Oldrids Boston department store shuts after 216 years

A thank you notice was placed on the shop door

A department store in Lincolnshire is to close after more than two centuries trading at the site.

The Oldrids store has been in Boston town centre for 216 years.

The company said the store had been unprofitable "for several years" and the coronavirus pandemic was one of the reasons for the closure.

An employee consultation has begun but it is not yet known how many jobs are at risk.

A rise in employment costs and the closure of the nearby Marks and Spencer store leading to a drop in footfall were also cited as reasons for the store's closure.

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The company's other sites, including one on the outskirts of the town and a garden centre in Grantham, are to continue to operate.

The town centre shop has been closed since the coronavirus lockdown began and the company proposes not to reopen it.

Many people in Boston would have "cherished memories" of Oldrids, the company said

The shop began in Boston in 1804 when John Oldrid and Richard Hyde purchased a small retail unit.

Martin Isaac, chairman of Oldrid & Co Ltd, said it would be "genuinely upsetting to contemplate the centre of Boston without Oldrids".

"The challenges being faced are now considered unsurmountable.

"This is immensely sad for our company and a very worrying time for those whose jobs are at risk," he added.

The company said the store's closure was "immensely sad"