Ten years since Hall Bros shoe shop said its final farewell in South Shields
Ten years have passed since this iconic part of the South Shields shopping scene was gone.
More than 50 years of trading came to an end at Hall Brothers, the cobblers and dancewear specialists in Laygate, in 2015.
From shoe repairs to leotards and costumes
The owner Robert Hall had first started working in the shop, in Dacre Street, at the age of just 14 when it was run by his late father Robert.
Among his duties was to deliver shoes on his bicycle.
He started full-time when he was 17 and took over the running of the business in 1987.
A love of photography and bird watching
The family business was established in 1953 and the business progressed from shoe repairs to providing dancing shoes, leotards and costumes.
Mr Hall told the Shields Gazette ten years ago that he was selling off the remaining stock and looking forward to some "chill time" with his wife Jennifer, while pursuing his love of photography and bird watching.
He said in 2015: "Let’s face it, you don’t know how long you’ve got left on the planet and I want to make the most of it."
‘It’s been great fun seeing kiddies coming in for tap shoes and realising we used to fit their grandmothers’
He added: "I’ve been doing this for 50 years and had more than 20 years on my own. It’s been great fun seeing kiddies coming in for tap shoes and fittings and realising that we used to fit their grandmothers.
“It will be sad when I close the door for the final time, but it’s also a new beginning."
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