Then and now: Woolworths moved to Grantham High Street in 1954

F W Woolworths shop number 157 opened in 1924 at 8 Market Place, in the shop previously occupied by Messrs Hall and Sons.

The Grantham Journal reported in late 1923 that Woolworths ‘were noted for their large bazaars of fancy goods, and here again extensive alterations will undoubtedly be carried into effect’.

The firm had its own architects, designing the stores to a standard blueprint. Most of the shops incorporated a lion’s head in their design, to emphasise the fact that they stocked British manufactured goods in the aftermath of WWI.

The shops’ tiled entrances and flooring were also of a standard design, as were their counter designs and lettering on the shop front.The Grantham Journal had reported a few months previously that the managing director of the stores, Frederick Moore Woolworth, had died at the Ritz Hotel in London, aged 66.

The shop remained on the Market Place until 1954, when it moved to larger premises at 46 High Street.