Jane Caldow – Woods and Wilkins transformed

Simon: So, Woods and Wilkins was effectively a Hardware Store.

Jane: Absolutely, yes.

Simon: Maybe a supplier of wood as well and …

Jane: Oh they were, yes, because Ian has done all the research, he knows a lot about Woods and Wilkins doesn’t he? I just sort of remember when they went in it was all done up in that summer of ’74 and they opened that autumn, as I recall with The Coffee Bean and the Coffee Shop and everything which was very popular.

Simon: Why did they … I mean it’s pretty much next … I mean it’s diagonally opposite it.

Jane: I suppose they felt they wanted to expand. Yes, because the Children’s … I can’t remember now what went in because the Children’s Department certainly came over to Cross Street. I made a quick note of what was on Cross Street and they expanded into Shoes and it was Linens on the First Floor because we had the Coffee Shop which we’d never had, and of course that was really, really popular. In the days before there was all the Coffee Shops all … you think of Ryde today, it’s Charity Shops and Coffee Shops, but in the ‘70s and ‘80s it wasn’t of course. There was a lovely Café down Union Street called Bettys that had I think by then closed, and there weren’t all the extra Cafés that we have today, so it was very, very popular in its day.

Simon: Did they redo the frontage?

Jane: Yes, the frontage was changed.

Simon: That’s on the Ground Floor.

Jane: On the Ground Floor, yes.

Simon: So that was the sort of …

Jane: The gold finished windows, the brass windows isn’t it and the name Pack and Culliford and then the photos we’ve got show the left-hand side which was the little Plant Shop and everything.

Simon: Yeah, what was that called? Green …

Jane: Green Fingers, yes.

Simon: It’s just this constant expansion, it’s just incredible.

Jane: And the staircase went up and of course they are keeping the staircase I think because it’s got the P & C initials in which is really nice, because that was specially commissioned of course, that staircase going up to the First Floor at Cross Street.