'Make it magical' pleads ex-Beatties worker amid sale

Ms Gynn returned to the spot where she worked and met her husband

Boarded up and abandoned, the former Beatties building is a far cry from the “magical” power house it once was.

The 146-year-old department store in Victoria Street has been empty since House of Fraser moved out in 2019.

For former employees like Jane Gynn, it holds strong memories of family ties and first love encounters.

"It was magical, it was beautiful”, she recalled.

Jane secured a job with the high-end perfume brand, Estee Lauder

Her connection to the iconic building dates back to the early 1970s when she started as a trainee aged 17.

“Straight away, it was like family,” she fondly told BBC Radio WM.

“Mr Beattie used to walk around every morning and we’d stand there with our hands behind our backs, almost like a parade and say, ‘morning, Mr Beattie,' and he’d reply, ‘Good morning, ladies’ - it was unbelievable.”

She went on to secure a role as a junior sales assistant for cosmetics giant Estee Lauder.

This Royal Worcester coaster was given to every staff member to commemorate 100 years of the business in 1977

She recalled the “fabulous Christmases" there, eager shoppers queuing through the doors to buy gifts.

As well as the bond she forged with colleagues, Beatties is where she met her husband - who spotted her behind the counter as he looked around the store.

The former department store sits in in Victoria Street, Wolverhampton

“Everyone that worked in the city came to the restaurant or the cafe, you got to know everybody. Such lovely people I've worked with over the years," she said.

The department store was opened in Wolverhampton by James Beattie as a draper's shop in 1877 before expanding.

Beatties remained in the family until House of Fraser took over in 2005.

The landmark building shut in 2019 and is now up for sale for £7.5m.

Once developed the 34,911 sq m (376,636 sq ft) property, which comes with planning permission for more than 400 flats, is expected to be worth £70m.

To mark the millennium, staff were given another commemorative plate

Mrs Gynn has fond memories of working in the Beatties department store

The sale also includes a multi-storey car park and three additional buildings with a yard.

It is an opportunity a prospective buyer could use to resurrect a building that was once the jewel in the crown of Wolverhampton, according to former workers.

“I hope they do something beautiful with it because it deserves it. It's heritage," said Mrs Gynn.

“Just make it magical again, that’s what I find sad because it was magical.

"It was beautiful.”