Staff 'devastated' as store closes after 200 years

General manager Jess Merritt-Johns (bottom left) said staff had formed "lifelong friendships"

Staff at one of Europe's oldest department stores say they are "devastated" that it is closing after more than 200 years of trading.

Jolly's in Bath has been a fixture in the city since 1823 and has been run by House of Fraser since the 1970s, but the company is now pulling out.

General manager Jess Merritt-Johns said: "Some people have been here for 40 years, for them it's the hardest of all as it's the only job they have ever known."

Ms Merritt-Johns recently organised a reverse recruitment day, where local businesses were invited into the shop to meet staff looking for work.

Bath and North East Somerset Council (BANES) owns the site and said plans are at "an advanced stage with a new third-party occupier" which could take over running the building.

Just under 100 staff will be made redundant when the shop closes.

"There's been a lot of tears and a lot of sadness," Ms Merritt-Johns said.

"People love working here and they love the team they work with.

"There's some lifelong friendships that have been made as some people don't have families out of the store.

"You feel a lot of pride working there and the staff do as well," she added.

Bob Williams worked for 38 years with Jolly's between 1957 and 1995

Former carpet fitter Bob Williams, now 84, from Paulton, Somerset, remembered seeing gas lamps still hanging up when he joined the shop in 1957, aged 17.

"We had only just made the switch to electricity.

"I remember there were living quarters above the shop, and a big notice with all the regulations for the girls who used to sleep there.

"They had to be in their rooms by seven, candles out at nine, no visiting dens of iniquity, all written in old English writing.

"We were absolutely dedicated to the customer, when I met them to discuss orders I only had to raise my hand and a coffee would be brought over immediately," he said.

Mr Williams remembered how the shop used to employ craftsmen to hand-make furniture on site

Mr Williams said Jolly's used to own houses in nearby Queen Square, which were converted into workshops.

"We had cabinet workrooms, we made handcrafted furniture, we had French polishers, bed and mattress makers, and a millinery department with a woman who was often called to Buckingham Palace to sell hats to the Queen.

"The dresses we made in the shop were unique as the patterns were destroyed after the dress was sold.

"The customers were so lovely, one time I was called to work in a huge manor house near Corsham.

"I was left with a key to the house, and a note saying 'make sure you have a good hour's swim in the pool before you do any work'.

"It was just magic, terrific," he said.