History
The Shoe Shop
Established by David and Julia Douglas at the turn of the twentieth century, D. Douglas Shoes was one of the first businesses to set up shop in The Arcade.
The shop was spread over three units, and was a popular choice for quality, no-nonsense footwear. Benefitting from the longer hours that many tenants remained open in the early days, the shop was often busy until late in the evening. One of the few remaining photos featuring D. Douglas Shoes (an image of The Arcade decorated to commemorate the coronation of King George V in 1911) shows decorative illuminated globes directing customers into the shop.
Eventually, the business would pass into the hands of three of David and Julia’s children: Mary, James and Ellen Douglas. Mary later married a local musician, Charles Auty, with whom she established a music shop on the opposite side of The Arcade – the celebrated ‘C.T. Auty – The Music Shop’.
Around 1960, the D. Douglas Shoes shop was bought by the renowned Ivor Burns. At the time the shop was managed by Dorothy Douglas, although it was a Mr Douglas who approached Ivor on Dewsbury Market to see if he wanted to buy the business. Ivor had always been ambitious, so he decided to go for it!
Before long, Ivor Burns Shoes had taken up residence in The Arcade. It was based in three units close to the bottom end of The Arcade, on the right-hand side as you walk down: Nos. 5, 7, and 11, (unit 9 was a toilet). Dorothy Douglas stayed on for a while, though initially the place was run by a manageress. As the previous owners had such a good reputation in the town, Ivor continued to trade under the name D. Douglas Shoes and maintained an office in The Arcade registered in this name.
The business that Ivor inherited sold different styles of shoes and at different prices, including the cheaper variety. However, Ivor decided to replace the cheaper ranges in the shop and sell only the better-quality leather styles. Amongst the brands on offer were Elmdale, Equity court shoes and Freed ballet shoes, with their stiff toe. They also sold shoes for the discerning ballroom dancer. Available in the men’s section were varieties like Sargent, Loake, Padders, Hampton and Stirling and Hunt, along with Richard Draper sheepskin and lambswool boots and slippers.
The shop had their very own brand of shoes, too. Ivor would buy leftover lengths of leather from the manufacturers and design the shoes himself. The design would be sent off to the factory to be made up under the Ivor Burns brand name. By having their own shoes made up, they could sell them at a cheaper price and still make a profit.
Over the years the Ivor Burns family shoe business continued to grow, at one point running a stall on Dewsbury Market, a shop in The Arcade, an outlet in Halifax, two units in Kirkgate Market in Leeds and a factory shop in Pudsey. The family continue to run the stall on Dewsbury Market to this day, as they have done for over 60 years.
Gradually, though, Ivor Burns Shoes started to go the same way as most of the other businesses in The Arcade. Following the closure of the Dewsbury branch of Marks & Spencer, the pedestrianisation of Market Place and the start of the online shopping revolution, footfall in The Arcade and through the doors of Ivor Burns Shoes began to decline rapidly. It was also at around this time that The Arcade was taken over by new owners, from which point it started to suffer from poor maintenance and general neglect. The Arcade was on a downward spiral and the business owners began leaving in droves.
Sadly, the Ivor Burns Shoes shop in The Arcade eventually closed in 2010. However, the longevity of the shoe shop ensured that the name ‘D. Douglas Shoes’ graced The Arcade for over a century, one of only two shops to claim this honour. The sign for the registered office of ‘D. Douglas Limited’ remains on the door of the former premises to this day.