HE has been serving customers in York for half a century - now a director of one of the city's last family firms is preparing to hang up his shop coat for good.

Paul Stabler was 15 when he began to work at his family firm - the well-loved department store Browns in Davygate.

The great-grandson of the firm's founder, Rhodes Brown, Paul started out on the shop floor in the carpets department - situated where the Nevisport sports shop is now - on a weekly wage of £4.10.

"Then we used to open at 9am and close at 5.30pm like we do now," he recalled. "But now we open seven days a week. We didn't get tourists like we do now. Sundays in York were like a ghost town. Everything was shut. There were no retailers open on Wednesday afternoons - every shop closed at 1pm.

"And there wasn't the choice of goods that we have now - choice has gone up three-fold. The whole of York is much busier now."

Originally called Rhodes Brown after its founder, the shop first opened as a draper's in 1886. It became WP Brown in 1919 when his son, William, took over, remaining so for decades before it became revamped as Browns in the 1980s.

Now the store is a flourishing business with a multi-million pound annual turnover, boasting 35 departments. When Paul started out two days before his 16th birthday, it had eight departments.

During the 50 years he has been working at Browns, he has worked in every department, working as a main buyer for the textiles section for many years - like his grandfather, great-grandfather and great-uncle before him.

Since 1955, the store has gradually spread in size, buying up neighbouring businesses and converting them into new departments. Staff numbers have grown from about 60 - many of whom stayed in the firm for decades - to about 200 working there today.

Fittingly, Paul - brother of John Stabler, former chairman of the now-defunct York Wasps rugby league club - is passing on the shop reins to his daughter Angela, 36, who will take over on the board of directors in September.

He said: "I'm very pleased that my daughter is taking over. I've always been the person on the shop floor - I've always been hands-on. I've never sat in an office.

"I'll be coming in whenever I'm needed. I'll keep in touch as an advisor."

:: How it's changed over half a century

TOP sellers in 1955 included men's flat caps, maids' uniforms, and headscarves for factory workers at Rowntree's. Now the perfume department, founded 15 years ago, is one of the firm's most successful sections.

Although the store has grown enormously since the 1950s, some departments are no longer there. The toy department has closed, and the store no longer sells patterns or dress material - because far fewer people make their own clothes today.

Rhodes Brown, born an orphan, rose to become Lord Mayor of York - twice.

Updated: 10:04 Wednesday, August 24, 2005