This page introduces you to the main shopping street through the centre of Penistone. Market Street becomes High Street somewhere halfway along. It has seen many cosmetic changes but the general appearance has not changed much over half a century or more. A few other business lie off the main road, on side streets; especially the two supermarkets on Park Avenue. Thumbnail pictures on this page are all shapes and sizes from before when I mostly standardised them. Some are old and poor quality. My apologies for that.
The Changing Face of Penistone
Older residents will remember Penistone retail market where the Spar is now; the smell of coffee in Ferguson's shop (later to become the dentist's); Risden Woodcock's hardware shop (it was always 'coming in next week'); Purdey's wallpaper shop; Raymond Smith's Radio and TV shop and another Mr Smith next door to him selling sweets and Charlesworth's clothes shop where YBS is now (official supplier of PGS uniforms). The Clays had a small tobacconists where Zeanti's is now, next door to Charlesworth's. At the other end of the row was the Conservative Party office with its frequent jumble sales before it became the (much missed) Halifax agency. It is now SK's Cafe. Penistone's own radio station came along in 2009, above the cafe.
Shop-front refurbishments, a lick of paint and new signage came along from the 'Market Town Initiative' in 2005. The long-time travel agent which in its later incarnation was 'Travelworld' became Barnsley Hospice charity shop. The 'World of Video' shop became Chuck McBurney's betting shop. What was Mrs. Bailey's cloth shop next to JT's became Mrs. Porter's DIY shop and then it changed hands again as a DIY shop. It is empty now. JT's became Jaytees. The Vicarage Tea Rooms closed in 2008, leaving elderly organ concert visitors with less choice for a sit-down meal or cup of tea, then the Rose & Crown stepped in with food and refreshments. The Old Crown closed for a while and new tenants moved in.
The Start (or End) of Market Street
The first picture (above-right) is a rainy view of Market Street and is more or less the reference point for when I say the left or right for what follows. The Old Crown is the most prominent building on the right of the picture. The white car just beyond the light-coloured Spread Eagle is on Back Lane, the entrance to the retail market, which is also the site of the monthly Farmers' Market and livestock auctions of small creatures. Clark's chemist is the building on the left.
The old Cloth Hall
The old cloth hall has been Clark's Chemist from 1899 and is still in the hands of the Clark family. The special display below was part of their centenary celebration, when every window had its own theme. There used to be a door in the middle arch. The building failed as a cloth hall but has housed a variety of businesses over the years, including the British Legion.
There is another row of arches on the ginnel side of the building, which are now bricked up. If you are standing outside Clark's, look up at the largest chimney stack across the road and see if you can spot the owl. It's there, believe me. Clark's is the only shop in Penistone where I can properly satisfy my fetish for liquorice and Imps ('addictive' little pellets of liquorice and menthol).
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Up the Street
The first picture below is of Cinnamon Spice just after Clark's ginnel. It used to be Fieldsend's greengrocer many years ago. Going up the stone steps, Fieldsend's was a very cold shop without heating of any kind. It did not need a fridge. It was cold even at the height of summer and I always pitied the frozen shop girls working there. It has changed hands a few times since then. After a long stint as a cafe run by Frank Wordsworth's sister, it became Hanwell's cafe for a few years then 'Carolina's' Italian delicatessen with adjoining cafe for three or four years. In 2007/8 it became a licensed curry house with a new interior. It sits directly opposite the competing Balti House take-away.
Peter Holmes' butcher (red awning) has occupied this shop for as long as I can recall. As a vegetarian, I have never set foot inside it. The chip shop is next door and two pictures below show the chip shop and cafe as seen from Shrewsbury Road. This road leads past Frank Platt's excellent electrical shop (where I bought my telly, washing machine, vacuum cleaner and a radio or two), the church, the Town Hall/Cinema and down to The Dolphin chipoyl and Green Cleans emporium right at the bottom.
The chip shop cafe is a small, friendly place with regular customers and it is a good place to appreciate the local townsfolk. Bert Saville had it a long time ago then Cedrick 'Edric' Foster (who still lives in the area) took it on in the 1980s.
Edric established the 'Saddler's Cafe' around the corner, conveniently close to the bus shelter, for a cup of tea or a meal. Through most of the the 1990s it was Yates chip shop but it changed hands (probably within the Yates family) and the Yates sign has gone.You can see the adjoining cafe and the door to a barber's shop above the chip shop cafe. I recommend their egg, chips and mushy peas, with bread and butter and a strong mug of tea. The current Barbers' Shop was 'Scissor Happy' hairdressers until recently, when Bernice retired. The bottom row pictures were taken from their window. It is still a hairdressers but in a more traditional style.
McBurney's Turf Accountant, Robert's Butcher, Balti House
We are on the right side of the road in the next set. The first picture is an old view of Duncan Roberts' Family Butcher. Duncan is a well-known character with a popular taxi service using his distinctive black and white car. If the taxi is cold, he is delivering meat. Next door was the 'World of Video' but is now Chuck McBurney's betting shop, which you can see in the 2008 picture below right, complete with rainbow. Rather quaintly, we English call a betting shop a 'turf accountant' or a 'bookie' and the windows are by law always screened out. Chuck's is conveniently close to the Spread Eagle pub next door and there is a constant shuttling about of customers on Saturday afternoons.
People watchers like me will sit on the benches outside the Spread in fine weather, watching the boy racers go by with screeching tyres and thumping 'music' as some sort of external heart pace-maker. To the right of the Spread is a solicitors, the Balti House and the Old Crown referred to previously. High up on the Balti House wall is printed 'Bentley's Rotherham Ales'. Apart from some colour changes, someone from a century ago would instantly recognise all of these buildings.
