DO you remember this lost Hereford shop?

Nowadays most locals associate the name ‘Greenlands’ with the defunct High Town department store and the later Widemarsh street furnishing shop, but the name has been associated with the city since 1856 when George Greenland came to Hereford and established a drapery business in High Town.

After expanding the company with the acquisition of new properties in the city centre, Mr Greenland died in 1901, leaving the growing business to his four sons.

By the 1950s, Greenlands had reached its peak, with more than 200 employees and stores as far away as Llandrindod Wells.

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In 1968, however, it seemed as though Greenlands’ days were numbered when the shareholders of the company sold the bustling High Town store to Marks and Spencer for £350,000.

Colin Greenland ensured the family name remained on the city's streets when he set up a furnishing store in Widemarsh Street with Cyril Jones in 1969, which eventually closed in 2003.

Members of We Grew Up In Hereford have been sharing their memories of the once iconic Herefordshire retailers.

Many have childhood memories of shops and fondly recall buying teddy bears, toys and other trinkets. Tyronne Feldman warmly remembers buying fireworks from the shop as a boy, he said: “In 1949 I saved up a whole pound in threepence's and brought over one hundred fireworks with it.

“The most expensive one was a huge Jack-in-the-box which cost a whole sixpence.

“Unfortunately, I did not get to set off the most expensive firework, the aforesaid Jack-in-the-box, as my parents on seeing the size of it promptly confiscated it and buried it in the back garden where I presume it still is at number 13 Commercial Road.

“Those were the days.”

Whilst there’s plenty of nostalgia for Greenlands, some see its loss as indicative of a wider decrease in the quality of the city’s shops.

Carleton Davies said: “Greenlands was amazing and sadly missed, it was a true shopping experience.

"Chadds was also a wonderful store.

“Hereford is struggling to attract shoppers and visitors and I feel sorry for the few independent family businesses that still operate here.”