Skidmores Home Interiors

📖 Skidmores Story – Part 26: Eighty Years of Change 🏡

By the 1980s, Worle High Street had changed almost beyond recognition.

In the 80 years since the first Skidmore businesses appeared in The Parade, fields had become housing estates, farms had disappeared, and the village had grown far beyond what Edward Skidmore could ever have imagined.

Gateway Supermarket still looked brand new, cars filled the High Street and its wide forecourt had become a popular place to stop and chat with neighbours.

Looking back now, it's hard not to notice how much has changed.

Gateway has gone.
Many other businesses have come and gone too.

Yet through all those decades of change, Skidmores remained, growing alongside Worle and serving generation after generation.

The village may have changed beyond recognition, but some names have stood the test of time.

💭 How many of the shops in this photo can you remember?

📖 Skidmores Story – Part 25: Busy Days at Skids 🛋️

By the late 1970s and into the 1980s, Skids was busier than ever.

Worle was growing fast, with new estates appearing all around the village and every new home needed carpets, furniture and beds.

In 1979, Brian, Bill’s son, joined the business full time after finishing at Broadoak Sixth Form Centre, becoming the next generation to step behind the counter.

Around the same time, Ken Passmore left the business after many years. Bill always missed him, but Ken understood that family came first and didn’t want to stand in Brian’s way.

By now, Skids had spread far beyond the original shop.

Showrooms appeared across the High Street, warehouses filled Mendip Avenue, and customers wandered between furniture, carpets, beds and the hugely popular Schreiber Centre.

And people rarely just bought one thing.

A new carpet often meant a new three-piece suite to match.
A new house usually meant a new bed too.

Back then, the lounge was the heart of the home, families gathered around the television together, and people took real pride in how their homes looked.

Most customers bought straight from the showroom floor and quite often their furniture would arrive the very same day.

Different times.
Busy times.
And for Skids, business was booming.

💭 Do you remember shopping at Skids during the 70s or 80s… or choosing your first carpet or suite there?

📖 Skidmores Story – Part 24: The Last Days of the Sweet Shop 🍬

By the mid-1970s, Worle was changing fast, but some parts of the old village still felt untouched.

This photo captures Skids in the final years of the sweet shop and ironmongery store and for many locals, this is probably how they remember it best.

Wallpaper.
Paint.
Sweets.
To***co.

A strange mixture when you think about it now… but somehow it worked perfectly.

You would go in for one thing and come out with three others.

The old bay windows above the shop had gone by this point too, replaced with larger picture windows as the business moved with the times.

But not everyone wanted things to change.

Because before long, the sweet shop and ironmongers would disappear altogether, making way for expanding furniture showrooms as Skids entered a new chapter.

For plenty of people, that little sweet shop wasn’t just a shop.

It was part of growing up.

💭 What do you remember most about the sweet shop at Skids?
The sweets jars? The smell of the place? The to***co counter? Or being sent down there for something by your parents?

Experience comfort that’s truly out of this world 🚀🌙

Did you know that TEMPUR® material was originally developed from NASA space technology to help absorb the G-forces experienced by astronauts during launch?

Today, that same innovation helps deliver the incredible pressure relief and support TEMPUR® is famous for 🛏️✨

Recognised by the Space Foundation Certified Space Technology Program, TEMPUR® continues to combine advanced technology with exceptional comfort.

Visit Skidmores of Worle and experience TEMPUR® for yourself.

📖 Skidmores Story – Part 23: When Worle Started to Change 🏡

To the people who lived here, Worle still felt like a village.

But during the 1960s, things began to change and quickly.

Fields and pasture land slowly gave way to roads, houses and new estates. Places people had known all their lives started to change before their eyes.

The photos here capture that change perfectly.

One shows Nutwell Road under construction in 1964, as building work began spreading across fields that had been untouched for generations.

Another shows Nook Farm and Greenwood Cottages before Gateway Supermarket arrived on the site, a view many older locals will remember well.

Tripps Farm was gone.
Cross Grounds in Church Road became housing.
And by 1966, even the land opposite St Martin’s Church was being developed.

Nutwell Road, Pilgrims Way, Tormynton Road and Friar Avenue all began to appear.

And as families moved into those new homes, many ended up heading to Skids.

That’s what most people called it. Hardly anyone said Skidmores.

Even as Worle changed, Skids still felt like part of the village.

💭 Do you remember Worle before the new estates were built… or shopping at “Skids”?

Meet the Stressless® Adam, where comfort meets timeless design 🛋️✨

This premium recliner is designed with the signature Stressless® support system, responding to your body’s movements for effortless comfort from the moment you sit down.

Sleek, supportive and built to last, it’s not just a chair, it’s somewhere you will truly relax.

Once you sit in it, you will understand why Stressless is in a class of its own.

📍 Visit us in store and experience it for yourself.

📖 Skidmores Story – Part 22: Following in Their Fathers Footsteps 🎳

The Village Club had always been part of Skidmore life.

We have already seen Stanley there and here are Bill and Bert, following in their father’s footsteps.

Both were members of the club (before it became The Century Club) and this photo shows them with the skittles team.

Familiar faces.
A few characters in there, no doubt.
The kind of place where everyone knew everyone.

💭 Do you recognise anyone here?

📖 Skidmores Story – Part 21: Bill’s Turn 💍

Before long… it was Bill’s turn.

On 17th September 1956, William Skidmore married Muriel Payne at St Martin’s Church in Worle.

This time, Bert stood by his side as best man, just as Bill had done for him.

And once again, Edward was there.
Front row, stick in hand, aged 92… still part of it all.

The photos say everything.

Bill, laughing with confetti down his neck.
A proper Worle wedding.
One of those moments you can almost step into.

And the village was there too.

Half of Worle so it is said, gathered in the churchyard, waiting to see them come out.

You can almost picture it.

Another wedding.
Another gathering.
Another moment the village shared.

💭 Do you remember weddings like this at St Martin’s… or recognise anyone here?

Let’s take it back to 1953, the year G Plan was born ✨

In the wake of World War II, Britain was still rebuilding. Homes had been damaged, rationing was ongoing and furniture choices were limited, often heavy, dark and purely functional. But a new generation was ready for something different.

Enter Donald Gomme, who introduced G Plan and completely changed the way people furnished their homes 🪑

For the first time, customers weren’t tied to buying full matching suites. Instead, G Plan allowed you to choose individual pieces, giving you the freedom to build your home your way a revolutionary idea at the time.

It wasn’t just about style, it was about accessibility too. With Hire Purchase, beautifully designed furniture suddenly became affordable, allowing families to invest in their homes piece by piece 💷

The very first range, Brandon, set the tone crafted from light oak with clean lines and a fresh, modern feel. A stark contrast to the darker furniture of the past, it brought brightness, simplicity and practicality into British homes.

G Plan wasn’t just furniture, it was a shift in how people lived.

Modern furniture for a modern life.

📖 Skidmores Story – Part Twenty: Taking to the skies ✈️

In 1954, Edward Skidmore , the man who started it all in Worle, reached an incredible milestone… his 90th birthday.

And in true Skidmore fashion, it wasn’t going to pass quietly.

With the nearby airfield offering local flights, the opportunity was there… and Edward took it.

A year on at 91, he climbed into the cockpit and took to the skies.

These photos capture something quite special.
An English gentleman, sharp as ever, embracing the moment with quiet determination.

Surrounded by family, four generations together, it became more than just a flight. It was a celebration of a life.

Not bad for 91.