Shephards

Shephards of Gateshead was a small department store chain located in the North East of England with its flagship store being located in Gateshead.

History

Emerson Shephard had originally opened a shop on Swinburn Street, Gateshead but in 1908 moved to the Ellison Street. The store initially sold shoes and boots but quickly grew to become a department store.

By 1924 the business had grown, with 10 branches dotted across the North East. One of those branches in North Shields had been the department store of George Swann; however, he had overstretched himself while building his new store and Shephards took over the business.

In 1934 the Ellison Street, Gatehead store was given a makeover in 1934 which included three new floors and now had 30 departments. The store remained undamaged during the Second World War, but in 1946 the store was burnt to the ground.

While the store was being rebuilt, Shephards relocated to Kent House, the former home of the Snowballs department store. In 1949 the new store was opened, and included the famous Panorama Restaurant.

During the 1970s Shephards ran a TV advert on local TV with the catchy jingle:

Shephards of Gateshead, the biggest and the best store Shephards of Gateshead have what you're looking for There's so much to see, and the car park is free Come shopping at Shephards for the whole family

However the 1970s were financially damaging and by 1980 the Shephards business had closed. Shephards Gatehead store was purchased by Tesco who created Tesco Shopping City, where store space was rented out to other retailers. This was not a successful venture, especially after the opening of the Metrocentre in 1986, and subsequently closed. The site is now home to the Trinity Square shopping and leisure complex.