Nostalgia with Margaret Watson: Greenwood’s has remained almost exactly the same as when it was opened in 1856

Margaret Watson writes: Sadly, there are few of the old shops left which I remember as a child, but I know it is the same in other towns because we are changing the way we shop.

But one shop I am glad is still with us is Greenwood’s in Church Street which has remained almost exactly the same as when it was opened in 1856.

Greenwood’s, which was once also a pawnbrokers, has hardly changed over the years, although the three brass balls which once hung over the shop door are long gone.

From being a little girl I had known of Greenwood’s because my grandmother had been what they called a ‘pop’ lady.

I remember her going round the street where we lived in Springfield every Monday morning asking neighbours if they wanted her to take anything down to the pawn shop.

Most of them did, and within a short time she had collected quite a tidy bundle which she’d carry down to Greenwood’s wrapped in her shawl.

She would lay them on the counter and try to get as much as she could for them, and her reward was usually a copper or two from grateful neighbours who’d been saved the indignity of taking them themselves.

The shop is now owned by Sue Baker, who saved it from closure some years ago, because she didn’t want to see such a long established shop close down. Thank you Sue.

By rescuing the shop, Sue has ensured it retains all its old features and has even opened a museum on the upper floor which people can