ONE of Barnsley’s oldest shops officially closed its doors to the public last weekend after more than 100 years of service.
Shoe repair shop H.E Payne and Sons officially opened in 1923, but co-owner Natalie Parkes has been forced to shut up shop in its centenary year due to the cost-of-living crisis, the pandemic and changing consumer habits.
Back in 1923, Natalie’s great-grandad Edgar came to the town from Northampton and erected a shed in his back garden on Dodworth High Street - taking hundreds of orders for soldiers’ shoes each week.
His son, Harold, then Natalie’s uncle Denys took over the shop before being passed onto the fourth generation of the family.
Natalie admitted she is ‘heartbroken’ following the news, but had to ‘admit defeat’.
She said: “Like many other businesses, independent or not, the pandemic has hit us extremely hard and whilst we have tried to battle on as long as we can, we have to now finally admit defeat.”
