hillards supermarkets

[Big Tim]

Re: hillards supermarkets

I recall them well Tim ..... or at least the 1 local to me anyhow

Great find with the pic here mate - it looks so cool as if it was an old Factory or Pub Brilliant indeed!!

It was apparently a print works before becoming York's first supermarket in 1969, and earlier than that an engineering place (what they made, I don't know). It is still a supermarket today (a Co-oP), although it has been allsorts in between, including a Frank Dees; Tesco; Grandways; Kwik Save and Somerfield. I remember going there with my grandparent's when I was very young - it ceased trading as Hillard's in the mid-80's as all the stores were bought out, I think by Tesco - although it wasn't a Tesco for long as there was a city centre branch only a mile away.

It really only keeps going today as it's close to the University and many of the H.M.O. properties the students live in, so it's convenient for them. It's nowhere near the size of the out of town superstores where most households tend to shop. Back in the 1980's, though, it seemed massive compared to our "local" shops (one of which was a "Walter Willson" convenience store - anyone remember those?)

[80sChav]

Re: hillards supermarkets

Hillards in Hull Road, York. (Image taken from York Press, who have just run a series of pictures of old shops in the city).

I recall them well Tim ..... or at least the 1 local to me anyhow

Great find with the pic here mate - it looks so cool as if it was an old Factory or Pub Brilliant indeed!!

[Big Tim]

Re: hillards supermarkets



Taken (shamelessly) from the Wiki Page. There was a bit of info on the "Memories of York" Facebook Page a couple of years back, including photos, but unfortunately it has disappeared (spent several hours trawling back this afternoon).

[Big Tim]

Re: hillards supermarkets

Hillards in Hull Road, York. (Image taken from York Press, who have just run a series of pictures of old shops in the city).

[Richard1978]

Re: hillards supermarkets

Where I grew up in Marple had a Dee's Discount, which became a Gateway (as did the local Finefare), & a couple of other names (Healds, Freezepoint) before eventually becoming an Iceland, which it still is.

[jason h]

Re: hillards supermarkets

In the late 70s on cold, rainy evenings, my Mum and Dad would take me to Heckmondwike to collect my Dad's wages every Thursday. We would then do the weekly shopping at Hallards pictured here;

[Big Tim]

Re: hillards supermarkets

There was a branch of Hillard's on Hull Road, in York. Prior to that it was another independent regional (possibly York only) supermarket called (Frank) Dee's. Hillards in York had groceries downstairs, and hardwares/toys etc in a smaller upstairs area. It later was bought out by Grandways, and changed hands several times; becoming a Kwik Save and more recently a Somerfield, and now a Co-op.

Hillard's was popular until the mid 1980's, when ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury's began getting a stranglehold in York (strangely, it was not until 2008 that Morrison's built a store in East York), and they could no longer compete on price; and the store disappeared, at a guess around about 1985/86.

[stuckinthepast77]

Re: hillards supermarkets

seen the pidcs now jedi,and the main ones of the ossett branch,but the one further down just takes in the one on providence street in wakefield that eventually became mad harrys.another name to conjer with,but for a different thread maybe

[Jedi Knight]

Re: hillards supermarkets

Shame that, I would post the actual photo but it has copyright by Wakefield Libraries.

[stuckinthepast77]

Re: hillards supermarkets

hi again jedi,alas the twixt aire and calder site is stuffed at the moment and you cant access it correctlythis was my first port of call originally to find pics-hey 80schav,good to speak to you buddy-back in the day from my parents point of view it was a battle for them wether to shop at tesco or hillards-in the end theyd shop at tesco wakefield one week then hillards pontefract the other-and your right,hillards stores were funnily laid out-a tad like jack fultons today too i guess-my memory of them isnt great as i was only 10 when they went under (as were you of course)but i vaguely remember them,moreso the ponty one-if things were still done like that now i think supermarkets would be a better place to be-bring back the prices too i say

[catflap]

Re: hillards supermarkets

Another memory of 'my' Hillards - it had one of those cartoon booths you would sit inside and watch.

The cartoon I remember being on featured a chap flying around in what looked like a big bucket with controls at waist-height.

Weird!

[80sChav]

Re: hillards supermarkets

thought it would be cool for people to put up their memories of hillards supermarkets.they were a yorkshire based firm that got took over in 1987 by tescos.we had 2 near me-1 in pontefract on cornmarket (its now tescos) and one in wakefield (next to the old bus station)and the site is now a car park sadly:cry:
if anyone has pics of particularly the ones in wakefield or pontefract it would be great to see them again,or any hillards pics or advertising in general that would be fab!
andy

Hi stuckinthepast1977,
I was born in 1977 too andrecall recall Hillards well from the 1980s. What an amazing mis-match of a store it was too. It was like a Freezer Store (aka Heron)-Supermarket-Warehose (like Costco ) I think is it's name all merged into one. Being such a random place made it so great I think - more so after from the 1960s until the 1980s the co-op finally found competition. Hillards certainly (in many way) sent the trends and ideas that Kwick Save and Netto etc gained years after

Though neither are going now (though Asda has some kind ownership of Nett I heard recently) the likes of Kwick Save, Netto and latterly Aldi and Lidl owe a great thanks I think to Hillards and their great whacky ideas - no doubts!!

80sChav

[Jedi Knight]

Re: hillards supermarkets

You can see a little bit of the Wakey one at this link:

http://www.twixtaireandcalder.org.uk...spx?k=hillards

[stuckinthepast77]

Re: hillards supermarkets

yes what a great pic and story Jason,thankscatflap ive tried researching my local ones at pontefract and wakefield,and not one picture!not one item!even been into our local museum who have a research centre and have old pictures and documents-plenty on the gt smiths near us at the time but nothing on hillards-how wierd!

[catflap]

Re: hillards supermarkets

Nice memories and picture there Jason.

Just tried to find a pic of my old Hillards online - but no joy alas....