Wednesday, October 07, 2020

THEN & NOW: FURNISHING BRIGG BLOG FOLLOWERS WITH A STORE OF MEMORIES


Pictured here is a Brigg business many people will remember - Bell's furniture store, when it occupied prominent premises beside the A18 on Bridge Street. It also had a base in the Market Place for many years. 

Today we share archive views of Bell's on Bridge Street in the early 1970s and two decades later after closure. 

 


It offered quality new and second-hand furniture in its showrooms. We think it also sold other 'used' goods, including books.
Bell's closed its shop in the Market Place for the last time in 1983. A report at the time suggested this was the first step on the road to retirement for Jack and Marjorie Thompson. The business began in Manley Gardens - being established by Arthur Bell after he left the Army after the 1914-18 war. He ran it with the help of his wife Mary.
Mrs Thompson joined her father in the business after the death of her mother and latterly shared ownership with her sister, Betty Faulding, of Goxhill.  Mrs Thompson and husband Jack, of Eastfield Road, ran it day to day.
Our picture from the early 1970s also shows Leonard's gun shop, near to Bell's. It has been the base for Bhatti's newsagency and convenience shop for many years. Dean Wray's carpet business currently uses the premises once used by Bell's (see below).