Holloway's has been established in the heart of Ashton Under Lyne for almost 60 years, at the end of this year we celebrate its diamond birthday celebration. In 1954, George & Marjorie Holloway set up George Holloway Limited which specialised in luggage and leather goods, the first shop they had was located on 76 Wellington Road (this is now Gourleys veterinary surgery). The early years at this location were brief, the old buildings were demolished in 1956. At this point Holloway's relocated to 5 Bow Street, Ashton Under Lyne, which is situated adjacent to Ashton Market Hall. During the early years of the shop, George and Marjorie ran the store between them, they taught their siblings Mike and John all there was to know about the leather and luggage trade. As the sons became of age, they become more and more involved. In 1960, the Holloway's purchased 16 Old Street, which became a saddlery centre. A young John Holloway took full control of this business at the tender age 15 in 1961, while younger brother Mike took control of the travel goods centre on Bow Street in 1969, again at the tender age of 15. Father and son, and man and wife worked side by side for decades to come. Business flourished and the two stores became established at the centre of the Ashton community. The first telephone numbers in Ashton Under Lyne started at 1100. The Bow Street shop was the 35th property to get a telephone, accordingly the phone number for the store was 330 1135. The 16 Old Street store had the number 330 1482. The stores still have these numbers to this present day, infact the Bow Street store still has the original handset and receiver telephone from 1956 along with the till which is still in pounds shillings and pence! During the swinging sixties Holloway's saw some very well known faces such as Davey Jones of the Monkies, Pat Phoenix from Coronation Street, Mike Summerbee of Manchester City and the legendary George Best of Manchester United, as the stores reputation grew and grew. During the 70s Holloway's saddlery centre on 16 Old Street developed and expanded into outdoor and country clothing wear. It was during this period that Holloway's took on board the Barbour range of clothing which is one of the stores flagship brands to this present day. The luggage centre success also attracted the attention of the biggest brands. Somsonite, Delsey, and Antler became the stores flagship brands in the 70s. During the 80s, 52 Old street was purchased, which is the shop behind 5 Bow Street. 5 Bow Street, and 52 Old Street, were knocked through and became one ground floor store. George Holloway retired at the age of 65 in 1986, leaving the two sons and mum to take the reins. George enjoyed his retirement with his wife Marjorie, who still worked full time at the stores with the sons. George and Marjorie purchased a cottage in Tintwistle in the 80s which is where they remained for the rest of their years. Business flourished through the 90s, more designer brands came on board during this period for example The Bridge. At the turn of the millenium, 16 Old Street was sold to family friends, as the saddlery side of the business declined. The country clothing side of the business on the other hand was flourishing, it made sense to converge both stores together at 5 Bow Street and the 52 Old Street site. As it began in the 50s, 5 Bow street specialised in travel goods, luggage, and luxury leather goods such as bags, purses, wallets, gift sets, etc. 52 Old Street became the outdoor and country store, specialising in clothing, footwear, knitwear, hats, etc. George sadly passed away at the turn of the millenium aged 89, his wife Marjorie carried on working full time right up until 2014, and enjoyed a full and active life in her elderly age. She loved her cars and could be seen whizzing around the streets of Tameside on a regular basis in her Citroen C1, she was an avid fan of Formula 1 racing. Marjorie passed away in 2014 aged 90. Mike and John have continued to run the business up until July 2016, and fittingly to carry on the rich family tradition, friends of the family have now taken over the business and look forward to carrying on the high standards and tradition set by the Holloway's. Moving us forward into the future are the same family friends who purchased 16 Old Street, who greatly appreciate and respect the Holloway's tradition. The store will offer the same customer service and carry on the same tradition the family have done for the past 60 years. The store will still be stocking core brands such as Radley, The Bridge, Gerry Weber, Kipling, Tilley, Barbour, Hoggs, Samsonite, Antler, and Fulton to name a few, but it will also be bringing in new exciting leading brands. We also pride ourselves on supporting local products, for example Failsworth hats who supply a fine range of mens and womens hats and gloves. Holloway's is quintessentially British, a unique boutique department store, with decades of history and tradition. Visit us instore, and soon to be online at www.hollowaysuk.com.