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Bottom-left picture is Back Lane leading to the retail market, which is more or less where you see the cars parked. This is all about to change. The shop just visible to the right is again Duncan Roberts' Butcher shop, with a carrier bag tied to its awning to stop pedestrians bashing their heads.
The Market
"Battle through the rain and gales" - so the radio advert goes, to encourage people to visit Penistone's retail market. Meanwhile, Penistone livestock market was granted a royal charter in 1699 but it had been going a long time before that. In the old days, animals were bought and sold in the street outside the Spread Eagle or by the church. In 2003, the livestock market was closed down by Barnsley Council to save money (so that they could spend £3m on Barnsley football club and another £9m on consultants) and seemingly as part of a deal for a new Tesco. Now, in March 2010, the old market and fire station area is being demolished ready for the new market, the new Tesco 'food supermarket' and a new parking area (2 hour limit and under Tesco control). This is disrupting Penistone's normally busy retail market but a new market with a fancy wooden roof is going to be put up.
These next pictures show how it was before the demolition started. First, the livestock market with rustic characters at auctions a few years ago. These days there are all varieties of nationalities at the livestock auctions and they tend to stand out in a town like ours. The sign in the middle pic is a legacy from the foot-and-mouth cattle epidemic of 2001. After the earlier, disastrous BSE epidemic, farming and related businesses in the UK suffered greatly, then the foot-and-mouth epidemic came along and put yet more strain on the already stretched resources of farmers.
Below left is the excellent Saturday morning fruit and veg market, which comes here in all weathers. Good, fresh and cheap fruit & vegetables and there's never any need for a fridge in Penistone. These fellows were pleased to see themselves on this page but the fine old chap died in 2007 and the stallholder's son is in his shoes, along with his mrs. and his own son. They also have a shop in Hoyland. Just around the corner and opposite the market stalls is Ivy Cottage, which is the new location of Auckland's opticians.
Have a look at some lofty views of the Market area as seen from the now-demolished fire station tower and while you are doing that, why not download and listen to a short MP3 sound clip of the retail Market ambience.
Shrewsbury Road
Now we are back on the left side of the road. The next set of pictures are across from Back Lane. First one is Frank Platts' electrical goods shop on the end of Shrewsbury Road. This has been in Penistone for as long as I can recall and I have bought two washing machines, one radio, one telly and various of other things from Platts. Brian Clegg has been boss there for a long time.
Next, the towering three-storey Rose & Crown, on the corner of Shrewsbury Road, with Platt's just visible and an old BT telephone box. BT are trying to make their phone boxes disappear from the UK landscape unless they have listed status. Looking further along the street after the Rose & Crown, we have Penistone IX fashion shop (No.9), Co-op Chemist and Lancasters estate agent. Co-op Chemist had a popular old weighing machine just inside the door but it is beyond repair now. Next is a lane leading down to the Post Office - which is also a stationers, sweet shop and toy shop. Next to the Post Office (top-right) is the Vicarage Guest House, not shown here.
Continuing along the street, we have Yorkshire Building Society (not visible here), Zeanti's fashion shop, GT News, Greggs', Barnsley Hospice charity shop, Hallmark card shop, Scriveners optician and the new SK cafe. The rather poor pictures of Penistone Parade were taken from the steps by the Co-op.
Back to Market Street
The next picture is a long view looking back down Market street. On the right of this picture you can't see much to the left of GT News. This is an old picture and the red front after Greggs was a travel agent. It is now Barnsley Hospice. After Hallmark card shop we have Scrivener opticians and finally SK cafe, which used to be a Halifax branch. The second picture, top row, shows Scrivener's optician and the new SK cafe.
The bottom row is from inside SK cafe, which opened May 2009. It takes its name from the partnership of Sue and Kelly, who wanted to keep the name short. I have tested out their egg, chips and beans and they were up to standard. The last picture is a window two storeys above the cafe. It is the home of Penistone FM, our community radio station which launched 6th June 2009.
Shops on the left side of the road (not strictly in order) are the Co-op, Chinese take-away and cafe, hairdresser, Britannia building society, optician, tattoo parlour, Roberts butcher, Chuck McBurney's bookies, the Spread Eagle, a solicitor, Balti House, Old Crown and NatWest Bank. Not shown here are two supermarkets, the Co-op and the Spar directly opposite to it. There is a small car park in front and behind the Spar. The Co-op had a makeover in 2004 after which they started to bake fresh bread and a bigger makeover in 2010 with new equipment and a brighter feel.
Incidentally, try saying this at any cashout in the Co-op: "It's a bit quiet in Penistone just now". They call it the 'Q' word and daren't mention it, as it magically attracts too many people indoors. Last time I tried it, the shout of "Hamlet" went up, as though I had conjured up an evil spirit. Try it out for a laugh and listen for 'Hamlet'.
Bring out the Tumbleweed
Changes have started in 2010. Old buildings are to be demolished around the market area to make way for a Tesco 'food supermarket'. The historic jail and the stone wall opposite the British Legion will come down. I hope that we will have a chance to see what has been hidden there for more than a century. Town style pointy-architecture houses are planned to go up (with reckless disregard for local architecture) and will dominate the main point of entry to Penistone. A road roundabout is likely to appear just by the old railway bridge of Bridge Street.
The market is to be re-shaped, scaled down and walled in to prevent expansion and is likely to gain a fancy wooden roof. Many people welcome the planned Tesco but it will encroach on to our hallowed Showground and will be a big plastic blot on the landscape, visible for a good distance. You can see the showground from miles away above Ingbirchworth. New car parking is welcome but limited to only 2 hours and that is likely to benefit the new supermarket much more than Penistone's existing shops.
