Half Day Closing Wednesday

Half Day Closing Wednesday

Author
Discussion

paul.deitch

Original Poster:

2,086 posts

256 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
Been looking for the origin of this on Google which didn't turn up anything! Can any give me some clues?

Countdown

39,690 posts

195 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all

HTP99

22,445 posts

139 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
I would imagine it is just as simple as having a break for family run shops and the staf staff.

Back in the day most shops were family run and being open for 6 days straight was a pain so why not give yourself a mid week half day break.

R8Steve

4,150 posts

174 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
It was required by law at one point i believe under the Shop Hours Act. The law was repealed later but the tradition continued.

My mum used to close her shop early on a Wednesday so i asked the question as to why before.

Spare tyre

9,461 posts

129 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
Unis don't teach on Wednesday afternoons as well

Lazy bunch

red_slr

17,123 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
I think there was a big push for the 40 hour week after the war IIRC. Hence the 1/2 day closing to keep people at 40 hours.

jagracer

8,248 posts

235 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
It was always half day on Thursday in London and until around the 1970s the west end shops/department stores would shut down on at noon on Saturday if they even opened at all.

Vaud

50,291 posts

154 months

Alucidnation

16,810 posts

169 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
I always thought it was because some shops were open Saturday mornings, and so closed for half a day on Wednesday.

2 sMoKiN bArReLs

30,230 posts

234 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
John Lewis used to close all day Monday

Justayellowbadge

37,057 posts

241 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
quotequote all
I remember a cafe that used to close for lunch.

aw51 121565

4,771 posts

232 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
Bury's early closing day was - traditionally - Wednesday; its satellite towns/villages had early closing day on Tuesday.

OP, ask 'em about Wakes Week hehe ... Up 'til 1980 we (my family) used to spend said September week in Blackpool; the streets had plenty of Bury-registered vehicles parked up that week. Dunno about the weeks before or after, as I was at primary school wink . It 'felt' nice, this link with the past cloud9 .

Dunno about the years after, as my father had fcensoredd off by Sept 81 frown .

Wacky Racer

38,099 posts

246 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
aw51 121565 said:
Bury's early closing day was - traditionally - Wednesday; its satellite towns/villages had early closing day on Tuesday.

OP, ask 'em about Wakes Week hehe ... Up 'til 1980 we (my family) used to spend said September week in Blackpool; the streets had plenty of Bury-registered vehicles parked up that week. Dunno about the weeks before or after, as I was at primary school wink . It 'felt' nice, this link with the past cloud9 .

Dunno about the years after, as my father had fcensoredd off by Sept 81 frown .
Sorry, you're wrong...teacher

Bury's early closing day was Tuesday, not Wednesday.

biggrin

(It was Wednesday in Gorton and other Manchester suburbs)

john2443

6,325 posts

210 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
Adsa used to be closed on Monday. This was before Sunday opening, so the staff had their weekend Sun and Mon.

This still happened in 1979 - I went there to buy a roofrack for my Mk1 Escort and had to go somewhere else, maybe Motorist Discount Centre - do you remember them!

BristolRich

545 posts

132 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
Local Shops by me still close on Wednesday with only the a bank and optitians remaining open.

pad58

12,543 posts

180 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
In the butchers we always closed on Wednesday afternoon ,but now open 6 days.
We are a strange nation.

Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
Spare tyre said:
Unis don't teach on Wednesday afternoons as well

Lazy bunch
I remember that; it was great. We all piled off to Swadlincote dry ski slope near Burton-on-Trent and went, er, skiing cool (This was 1987 - 1991 so no indoor snowdowe things in those days).

Half day closing - used to be Tuesdays in Rochdale back in the day when there were shops (because the place hadn't been flooded with the economically inactive). Even my dad's veterinary surgery closed on Tuesday afternoons. That was as late as the 90s at any rate.

aw51 121565 said:
OP, ask 'em about Wakes Week hehe ... Up 'til 1980 we (my family) used to spend said September week in Blackpool; the streets had plenty of Bury-registered vehicles parked up that week. Dunno about the weeks before or after, as I was at primary school wink . It 'felt' nice, this link with the past cloud9 .
Wakes holidays were a throwback to the mills, I think. Rochdale Wakes were in June I think; we still got them at school in the 70s (I went off to a school in Bury in '77 but my mates still got them right up til they went off to Uni). Basically (back in the day) everyone in the town or village etc went on holiday at the same time, to the same place. All on fleets of motor coaches (or charabancs which look like the best laugh ever) to Blackpool or whatever.

The wakes school holidays were an arse though, because nobody else got them and they also made your big summer break shorter - I remember one year my summer holiday was something crap like 4 weeks. Then I went to Bury and got these 11 week monsters.

Edited by Dog Star on Thursday 28th May 09:02

Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
On the subject of charabancs (not meaning to hijack your thread OP, sorry) how cool are these....



Imagine having one of those for taking your mates down the pub? rofl

WinstonWolf

72,857 posts

238 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
jagracer said:
It was always half day on Thursday in London and until around the 1970s the west end shops/department stores would shut down on at noon on Saturday if they even opened at all.
Yup, was always Thursday around here too.

jagracer

8,248 posts

235 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
Justayellowbadge said:
I remember a cafe that used to close for lunch.
Not sure if you're joking or not but there was one in Rotherhithe that would close every day, 12 to 1.