Shops / News
‘Oldest shop in Bristol’ to bid farewell to high street
It is one of the oldest independent shops in Bristol, if not the oldest. According to many, it holds the singular honour of being “the oldest shop in Bristol”. But now, it’s the end of an era for a much-loved shop after more than 160 years in business.
W.H. Mogford & Son has withstood the Great Depression, two World Wars, the global financial crash and a pandemic. But the Westbury-on-Trym hardware store has announced its intention to bring down the shutters for good this September.
Run by Paul Gillam and his wife Barbara, the shop is a cornucopia of hardware essentials, everything from garden tools, nuts and bolts, hoover bags, lugs and switches and to the harder-to-find oddments. When Bristol24/7 recently spoke with Paul, he was pragmatic about how things had unfolded over the past few years.
is needed now More than ever
The fall of footfall has been cited as the main reason for the closure of W.H Mogford & Son
The shopfront received a facelift around three years ago, while retaining its original Victorian features. Before it became a hardware store, the premises served as an ironmonger.
“There was a welcome spike in sales after the first lockdown, we were so busy and couldn’t keep up with orders. But the second lockdown really did it for us. We never recovered from that,” Paul said.
Paul has been running the shop since 2004, though his connection to it dates back a decade earlier when it was run by John Wiltshire. Altogether, Paul has been involved with the shop for over 30 years.
W.H Mogford & Son has been a mainstay in Westbury-on-Trym
He is now the last link to the old guard, as John Wiltshire passed away about four and a half years ago. Another key factor in the shop’s decline, Paul noted, was the rise of online shopping—where “anything and everything can be bought”—and the opening of wholesale retail venues to the general public, not just tradespeople.
“Online sites really did it for us, with prices we just couldn’t compete with. And trader places, which once required membership, are now open to everybody,” he added.
Paul Gillam ran the much-loved hardware shop since 2004
Paul’s daughter, Sophie, introduced W.H. Mogford & Son to the social media savvy generation by creating its Facebook page where the team could post updates in real time. Sophie, who also managed the accounts, later took up a job with a government ministry and moved on.
A seasoned local business figure, Paul Gillam was no stranger to entrepreneurship when he took the reins. Born and bred in Bristol, he previously worked as a fishmonger and pub landlord. He now lives in Coombe Dingle, not far from the store.
The shop is a cornucopia of hardware essentials, everything from garden tools, nuts and bolts, hoover bags, lugs and switches, and to the harder-to-find oddments
While pragmatic about the shop’s future, Paul expressed hope that it could continue as an independent business—ideally as a hardware store. He mentioned there had already been some interest from another hardware store owner who “popped in for a chat” after the announcement.
Dubbed the “oldest shop in Bristol”, W.H Mogford & Son stood the test of time for over 160 years
All photos: Milan Perera
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