A family-run department store that has served Warrington for more than a century will close its doors next month, as rising costs, online shopping and the growth of out-of-town retail parks finally bring an end to a business that survived two world wars and a terrorist bombing.
Hancock & Wood first opened on Bridge Street in 1914 and has remained on the same site for 112 years, run throughout by four generations of the Hancock family. Director Christopher Hancock said the decision to close had brought “sleepless nights” as he considered how to break the news to staff, but that the business had reached “the end of the road.”
The store’s history is woven into the fabric of the town. Frederick Samuel Hancock, Christopher’s grandfather, opened the shop in 1914 before enlisting to fight in the First World War just months later. The store also survived the 1993 Warrington bombing, in which two IRA devices exploded in the town centre, killing two boys and injuring 56 others. “My brother got knocked over in the second blast,” Hancock recalled. “He wasn’t injured but was fairly shaken.”
Despite weathering those events, the store has been unable to withstand the pressures facing high streets across Britain in recent years. Hancock said costs had risen sharply since the pandemic while turnover had failed to keep pace. “Our costs have risen way above inflation and unfortunately, our turnover increase has been hard to come by,” he said. “Warrington is not what it used to be, it has certainly changed and not for the better. The growth of internet shopping and the strength of out-of-town retailing, life has become somewhat harder.”
In a statement, the owners said the popularity of online shopping, increases in business rates and growing competition from retail parks had all contributed to the closure. Hancock said it had been “a joy to serve” the store’s many customers over the years.
The shop, which spans two floors and houses more than 11 departments, has become a fixture in the lives of generations of local families. Speaking to the BBC, one customer said: “It’s one of my favourite shops. I came here as a baby, my mum always brought me here and I love this shop.”
