The Shop's History

Chester St, with our shop in the foreground Above Chester Street, our shop in the foreground.
Below same view in the 1980s.
Similar, in the 1980s Inside our shop
Inside, 17th Century beams, and 21st Century shopfittings

Built in the 17th Century, converted into shops in the 19th and modernised in the 20th Century. They still look similar to the original workshops, and are small compared to the later buildings around them.
The shop was built during the reign of Charles II (1660-85) as an oak framed building.
None of the shops in our block have a chimney, so they were probably built as workshops, however until the 19th century some Welsh houses lacked chimneys, so we can't be certain.
During the 19th Century, all 5 workshops were converted into shops. staircases were added to the end properties, also dormer windows were installed. Our shop uses the upstairs area as a workshop. The other end shop used the rest of the upstairs area as a tearoom.
The 1865 Ordnance Survey map clearly shows the buildings have the same general floorplan as today, although there were more workshops behind them. The family which then owned the whole block are still our landlords.
Dormer windows were installed, then guttering was placed in front of them, so they couldn't be opened!
About 1910 our shop was altered and became a jewellers. It was originally owned by Mr Francis, who passed it over to Mr Mawdsley around 1940, who remained the tenant until 1985, when he finally decided to retire at the ripe old age of 82. After enjoying some years of healthy retirement, he died in January 1997.
By the time the shop was ours, the whole block was very dilapidated, the tenants had not maintained the property. I still remember the day a slate fell off the roof straight onto a passing police car!
Eventually the shops were renovated. Ours posed an interesting problem, because the safe had been installed and the building's brickwork altered afterwards - so it was impossible to move the safe, and all the work had to done around it. Our shop still has plenty of character, which means walls and ceilings are uneven! We have an oak beam across the ceiling, and exposed beams in our workshop.

Why we run this business

First and foremost to earn a living! We find it more fun than retirement!
We were fortunate to get this shop. We learnt that Mr Mawdsley was retiring, We could see the shop's potential, and agreed to buy the remnants of his stock, along with the fixtures.
We do love jewellery and gemstones, as you'll see from the pictures I've included in these webpages. So we get a lot of pleasure out of running the business.
I've always found computers fascinating, and this interest has proved useful in the shop. I have written software (based on Microsoft Access) to run the shop. The original application was for stock control, but I have since extended the system to handle both repairs and pawbroking, as well as the accounts.
Unlike many self-employed people, we do believe in enjoying life and taking time off. Our main interest is traveling. We have visited Brazil, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, USA as well as other places.
Being self-employed makes it easier to take long holidays. I don't have to ask the boss's permission before I go. Actually I do have to make sure it's OK with the staff, but you can't have everything. To get a decent holiday we like to take 5 weeks or more at a time, plus a couple of days to allow for the flight, and not all employers are that understanding. Also if we get back exhausted, well nobody can tell us off.
I can even find excuses for my travels. Travel keeps us alert to new ideas, and gives us plenty to discuss with our customers. Finally it ensures the staff can run the shop in our absence, and as there's always the risk we could be ill, or involved in an accident, that's important.
I hope it also makes us more considerate as employers, because we understand staff (like us) do consider their personal life more important than their work.

The Future, and the Internet

Our business is growing steadily. The Internet is affecting us. We use it as a great source of knowledge, and for buying and selling, as well as personal purchases. it's changed retailin, so we're aiming in our real shop to target areas where personal service is a must.
In the past, most shops were really workshops, where goods were prepared for sale. Jewellers maintain that tradition. Many repairs are sent to contractors, but some are still done on our premises. We don't just buy and sell, every second hand item is renovated in our workshop
We opened our onlinw ahop in 2014. Local customers enjoy browsing online, and can come into the shop to see the jewellery, and make a final decision.
Second hand jewelleryu has become very important, and we cam compete with the multiples. We love jewellery and do try to resell as much as possible; more of our profits come from selling jewellery than scrap.