledged through heritage protection measures. But these buildings offer more than straightforward heritage value. They should be appreciated by historians for embodying tangible evidence of a style of retailing which will soon have passed beyond living memory.