Page 3 - Meadowhall 25th Anniversary: The Star Special Supplement
P. 3
Saturday,September5,2015 www.thestar.co.uk
THESTAR 3
ing construction; beiow left, the Oasis from the inside; below right, excited grins from the first shoppers through the doors
forges, there is now a temple to consumerism nearing com pletion.”
The Star on September 4, 1990 carried the headline ‘It’s Meadowhall mania in region!’
The report said that the store “was besieged by thou sandsofshopperswhoflocked to the showpiece shopping centre.
“They sprinted over the thresholdtoclaimtherightto be recorded as first visitors to the 223 stores inside the shop ping mall.”
Eddie Healey’s wife Carol cutatapeoverthemaindoors to declare the centre open.
Several stores had their own opening ceremonies as well. Sheila Gray, of Hands- worth, won a competition in The Star to cut the ribbon at C&A.
After arriving in a white Rolls Royce, she said: “It is ab solutely great. I feel this is a special day.”
Bob Geldofarrived by heli copter more than an hour late to do the honours at HMV, where a huge crowd had gath ered.
Only a fortnight later, the millionth customers through the doors, the Hurd family ofWestfield, Sheffield, were treated to a £1,000 shopping spree.
Richard, Karen and their children Laura and Jodie chose a holiday in Great Yar mouth,ahi-fiandCDs,clothes forallthefamilyandavacuum cleaner.
It would be another four
years until another new ini
tiative,Supertram,arrivedat JaneDepledgeandBeverlyStuart the shopping centre.
tertogetabird’seyeview. The Star reported: “From the 500ft vantage point, the ByNovemberofthatyear, vastsiteiscomingtolife,with thedeveloperswereabletore theskeletaloutlineemerging portthatmorethanhalfofthe amidadust-greybackground.
shops had been let. “The horseshoe shape of They predicted that Mead- the main area can already owhallwouldattract25mil beenseeninthesteelskel
Work started on the site nearjunction 34 ofthe Mi in late June 1988.
Grapes pub on Meadowhall Road, which was demolished after 134 years.
By April 1990, The Star couldruntheheadline‘Shop pers’ paradise emerges from rubble’.
The story said: “Meadow- hallriseslikearetailphoenix from the ashes of Sheffield’s industrial past.
“Where once stood grimy rolling mills and pounding
lion visitors in its first year.
A month earlier, potential clients were flown above the construction site by helicop
eton.”
One of the buildings that
disappeared to make way for the centre was the Fox and
By that time, Meadowhall had become an established part ofthe life ofthe region.
The days of polyester and shoulder pads on the rails and cash-only tills were re called by two long-serving members ofstaffat Marks & Spencer at Meadowhall.
“Having worked in chil drenswear for a long time, it’s lovely to see families grow and to see children we served 25 years ago grow up and bring their own children to the store.
“Meadowhall is very special to me because I’ve workedwiththepeoplehere for a very long time, they’re
‘25 years later, I’m still shopping’
In total, 45 members of
staff at one of the largest
flagship stores within the
centre are about to mark 25
years of service at Meadow
hall,allproudofbeingpartof likemyfamilyandI’vebuilta theoriginalteamwhohelped loyalrelationshipwiththem
WhenmumofthreeSharon
Cooke stood outside Meadow hallshoppingcentre,waiting forittoopenforthefirsttime,
she never dreamed she might
still be shopping there 25 years
later.
Sharonwastracedfromthat firstdayusingoriginalimages Sharon
“Iwasprobablyabout34-35 then and I still rememberthe bluejacketIwaswearingin thephotosandmyhair.Itwas naturally curly and auburn and when I look back now it isjust soembarrassing,peoplesay IlookyoungernowthanIdid backthen. “AfterthatMeadowhall became my second home. I remember coming to one event atDebenhamswhichwasstill open at midnight for some reason, I came out ready to go intotheotherstoresbutevery thing was closed. There never seems to be enough hours in thedaytodoeverythingIwant atMeadowhall. “Theshopshaveobviously changedovertheyearsand nowamongmyfavouritesare River Island, Zara and Pri- mark. The grandkids also love theBuildaBearworkshop." Sharonisnowaged59,amum ofthree and grandmother andlivesinNorthAnston, Sheffield.
all as both colleagues and friends.”
takenasthedoorsandstores opened that have been pub lished in The Star to commemo ratethatdayonSeptember4, 1990.
In her own words: “I had gonealongwithmysister
and 16-month-old baby girl Lucy. I was so excited, as I had watcheditbeingbuiltover themonths.Theatmosphere wasjustelectric-everyone couldn't waittogetinsideandseewhat it was like.
“We went in bythe Marks & Spencers’entrancesothat wasthefirstshopwesaw.I couldn’t believe it I wasjust walkingaroundsaying,‘hey’ve goteverythinghere,every-
Cooke shopping on
Meadow- hall’s opening day in Septem ber1990
thing!’“Italllookedamazing.
I was looking for a specific kitchensetandspentafortune thatday.
since its opening back in 1990, said “I applied to work at the store on the last day of
“AfterM&SwewenttoC&A and then to the market place; everythingseemednewand exciting,eventhesaladbars!
thing very special from the very start. Looking back, the way people buy items haschanged;Ican’tbelieve we only accepted cash for so longbeforeintroducingstore cardsandthenfinallyaccept ing credit and debit cards.”
lots ofpolyester!
“Shoulder pads were in,
alongwith shellblousesand pleated clothing. Double- breasted suit jackets were the fashion back then but they’re almostnon-existent in store now.”
RETRO
Remembering the days of shoulder
pads and cash only
open the doors at M&S on September 4,1990.
“We’d never been any She continues “Fashion thing like it before and I haschangedquitealotover knewitwasgoingtobesome thepast25years;Iremember
SalesassistantJaneDe
pledge, aged 46, from the
childrensweardepartment, alsoworkedattheM&Sstore has many fond memories
of that first day when thou
sands ofpeople were queuing
upoutsidetogettheirfirst applications.Everyonewas glimpse ofthe store.
Starting her retail career asa21-year-old,Janerecalls:
“I remember being very ex
cited as I had watched it be ingbuiltoverthemonthsand yearsfromWincobank. ofthat.”
Beverly Stuart, mens- wearsalesassistantwhohas
concerned that Meadowhall as an out-of-town shopping centre wasn’t going to last but look at it now, it’s getting bigger and better every year and I am proud to be a part
