Halesworth town centre shop closures mark 'end of an era'

The Wine Shop in Halesworth is closing after 45 years

The closure of two much-loved shops in a Suffolk town has been called the end of an era by traders and customers.

The Market Place Wine Shop, in Halesworth, shut this month after 45 years and the Toy Shop will close next month after 24 years.

A notice on the wine shop said the business had closed because owner Alexander Carr, 78, was "unwell".

Laura Brown, from the Feedbarn Suffolk Pet Shop, said he would be "hugely missed".

"It is the end of an era because I was born and bred here and for as long as I've been part of Halesworth, Alex has always been there in the wine shop," she said.

"He would know the ins and outs of everything."

Mr Carr's friend Kevin Allen, from Allen's Butchers, has known Mr Carr he started working at the shop.

He said to "lose a major part of the community like his shop is very sad".

The Toy Shop will close in March after 24 years

Nigel Kemp, 62, who runs Halesworth Toy Shop, is closing his business on 2 March, but will still be working at the Beccles Toy Box shop, which he owns and where he started in 1995.

"We had a good bounce back from Covid and business has increased since then," he said.

"It's just that other factors have come together and I'm not getting any younger and I've decided to take it a bit easier.

"A lot of people are sad to see us go, but they're going to support me at my other shop and hopefully support me for the last few weeks here.

"I've seen the children grow up and I've seen those children have their own children and then they've come in so it makes me feel old now."

Toy Shop owner Nigel Kemp said he had "decided to take it a bit easier"

Local artist, James Power, said: "It's very sad because we do need to keep our High Streets fully occupied with independent shops that can thrive.

"It's a crying shame that we're losing places like the Toy Shop and other traders that are so important to keep the community together.''