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About Oldrids & Downtown

Oldrids & Downtown

Established in 1804, by Mr John Oldrid and Mr Richard Hyde, a small retailer who specialised as a draper, mercer, hosier, haberdasher, and funeral director. During 1831 John Oldrid took over the running of the business until 1905. Mr Sydney Smith then ran the business from 1906 - 1915, when Mr Robert Isaac purchased Oldrids from him. In 1920 the Isaacs expanded the Boston store to the three adjacent buildings. As the company grew the Isaac's purchased other properties in the Boston area, including Pescod Hall.

Fast forward to the present era: The Autumn of 2006 saw the beginning of a new era for the company with a new, non-family Managing Director, Annmarie McClintock, taking charge of the company. In 2009, the company launched a transactional website; www.oldrids.co.uk  and sales have grown year on year since that time. During the Autumn of 2012, the ground floor of the Downtown Superstore in Grantham received an extensive re-fit, followed, in 2013, by the re-cladding and improvement of the exterior of the whole store, with work continuing into early 2014.February 2013 saw the company expanding into Lincoln and Gainsborough, with the transfer of two Lincolnshire Co-operative Home stores to Oldrid & Co. Ltd. The stores, in Market Place, Gainsborough and on Tritton Road, Lincoln, became an Oldrids Department Store and a Downtown Home and Fashion store respectively. Downtown Lincoln re-launched in November 2013, following an extensive refurbishment. You can read the fascinating history of this establishment at www.oldrids.co.uk