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spranglebolt	Caley's	Lead	[-]
Posts: 93 (27-Jul-2009 12:28 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hazel is convinced that I am a Philistine (apropos Daniel's), but could I just mention that when I walked through the ginnel at the back of Caley's I was horrified to see the scale of the development - presumably part of the projected hotel? Any further news regarding intentions please?
kaye	caleys	#1	[-]
Posts: 6 (20-Aug-2009 09:32 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	apparently the latest is 3 retail units 1 being tk maxx and still the hotel being built there.it is a shame john lewis were so money grabbing and did not want to upgrade the store.all that rubbish about being listed, only the frontage seems to be as the rest was totally demolish but when you can get 10 million for a place why not sell!!! it certainly made me look at john lewis in a different light.
spranglebolt		#2	[-]
Posts: 117 (20-Aug-2009 10:19 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I understand that a major prob was access. There were so many odd up & down levels in the store (I've heard various figures quoted) due to its growth over the years, and according to the Express there was a threat from the disabled lobby. Also Erin Dors is convinced that when some bright-eyed marketing exec was allowed to re-organise the departments it resulted in a migration to Daniel's. Interesting that tkmax is still in the offing. Totally inappropriate IMHO!
the jiffle king		#3	[-]
Posts: 136 (21-Aug-2009 12:35 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	kaye wrote: apparently the latest is 3 retail units 1 being tk maxx and still the hotel being built there.it is a shame john lewis were so money grabbing and did not want to upgrade the store.all that rubbish about being listed, only the frontage seems to be as the rest was totally demolish but when you can get 10 million for a place why not sell!!! it certainly made me look at john lewis in a different light. Intersting perspective. I´m not so sure that JL were money grabbing. The store was on 23 levels, there were no large spaces, no car parking and it was located just off the main shopping track (I know where it is, but that is not a main shopping thoroughfare as when people get to the top of Peascod St, they all go left) The store lost money, it was difficult to deliver to, it needed a major revamp and served little purpose in it´s portfolio of stores. Someone offered them a wedge of money... and of course you would take it. The key thing here is that only some stores are willing to move into windsor, TX maxx must be one of them and they are paying big bucks to do so. You and I may not like these types of stores, but it will not be long before Windsor has a primark to go with it´s new look etc etc. If the people of Windsor really wanted quality shops, then they should have shopped at them. There are some left, but Windsor sadly in a few years will be like any other shopping centre bar Daniels which is looking like House of Fraser in the making. I am disappotined at Caleys closing, but I spent very few pounds there and it always felt a hassle shopping there. In theory, this could have been converted into many things, including a place where you had lots of small shops, but no-one was willing to put up the money. Windsor is not dying on the high street, it´s evolving and much as I don´t like the way it´s going, the only way to vote is with your purse/wallet T-J-K
Pat Larkin	23 levels.....	#4	[-]
Posts: 845 (22-Aug-2009 02:02 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	tjk, can you explain the 23 levels please.....I didn't go into Caleys very much during the time I lived in Windsor, in fact, I think I visited the store more once I'd left......my cousin, over from Nevada, came on a quick, nostalgic trip around the store with me a few years' ago. We'd heard the rumours that the store was being sold or knocked down. We walked around and both remarked then that in our younger days, we thought it was 'too posh' a store for us to even walk into......it's just a feeling you get when you walk into some stores I think.....there again, I like Harrods, (at Christmas), so I think it might just have been Caley's atmosphere years ago. I'm going back to the late 1950's, in my case that is.
the jiffle king		#5	[-]
Posts: 137 (24-Aug-2009 12:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	23 levels... sure I can explain. The store was like a cavern with steps and slopes everywhere within the store taking you to new "rooms". As I recall and I only went in a few times, you walked in the right hand doo to be confronted by a dark room with a till and shelves. If you went right from here, you went down 3 steps into a room of mirrors, back up past the gifts tot he crockery, you went down a small slope, then down 2 steps to get to the cuttlery. The down 5 or so more steps to get to haberdashery..... and so on. There was no rhythm to the store, it was a series of small rooms, badly lit and slope and steps galore. There was even a middle room which ran up the middle of the store on a slope which was about 8 feet wide and housed electrics. In reality, there were only 2 storeys which were open to the public, but so many steps and levels it was not a viable setup Interesting you write that you hardly ever went in and it was seen as posh... Food for thought for the owners really as a store has to be welcoming. Caleys was not with narrow entrances and a wall of goods as you walked in. You had to search for what you wanted unless you had been in many times. A great shame to be honest as it is a lovely facade, but impractical in terms of a large format store. To navigate as a visitor it was a nightmare and as a local, you had to search. What would have been great is a series of small stores in a merket type layout with a hotel above for commercial viability. Sadly this was not deemed possible
Pat Larkin	Caley's.	#6	[-]
Posts: 853 (24-Aug-2009 01:47 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Thanks tjk. When I first went to the Grammar School, our parents were given a list of clothes and sports gear we should all have.....when my Mother went into Caleys to get some prices for dresses for the Summer term, she came home and said she couldn't believe how much two dresses would cost to buy, so, she had them made instead......it was always the 'posh' shop as far as we were concerned and I suppose that kind of stuck.......I think that's where Woolies came into it's own.....local folk would fill the store day in, day out, because they sold goods at, what were then, affordable prices.....on my final visit to Caleys, with my cousin, as I wrote previously, I remember looking at mirrors.....they were just inside the door and in a room to the right.......we both remarked that they weren't displayed in any great way......they'd been placed on the floor, against the walls and were generally all over the place. That didn't click with us as being how we both remembered the old shop.....if we knew anyone who worked in Caley's back then, we'd think they were something special in having a job there. I think Woolworth's was at the bottom of the list, then cam Marks and Spencer and finally Caley's. Caley's was mainly a shop frequented by the 'better-off' and 'more affluent' folk of the town. That's purely my opinion. Others who lived back then, might have seen it in an entirely different light. It'll be interesting to see the 'new' building all finished and open. Do you have any idea when that might be? Last Edited By: Pat Larkin 24-Aug-2009 01:53 PM. Edited 1 times.
