Long-lost shops of York: Hunter & Smallpage in Goodramgate

You can't help but notice the towering structure of a white building above the skyline.

Wander round to Goodramgate and you will see that the building - at number 57 - is an enormous beast of a thing, and storeys higher than its neighbours.

Etched on the glass in cursive script above the main green door is the address: 57 Hunter House.

57 Goodramgate today - Hunter House

Today, it is a series of apartments, including holiday lets. The store Savers occupies the ground floor.

But dial back our time clock to just the 1980s and this building was home to York furniture legends Hunter & Smallpage.

Many of our readers will remember the store well - indeed several have shared comments about it on our nostalgia Facebook page, Why We Love York - Memories. Join us at: www.facebook.com/groups/yorknostalgia to take part in the conversation down memory lane.

But the story of Hunter & Smallpage begins much longer ago.

It all started in 1875, in the midst of York's Victorian shopping boom.

Hunter & Smallpage delivery wagon circa 1911

Thomas Hunter opened a furniture store making high quality bespoke pieces and was soon joined by Benjamin Smallpage.

While these were way beyond the pockets of much of the city, whose population of 50,000 then included many thousands of slum-dwellers, there were enough wealthy citizens within York and the surrounding Ridings to ensure the business grew.

All the furniture and upholstery was originally manufactured in the shop. A 60-hour week was normal. Craftsmen started at 6am – by gaslight in the winter – and would walk home for breakfast at 8am before returning for the rest of their shift.

As the years went by, Hunter & Smallpage gained a reputation for expertise and planning. Not only were chairs and suites designed to fit a particular room, customers would be "measured" for their armchairs.

The firm took orders from customers in Europe, the United States and Canada, as well as from the Royal Family.

Following a merger with Bellerby's furnishings in 1921, the company had two city centre outlets. The one in Feasegate was hit by an incendiary bomb in the Second World War and closed shortly after the war.

A trip to the five storey Goodramgate showroom was an event. With 140 staff serving on five floors, the Goodramgate premises was so large it was turned into three separate shops, offices and homes on its closure.

Hunter & Smallpage in 1986

By 1958 Hunter & Smallpage had expanded into Albany Hall. This one-time dance hall formed part of a major refurbishment of the store, which then boasted departments including china and glassware, linen, electric lighting and carpets, in addition to the large furniture range.

Albany Hall - where Hunter & Smallpage expanded

There were other developments, too. In the Sixties the firm joined forces with Heppell's, founded by skilled cabinet maker Arthur Heppell in York in 1920. Together, they met furnishing contracts for hotels, restaurants and bars.

As well as providing the fittings for nightspots in London's West End, a team from the company were flown out to St Lucia to furnish the 256-bedroom Halcyon Hotel on the island.

There was great sadness when the big Hunter & Smallpage closed in 1986, in the midst of recession.

Not long afterwards, Quentin Smallpage, fourth generation of the founding family, announced the name would return with a carpet shop that he opened on Micklegate.

This closed in 2006.

We have found some fantastic photos of the store and its delivery vans in our archive. Our searches have also unearthed some charming adverts for the store.

An advert for Hunter & Smallpage in the Guide to York of 1971

Enjoy our gallery of images from the past - and please do share your memories of the shop with other readers by joining us over on Facebook at Why We Love York - Memories.