| 25 Wheeler Gate time line | Pre-1897 - used a a hotel 1897 - becomes a book shop under Sisson and Parker Early 1980's - becomes known as Hudsons Late 1980's - becomes known as Dillons 1999 - becomes know as Waterstones 2005 - closes for the last time as a book shop |
There's been a book shop at 25 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham since 1897. But from October 2005 it'll be used as a fashion shop.  | | Sisson and Parker shop front |
The site first became home to novels and dictionaries in the 19th century when the partnership of Sisson and Parker transferred their operation from nearby Albert Street. Sisson and Parker was established in 1854 in Listergate. The Wheeler Gate building they moved into had formerly been a hotel and was known as the Swann building after the man who had designed it.  | | Interior of the store in days gone by |
Sisson and Parker were a major force in the city. Chances were that if you went to school in Nottingham during the middle of the 20th century you'd have used one of the company's school exercise books. They printed most of the exercise books in the city and each had the Sisson and Parker name as a subtle form of advertising to remind people about their bookshop. The company survived more than a hundred years until it became part of a conglomerate. In the early 1980's the Sisson and Parker name was replaced by Hudsons.  | | The children's section of the book shop |
Book lovers had only just got used to the name when it was changed again. By the late 80's Dillons was the name above the door to be replaced a decade later (1999) by the Waterstones brand (although they never got around to changing the carpet which contained the Dillons logo until the very end). On Saturday September 24th the bookstore closed for the last time. It'll now be used as a fashion shop with Waterstones transferring stock to its other branch in the city. The store was locked for the final time by assistant manager Jane Nurse who worked there since 1969. Do you remember shopping at the Wheelergate book store over the years? What are your memories? How did it change? Use the form below to give us your memories. | 
