Toy Shops

[darren]

Re: Toy Shops

i had shop in town called conlons.
it was not part of any chain either.
it was going from before i was born.
had two floors absolutely jammed to the rafters with toys of all sorts.
closed in the mid nineties as the owners where rel old.
and no one wanted to take it over.

spent many happy hrs in there looking at every toy.
was like heaven for a kid like me.

Re: Toy Shops

Toy shops and toy departments really aren't what they used to be....loved the old independents....

[wispa lover]

Re: Toy Shops

Does anyone remember The Jolly Giant? There used to be some stores in England and Scotland but none in Wales. What I can remember about it that it was advertised regularly on Channel 4 during The Big Breakfast.
I'd also like to mention Children's World which is now a big Mothercare store, I'm sure it used to have a cafe, big slide and play ball area.

[Alant]

Re: Toy Shops

"La Trobes" in Reigate, Surrey was a fantastic toy shop from the 70s. The building was split into two shops, the bottom selling stationary items, and the top shop selling toys. The Castle Steps provided a direct route to the toy shop bypassing the Platignum pens and letraset transfers! Fantastic stock of Subbuteo, Matchbox cars and Brittains toy soldiers. The shop, though so tiny, was stocked to the rafters with glass display cabinets containing smaller toys such as farm vehicles, toy submarines etc. The lower shop became an "Our Price Records" and is now a bland mobile phone shop, the upper shop is, I believe still an office for the Samaritans.

Does anybody remember the model railway layout that used to run around the central staircase in HAMLEYS, London in the 1970s?

[Trickyvee]

Re: Toy Shops

Anyone from Newcastle will know that the 3rd floor of Fenwick's department store was heaven. Seemed about a mile square and nothing but toys! We lived 10 miles out of Newcastle but we had a great little toy shop called Pickards in our town. I loved that place, all dark and full of corners stuffed full of fab things. What was great was it sold all the funny little things that you couldn't get anywhere else - certain keyrings, rubbers, invisible ink, clackers.
Some paper shops were good for toys aswell in those days. Remember how they always had cardboard sheets hanging up with bouncy balls in them? They also sold hula hoops, other balls, badges and other bits and pieces. I remember getting one of those things shaped like Saturn that you bounced on from a paper shop.

[Paulos]

Re: Toy Shops

Yes our local toyshop from my youth closed in our town many years ago, now my kids think a toyshop is either the local newsagents which stock a few cheapies or the massive Toys R Us affairs.
I also remember when my parents used to take me into the city shopping that Exeter used to have the "Exeter pram and toy shop" which used to be fantastic.
HOWEVER recently we have taken to the odd shopping day in Tavistock a town near to us and have found a wonderful independent toyshop, a real Aladdin's cave.
For instance at Christmas the toy my daughter wanted was sold out everywhere, I gave them a quick call "Oh yes we have one of those" not only that, they then reserved it for me to pick up at the weekend.
Brilliant!

[lorimer]

Re: Toy Shops

Hi,

My childhood was fantastic living in a small village - Penistone - in south yorkshire,we had a large toy shop in the centre of the village.I used to save my weekly spending money of 25p until i had enough to buy either another Subbuteo team(still got them today) , a new action man figure or outfit or an airfix tank model! My friends and i used to build the models then have large tank battles on our lawns,what memories!!.....trouble is the shop i think is now closed or if it still open all the shops seem to stock now is cheap plastic rubbish from asia.I dont think we will ever see that type of independent shop surviving for much longer,if in fact there are any left !!

[Spunbowler]

Re: Toy Shops

Google Image Result for http://www.picturestockton.co.uk/standardimage.aspx?Image=512t10048.jpg

[Spunbowler]

Re: Toy Shops

Hello there,
This is my first post on this forum, i dont think it is in the right spot, but this subject is very close to my heart, we had a toy shop in Stockton on Tees near where i used to live, it was called Leslie Browns, downstairs was awash with toy soldiers and kits (my passion).

Upstairs was model railway and action man, no subbuteo though, that was mainly in Sports shops, great Forum by the way!!!!

[Kiop]

Re: Toy Shops

In Sheffield city centre in the 70's and early 80's we had a massive toyshop with 3 floors called 'Redgates'. You could even collect coupons and vouchers out of local papers and exchange them for free toys and there was a Redgates savings club.

It was an Aladdin's cave for me when I was a nipper and the city has never felt the same since its closure. It was replaced by a branch of Hamleys soon after (though not in the same location) but that didn't last very long. I always remember the huge, man-sized teddy bear they had in the wondow, lol.

Toys R Us have a lot to answer for.

[prestodigitator]

Re: Toy Shops

We had a couple in Taunton, one called Taunton Toys has just closed in Taunton High Street, it was there when we moved here in 1975. The other one called Watkins is still there, a real aladins cave.

Ahh Taunton Toys....
No visit to the town was complete without a visit here and a knickerbocker glory in Morelli's cafe (sady disappeared MANY years ago too...)

happy days

[Richard1978]

Re: Toy Shops

Marple's Toymaster was originally a Toy Inn, I'm not sure if they were ever in a chain under that name.

The Forboys used to have a selection of toys, I like the counter top rotating display of toy cars.

The was also a short lived specialist model shop, I remember it did Scalextric servicing so I managed to get a couple of cars reconditioned after the wires to the motor snapped & needed resoldering.

[toystalker]

Re: Toy Shops

there is a new old shop opened in cardiff called 80stoyshop.com they sell all the old stuff star wars thundercats etc also doo a tidy range of bikes old raleigh burners choppers etc, nice shop

[branny]

Re: Toy Shops

Absolutely 100%....I remember my mum taking one of my teddies for repair there, and later on an Action Man-type figure (hmm, what was that...smaller version of AM??)

Little big man? (Nothing to do with Dustin Hoffman).

[frame]

Re: Toy Shops

I visit Honiton antique toys when Im up that way,lots of old cars,trains,tinplate,etc....some odd stuff also.