What was Iceland before it was Iceland?

[Duke Fame]

It used to be called Bejam.

That was my answer but Ive only lived in Marple a couple of years.

[Bluezorro]

It used to be called Bejam.

[Neil Smith]

I remember John Savident (Fred Elliot)  who was the butcher in Coronation Street being on Market Street about 20/25 years ago opening some shop.

Jimmy Saville had something going on in the coop carpark around that time not sure if he opened it or not.

Iceland has been a supermarket as long as I can remember as I was stung by a wasp in there late 70's (aged about 3 or 4)

[RAY NOBLE]

I remember John Savident (Fred Elliot)  who was the butcher in Coronation Street being on Market Street about 20/25 years ago opening some shop.

[admin]

A famous celebrity did open a store on the chapels side of the street but it was in the eighties, I just can't remember the specific month and year. I have a sneaky feeling that it was Jack Duckworth though.

Is is the 80s that the original argument was about. Anyone remember Jack Duckworth opening a shop and what it was?

[Mr Marple]

Well we seem to be getting a little closer to solving this but Boots the Chemist was where it is now in the 1970s (http://visitmarple.co.uk/photos/displayimage.php?pid=6976) so it is not quite stacking up.

Did Garsides sell leather furniture and was it opened by Jack Duckworth off Corrie?

I would have thought that Garside's shop in Marple pre-dated Jack Duckworth's tenure of Coronation street by quite a long time.

That row of shops was built on the site of some stone cottages with front gardens which were demolished in the early-ish 1950s

A famous celebrity did open a store on the chapels side of the street but it was in the eighties, I just can't remember the specific month and year. I have a sneaky feeling that it was Jack Duckworth though.

[My login is Henrietta]

The argument seems to stem around it once being a furniture shop. Was "Dee Discount" a furniture shop? The period of early 80s is about right.

There isn't anything on the Virtual Tour apart from some shots of the back of it in the 1970s.

NO! as several of use have said iceland was never a furniture shop. The furniture shop was where Boots is now. Boots was previously on the other side of Market street. Possibly where the china shop used to be? It was certainly in that row.

Dee discount was a cheapo supermarket - a bit like B&M and others.

[My login is Henrietta]

Well we seem to be getting a little closer to solving this but Boots the Chemist was where it is now in the 1970s (http://visitmarple.co.uk/photos/displayimage.php?pid=6976) so it is not quite stacking up.

Did Garsides sell leather furniture and was it opened by Jack Duckworth off Corrie?

I would have thought that Garside's shop in Marple pre-dated Jack Duckworth's tenure of Coronation street by quite a long time.

That row of shops was built on the site of some stone cottages with front gardens which were demolished in the early-ish 1950s

[My login is Henrietta]

Was there ever a 'Woolworths' in Marple - and if so, where was it?

Both me and hubby seem to remember one but as neither of us originate from Marple we can't be sure.

Thanks.

Not in my lifetime (1949 to the present day). As teenagers we used to take ourselves off on Saturday on the bus to Stockport when we needed our Woolies fix

[My login is Henrietta]

The argument seems to stem around it once being a furniture shop. Was "Dee Discount" a furniture shop? The period of early 80s is about right.

There isn't anything on the Virtual Tour apart from some shots of the back of it in the 1970s.

No, what is now the Boots shop was a branch of Garsides of Glossop, a furniture shop. Icelend was variously Dee Discount and Gateway (interesting that those supermarkets didn't survive. Gateway became a part of Fine Fare, I think, who then became part of Somerfield and we know where they ended up.)

Before the building that is now Iceland the site was occupied by Trinity Methodist Chapel (hence Trinity and Chapel Streets in the vicinity).

[sooty2]

Trinity Chapel was demolished in 1964/65.

[admin]

Same shot in 1970:

[admin]

Well this confirms that the Boots building was once Garsides but this must have been pre-1970s and the Iceland building isn't there yet.

[admin]

To try and resolve the original query, does anyone recall the Iceland building being a furniture shop and it being opened by Jack Duckworth in early 80s? Or has it always been a supermarket since it was built?

Does anyone remember a different building near here being a furniture store in the early 80s?

[RAY NOBLE]

Trinity Methodist Chapel and Sunday school. At one time the Sunday school was used as The Welfare where mothers took their babies to be weighed  and have  the nurse give them a check-over. In the 1960s the welfare moved to the Memorial park.