The Midland Drapery
When people reminisce about things long-gone there’s often two particular themes that crop up. Old pubs is one of them and old shops is the other, and when old shops are mentioned in relation to Derby then more often that not we often here of Ranby’s, Barlow and Taylor’s, Thurman and Malin’s and of course the Midland Drapery. As the very first purpose built independent department store in Derby, the Midland Drapery, and all talk of it, brings back a lot of fond memories for some people. For myself, though too young to personally remember it, I do remember my parents talking fondly of it.
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Established in 1882 on St. Peter’s Street with the East Street development coming in 1892, it was described at the time as “a delight to the eye - within its doors was a well fitted and special apartment devoted to children's coats, capes, costumes, ladies underclothing and corsets”.
The Midland Drapery.
All in all, as well as its presence on St. Peter’s Street, the shop occupied numbers 1-9 East Street, number 3 being the men's wear department, stocking hosiery, pants, vests, shirts in wool, collars and cuffs, ties, caps, rugs and umbrellas, and by 1909 the shop employed over 300 people and its founder and owner, Edwin Ann, was locally regarded as a very considerate employer, often organising company events to places such as Chatsworth.
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Displayed high on the store’s frontage was its trademark magnet sign declaring the company slogan of "The Magnet that Draws the People”, and it not only did but it also left them with very happy memories. On our Facebook page Patricia Shreeve said, “I loved this shop, it was a joy to wander round and the yearly visit to see Santa was magical.” Frances Lilley mentions that she “used to love the restaurant in the 60s - the hairdressing salon was above with a staircase into the dining area. Freshly couffeured ladies had all eyes on them as they descended ... quite an ordeal! The adjoining Sun Lounge was great too for lighter refreshments ... loved an Ice cream sundae as a treat.” Fay Slingsby, the Great Granddaughter of the stores founder – Sir Edwin Ann – remembers “being taken to lunch in the Café/Restaurant and models would intermingle among the tables showing off the latest fashions!” and agrees that “the Santa’s grotto was indeed a legendary experience.”
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Although beginning its life as a drapery, by the 1920s it had become a true department store and drew many people in with the sumptuous and wide selection and even now, over 50 years after its closure in 1969, it’s still sadly missed by many Derbeians. There’s very much a universal opinion on its closure with Maxwell Craven, in my opinion Derby’s greatest ever historian, describing the Audley Centre that replaced it as "a bland two-storey brick shopping arcade of dubious fiscal viability" and Stephanie Brown putting it rather aptly on our Facebook page when she said, “We lost such an iconic store for the crappiest of crap Audley centre which had to be one of the most depressing buildings in Derby!”.
As with many things of that era it fell victim to what was perceived at the time as progress and it’s doubtful whether such a magnificent building would have been demolished in these times, but demolished it was and Derby was the poorer for it.