Morrisons; the old and the new

A Hadleigh development captured

Safeways became Morrisons
Bill Clements
Morrisons opening day west view
Bill Clements
Morrisons opening day view from East
Bill Clements

This is one person’s view of the Morrison’s opening day.

Initially it was Safeways, later Morrisons, and now we are looking at the opening day of 25th January 2012 when customers are guided to the new store opposite the Library, through a wooden ‘tunnel’ from the old car-park.

This is regeneration, Hadleigh-style;  in front of your very eyes you can see the village gradually being re-shaped into a different environment, more of a town.
We’ve always used the store, and also the other shops, but it is a pity that the old wide range of smaller shops no longer exists in the same way.

As a long-standing member of Hadleigh Gardening Association, I recall our use of the little gardening store which we ran near the Crown.  
Of course it’s great to have such a wide variety of produce in stores, but many of the HGA members enjoy growing their own vegetables, and longer-term, this may be more sustainable than importing from overseas.

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  • I’m pretty sure the first supermarket was quite near where Choice is now and was Howards Dairies, probably part of the biggest dairy in Essex with the farm at Bowards Gifford and depots of all types between there and Southchurch. If I remember there used to be a Howards Park on the old A13 by Rectory Rd Pitsea

    By Robert Keen (14/08/2018)
  • I noticed you have a couple of pages on your site referencing the parade of shops that used to include Wallis supermarket.

    Brings back memories for me as I used to trawl around the aisles of this shop with my mum in the 1960s.

    [Ed: The relevant article about Hadleigh Lanes {including a postcard photo of this parade as it looked some years ago} is here: https://bit.ly/2HJ1XA8 ]

    By Eileen Gamble (04/08/2018)
  • As a young lad I remember Leslies on the corner of Oak Rd South and they sold Tiles etc. When they expanded and moved to the other side of the London Road, the place became a small 2nd hand car dealership. After it became a bigger site with SOGAT House, HQ for a union. Maplin became Lidl. I also remember the pet shop and a couple of residential properties and further along was Smiths Renault dealers. I think this would have been swallowed up by the Lidl site. Where the bed shop is now was a tiny internal shopping Mall and I am sure this was Wallis’s.

    By Rob Keen (01/05/2018)
  • Hi, I am sure there was a garage on the Lidl site, CP Smith, a Renault garage. After that came SOGAT House and now Lidl. Can anybody remember Dalwood house in Daws Heath Road?

    {Ed: The Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT)}

    By Andy Barton (11/06/2016)
  • Was it Wallis’s that was located where the bed shop is by the Hadleigh Church bus stop? I cannot recall a supermarket where Lidl’s is but think there was a garage or something like that there. As a child, I can remember a pet shop along that side of the road; they had a mynah bird called Jack; he used to say “hallo” and fascinated me, I often wonder what happened to him!

    By ellen hume (08/06/2016)
  • Does anyone remember the first supermarket that came to Hadleigh? I remember one being where Lidl now is, and one being at the top of Daws Heath Road opposite Scurries wet fish shop.

    By Margaret Wakley (West) (06/06/2016)

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