Eyres furniture shop: Iconic Chesterfield store up for sale …
An iconic furniture store that has been a staple of a Derbyshire high street for nearly 150 years is up for sale after permanently closing last year. Eyres furniture store has been synonymous with the town centre of Chesterfield[1] since the historic company started trading in 1875.
Sat in the shadow of the town’s famous Crooked Spire on the corner of Holywell Street, Stephenson Place and Cavendish Street[2], the store closed in March 2022 for a £1 million refurbishment project. It was due to reopen two months later in May, but in April a letter was sent to employees confirming that nearly 150 years of retail history was coming to an end.
The building, which is arranged over four floors with an extensive basement and goods yard to the rear, has now been put on the market. Being marketed by estate agent Innes England Ltd, in Derby, the building has an asking price of £650,000.
An online listing states that the giant retail store across the road from the Winding Wheel has the potential for residential development. The news that the store was due to close came as another massive blow to Chesterfield’s high street which most notably in recent years has seen Marks & Spencer leave the town centre[3] in favour of Ravenside Retail Park.
Eyres originally started in 1875 when Isaac Eyres, of Barrow Hill, became injured at work and lost his job. That resulted in him needing to find a way to get more income into the family and so he embarked on opening a new shop in Chesterfield town centre buying and selling sewing machines and mangles.
After 147 years, the store had grown to what it was when it closed at the start of March 2022, covering multiple levels of the Holywell Street unit, selling high-end furniture and household goods. It also opened an artisan cafe in recent years that proved very popular.
However, numerous issues with the building, including damp, flooding and a burst sewage pipe forced parts, if not all of the shop, to be closed on occasions while the issues were dealt with. It forced to owners to consider the refurbishment, resulting in it closing for two months at the start of March 2022 for the £1 million work to be carried out.
The full listing of Eyres furniture store can be viewed here[5].
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References
- ^ with the town centre of Chesterfield (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ town’s famous Crooked Spire on the corner of Holywell Street, Stephenson Place and Cavendish Street (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Chesterfield’s high street which most notably in recent years has seen Marks & Spencer leave the town centre (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Get a free National Trust pass worth £50 for your family day out this summer (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ viewed here (www.rightmove.co.uk)
- ^ the main Derbyshire Live newsletter here (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)