Woolworths staff reunite 10 years since distribution centre closed

The former Woolworths distribution site in Castleton, before it became Tetrosyl

Former Woolworths distribution centre staff reunited in a special 10-year get-together at the Woolworths Sports and Social Club in Castleton on Saturday 30 March.

The distribution centre closed 10 years ago, with the Gipsy Lane social club also facing closure in 2018.

Founded in December 1979 by employees of the Woolworths Distribution Centre, the social club was saved from closure in February 2018 after more than 39 years of business.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/115757/woolworths-club-saved-from-closure

Committee member Rod Hughes said: “This was an ideal opportunity for former staff, family and friends to have a good old chinwag.

“Woolies club has suffered somewhat financially of late, but things are now definitely on the up again.”

The red neon sign spelling out 'Woolworths' once graced the High Street of over 800 towns and cities in the UK. At its peak, Woolworth's Group PLC, the listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, employed over 30,000 people.

Whilst the first UK Woolworths store was in Liverpool, opened in 1909, the head office and distribution centre, on Royle Barn Road, Castleton, was a major employer in Rochdale.

In November 2008, Woolworths Group PLC announced that they were in too much debt to maintain their outgoing payments. The remaining British Woolworths stores closed by 6 January 2009 with the loss of almost 30,000 jobs, 600 of them in Rochdale in what was a major blow for the town.

In February 2009 it was announced that the Shop Direct Group had purchased the Woolworths and Ladybird names and these would survive as a brand within the internet-based shopping company.

The distribution centre on Royle Barn Road was demolished in 2011, paving the way for Tetrosyl, the largest manufacturer and supplier of car care products in Europe to use the site as a distribution centre.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/60655/the-end-of-an-era-woolworth-demolition