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Blacklers was a large
'Blackie' the Blackler's Rocking Horse
Retrieved 2009-10-22. The store, which at its peak employed a thousand people, also has connections to
ENG-LIVERPOOL-L Archives
Accessed 31 August 2005.
(George Harrison timeline). Accessed 31 August 2005.
Museum of LiverpoolEmporia Fantastica
— recollections of a customer
— Liverpool photos, including the Blacklers building, with Beatles links Buildings and structures in Liverpool Defunct companies based in Liverpool Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom Department store buildings in the United Kingdom
Blacklers was a large department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
on the corner of Elliot Street and Great Charlotte Street in Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The store was famous for its lavish Christmas grotto and its rocking horse
__NOTOC__
A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair. There are two sorts, the one where the horse part sits rigidly attached to a pair of curved rockers that are in contact wit ...
, Blackie, which is now on display in the Museum of Liverpool
The Museum of Liverpool in Liverpool, England, tells the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflects the city's global significance. It opened 2011 as newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group replacing the former Museum of ...
.Museum of Liverpool'Blackie' the Blackler's Rocking Horse
Retrieved 2009-10-22. The store, which at its peak employed a thousand people, also has connections to
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
: George Harrison worked as an apprentice electrician at Blacklers in 1959, and Pete Best
Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...
's mother Mona bought his drum kit from the Blacklers music department.
Blacklers was founded by partners Richard John Blackler and A.B. Wallis in the early twentieth century. Blackler died in 1919 and was succeeded as a partner in the business by his wife Margaret.
Despite the building being severely damaged in The Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
of May 1941 during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the business survived. Temporary outlets were created in Bold Street and Church Street and the first part of the new store opened on 29 March 1953.
Margaret Blackler died in 1957 without children, at which point the store became the property of several individuals, of which the major shareholder was the sportswoman Vera Kingston (Margaret's god-daughter). In 1983 following Vera's death the store was sold on once again, and all links to the original owners disappeared. The store remained open only a few years more, closing in April 1988.
The site now includes a Wetherspoons
J D Wetherspoon plc (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It o ...
chain pub, named Richard John Blackler in honour of the store's founder.
See also
*Bill Smith (fell runner)
Bill Smith (May 1936 – September 2011) was a fell runner and author on the sport. His achievements in breaking records for the number of peaks scaled within 24 hours, contributions to fell-running events, plus documenting its history, earn ...
The shop also boasted a large warehouse on Strand Road Bootle, which serviced the store daily.
Deliveries were also dispatched from there for customers throughout the northwest and an art department that built displays throughout the year.
References
ENG-LIVERPOOL-L Archives
Accessed 31 August 2005.
(George Harrison timeline). Accessed 31 August 2005.
External links
{{Commons category, BlacklersMuseum of Liverpool
— recollections of a customer
— Liverpool photos, including the Blacklers building, with Beatles links Buildings and structures in Liverpool Defunct companies based in Liverpool Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom Department store buildings in the United Kingdom