SHIRES 2Oth ANNIVERSARY

The Shires Shopping Centre in Trowbridge celebrates its 20th birthday this year with a bumper programme of summer events.

The Shires management team has been working closely with Trowbridge Museum to hopefully make it an anniversary to remember.

Centre manager John Grinnell, who only took over the reins at the beginning of the year, said he was proud to be associated with such a popular centre at such a significant time and he paid tribute to all the staff, including the two previous centre managers, who had helped attract top high street names over the years as well as many independent retailers.

“We have three shops who have been in The Shires since the day the centre opened and we now see more than 120,000 people coming through our doors every week which is great credit to all the staff over the years, including our current managing agents, Workman Retail.

The shopping centre, which cost £25m to build and redevelop, opened with only five units occupied but within six months there were 19 and this figure rose quickly over the next few months.

There are now 48 shops and three of the original retailers – Clinton Cards, Evans and Iceland are still trading in the centre, although Iceland left for a brief spell to be replaced by Marks & Spencer. FHinds, Holland & Barrett, Burton, SK Fruits, Superdrug and Peacocks also opened in 1990 and are still here as is Trowbridge Museum.

Activities planned for the centre in August through to early September include a display of old photographs when The Shires was under construction with details about the first shops to open.

There will also be a wide variety of displays and activities to interest all the family, including competitions, especially for the children, with plenty of chances to win prizes.

A full month of activities will start on Saturday, August 7 and The Museum, which is housed in Home Mills – one of the last working textile mills in the town, which is in the middle of the shopping centre, is organising a number of special events and exhibitions.

There will be a treat for everyone with a chance to see a hand weaving loom working.

The loom, which is usually situated in the museum, is being brought into the shopping centre and is bound to evoke memories of when The Shires was a fully operational wool mill.

Events lined up so far include:
August 7 – Trowbridge Museum activities
August 14 – Working handloom in the centre square, supplied by Trowbridge Museum
August 14, 19, 25 and 28 – Brother Harold – be transported back to medieval times, competitions, demonstrations, and adults and children, including magic shows and balloon modelling.