History
Forrest's
Established in the early part of the twentieth century, Forrest’s was one of the first shops to take up residence in The Arcade. Given that in the 1950s the business boasted to being ‘Established over Ninety Years’, the shop was clearly located elsewhere in the town centre for a number of decades prior to the opening of The Arcade.
During the first three decades of the post-war era, Forrest’s was managed by a Mr Fred Bott (Fred had previously worked in the shop before the war, when the opportunity arose following the marriage of his siter, Rose, to a certain Mr Robert Forrest). Bott was assisted by wife Marjorie, who managed the perfumery, as well as by daughter Susan, who joined her mother in the perfumery department on leaving school. In addition, there were always four or more shop assistants, and it was a real family business where everyone helped each other and cared for one another.
Based in Nos. 16-22, Forrest’s was renowned as a shop which sold a wide range of high-quality products. Often referred to as a ‘fancy goods’ shop, it was the kind of place that people would often go to for birthday and Christmas presents. Popular lines included gloves, handbags, wallets and purses. Parker Pens, a common birthday and Christmas gift in the 1960s and 1970s, also sold in large numbers.
Forrest’s did a fine line in ceramics too, including the popular Beswick Horses. It also sold costume jewellery, including pieces designed by the famous Norman Hartnell, as well as pearls. Customers taking advantage of the pearl restringing service were encouraged to pay extra to have their strings knotted between each pearl to prevent the pearls scattering everywhere if the string broke.
The best sellers, though, were probably the perfumes. All the top brands such as Lancome, Yardley and Helena Rubenstein were on offer. A particularly popular line was called 4711. This is a traditional German perfume made by Maurer and Wirtz that has been made in Cologne since at least 1799. Because it is produced in the city, it is one of the few perfumes that can rightly be referred to as Eau de Cologne.
Christmas Eve was always an incredibly busy day at the perfumery. Most of the town’s menfolk would finish work at lunchtime. Naturally, their first port of call was always the pub. More often than not, it was only after a few pints that they belatedly decided that they might have to buy a Christmas present for the wife! At this point they were easy targets, and it was always child’s play for the staff to shift lots of expensive box sets of perfumes and cosmetics to bleary eyed men later in the afternoon.
‘I started working at Forrest’s in the early 1970s. Fred Bott was in charge of the main shop, which sold leather goods, pottery, glassware and jewellery. I remember being taught how to dress the large window displays and the display in the little side window by the middle door, which always had purses, wallets and other small items in. I loved doing the window displays! Upstairs was the stock room, which was like a maze until you got your head round it. The staff room was upstairs, too. You had to be fit to run up and down those stairs at breakneck speed, so as not to keep the customer waiting.
The shop also sold those little Hummel figures and the very popular Denby pottery. A Denby coffee set was given to me as a wedding gift by the Bott family and all the rest of the staff. The leather purses and wallets were kept in drawers and the handbags were displayed on shelves. I still have the one handbag that I bought from there. It was very expensive, even with my shop discount! Of course, all of the shelves had to be dusted regularly and the glass cabinets and counters kept spotless as part of our job.’ Ruth Tolson.
Forrest’s was a wonderful shop with a great reputation and was very highly thought of by the townsfolk of Dewsbury. People still remember it fondly, even though it closed in 1975.