London, July 9 (IANS) A 480-year-old shop in Britain, which survived two world wars, two depressions and three recessions, is finally closing down its shutters.
King Henry VIII was on the throne when Gill & Co became the country’s first ironmongers in Oxford in 1530, the Daily Mail reported Friday.
The country’s oldest hardware store has been in business ever since, trading six days a week through the reigns of 20 monarchs and 76 prime ministers.
The store, which has become the latest victim of the global recession, will close its doors for the final time next month.
Gill & Co’s owner Victor Hunt, 48, Friday blamed the recession and larger chains like B&Q and Homebase for the store’s demise.
‘Gill’s is the oldest ironmonger’s in England, so we are coming to the end of an era. Sales have declined in recent years and we are moving out before we start to lose money,’ he said.
‘The younger customers seem happier these days to drive to B&Q and other out-of-town stores. It is such a shame that the shop must close but unfortunately that is the climate small businesses are facing now.’
The shop originally provided ironware for the local residents when it opened its doors almost half-a-millennium ago, and through the centuries it has stocked chimney sweep brushes, scythes, iron nails and hay rakes.
The shop has operated from a number of buildings in Oxford before moving to its current location in the High Street 50 years ago.
It has added a lot of everyday household items in a bid to compete with the larger chains. But Hunt, who bought the store 10 years ago and also runs a hardware store in Chipping Norton, said customers had gradually fallen despite the changes.
