The Woolworths Museum

Reconstruction and Recovery

Getting back to normal after World War II







The Board fully recognised the sacrifice that its female staff had made. It became policy in the 1950s to approach those women first when a new store opened. In the culture of the day, sadly family commitments prevented most from accepting an appointment if it would involve moving home.














The changing face of Woolworth's in Strood, Rochester, Kent between 1936 and 1946. References to the threepenny and sixpenny stores have started to disappear (although the transom signs above the door remain seven years after the top limit was scrapped).Another challenge was to remove references to the old maximum price. Customers complained they could no longer find anything  that cost threepence or sixpence, after the inflation of the war years. In fact a third of the range was actually 6d or less, but all agreed the signs were no longer appropriate.

With building materials rationed, the only option was to remove the surplus letters, give the fascia board a lick of red paint and then reposition the "F. W. Woolworth & Co. Ltd." to the centre. The remaining letters, spelling '3D and 6D Stores', and in some cases 'Nothing over 6D' were returned to District Office. Most were dismantled and recycled.


Rebuilding work on Woolworth's at South Shields (No. 104) , destroyed in the Blitz in 1941, did not start until 8 years later.In 1948 the first High Street reconstruction began. The towns that had sustained the most damage were given priority. The Woolworth Architect was invited to make suggestions about the styling and materials to be adopted. It was agreed that a War Reparations Scheme would meet most of the rebuilding cost.

Twenty-six stores had been completely destroyed. The devastation stretched along the South Coast from Plymouth and Devonport in the west, along the English Channel through Bristol, Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Southsea, Chatham and Dover to Lowestoft, Norwich and Hull on the East Coast. The enemy had also targeted major centres of industry. Such losses had been more random. Some stores survived intact, while others, like Coventry, Sheffield and South Shields had been obliterated.



Harold Winbourne, the Chief Architect, prepared a store 'look' which he adapted to suit each location. His new buildings were more accessible, with wider step-free entrances, and were significantly larger and brighter.

By using new construction techniques, stores could be built quickly and cheaply, and could be opened in stages. The designs went on to stand the test of time. Most of the new buildings gave a further sixty years' service with little structural change, surviving and still stylish when the shutters fell on the chain in 2008.