the jiffle king		#7	[-]
Posts: 138 (24-Aug-2009 02:13 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I wish I knew what Caleys is going to become. I´ve just moved to Barcelona for a couple of years with work, but still have a house in the town (Thamesweb has met me when he was renovating a house as I lived next door) The lack of parking is an issue and prevents the store being a supermarket which is probably good as that part of town does not really need one. I´ve not heard any rumours, but I think a clothing shop would be brave to be there due to the lack of shopping kerb appeal. 50 metres the other way and it would be a major success, but it´s just a few paces too far. It would suit a series of boutique stores, but it would be a big gamble and not one many developers would take. I´m watching with interest
Pat Larkin	Caley's	#8	[-]
Posts: 854 (24-Aug-2009 05:50 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Yep, I agree.......it's hard to predict in this financial climate, what would or would not sell.....glad I'm not at the helm...it's going to be a gamble whatever goes into that premises. Money is very tight and people are economising with everything. Restaurants are finding it very hard to put bums on seats and are offering cheaper or b.o.g.o.f. meals.....there's an established camera shop in our town, (mainly for the amateur photographer), it's been around for years.....this week, on Radio 4, an ex-director was interviewed and he 'hinted' that this particular chain might be in difficulties. There again, '99p' shops are opening up at a rate of knots. In fact, again this week on t.v., the c.e.o. of the 99p chain, opened his 99th branch.....some achievement in this day and age. So, good luck to whoever decides to 'have a go' in the old Caley's building.....I wonder if the council is taking suggestions or advice from residents in Windsor? It might help to know what the shoppers themselves would like to have along that stretch of The High Street.....whether or not the council would take any notice of their suggestions, however, is an entirely different matter.
the jiffle king		#9	[-]
Posts: 139 (24-Aug-2009 07:38 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sadly the council do not own the high street, but private landlords do and will lease to the highest bidder. Pound shops work on very high margins and are relying on vast throughput and selling you things you may not want. They also have a financing model which means that the company is usually "mortgaged" up to the hilt with large borrowing and they financials work whilst a business is in growth. It would take me a few pages to explain how this works, but basically, stores work on large margins and have a high cashflow. This works because they have payment terms which are 60-90 days, so by the time they have sold the product 2-3 times over, the store has the cash and they´ve not paid the supplier. This makes them cash rich and enables them to expand quickly and take on any lease they like. Growth continues until they need to re-finance the debt, which either means they fold, or they survive and are ripe for selling. These are easy shops to set up and do very well. shops with less throughput will struggle, have less cashflow, but might be making good profits. It´s all a financial game with the selling to us consumers being of secondary importance..... So for Caleys... cheap and cheerful.... sadly
Pat Larkin	Caley's, cheap and cheerful...	#10	[-]
Posts: 858 (26-Aug-2009 07:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Mmmm, I can't see the owners of The Castle Hotel wanting a 'cheap-and-cheerful' shop too close to their premises, can you? I wonder if their input of who they would, or would not, prefer to rent the premises would count for anything?
the jiffle king		#11	[-]
Posts: 140 (27-Aug-2009 09:54 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Pat Larkin wrote: Mmmm, I can't see the owners of The Castle Hotel wanting a 'cheap-and-cheerful' shop too close to their premises, can you? I wonder if their input of who they would, or would not, prefer to rent the premises would count for anything? Pat, Sadly, the Castle hotel will have no say in their neighbours. The buildings owners will decide on who rents the space and it will go to the highest bidder. As long as planning regs and building reg are met, then the Castle hotel and the rest of us have very little influence over this building. At planning stage is the only time you really get to have any say and you might be able to persuade the council that a certain business classification is not appropriate, but any shop is perceieved as better than no shop by the council.... Progress vs tradition, the eternal debate T-J-K
Pat Larkin	Progress....of a kind.	#12	[-]
Posts: 861 (27-Aug-2009 11:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Progress 1 - Tradition 0. That's how I imagine the final score will read at the end of the game between 'making profits' v 'retaining what's valuable and historic'. I'm hoping that in retaining the original facade of Caley's, it might, in some strange way, help to mask what's actually behind it. Is the front of the original building being protected against any demolition plans, do you know TJK? and is the hotel part of this new building planned for the rear or the top of the site, or perhaps you don't know? p.s. Will the folk who book rooms to stay at the new hotel be informed that shops are part of the building too? will any holiday advertising brochures or online adverts. show the hotel as being part of a shopping complex do you think, or can the owners 'air-brush' out the bits they don't want prospective visitors to see? Last Edited By: Pat Larkin 30-Aug-2009 04:27 PM. Edited 1 times.
the jiffle king		#13	[-]
Posts: 141 (28-Aug-2009 07:18 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sadly I do not know the answer. fingers crossed the facade is kept traditional and that the inside befits such a building.
movingtoEngland		#14	[-]
Posts: 42 ( 9-Sep-2009 08:40 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Where is Caley's and where is the TK Maxx being built?
Pat Larkin	Caley's......no longer, sadly.	#15	[-]
Posts: 901 ( 9-Sep-2009 10:43 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Caley's was 'the' shop to visit in my day, and thousands of others' days......It was opposite The Guildhall in the High Street. Walk straight up to the top of Peascod Street, turn right, walk along and on your right, you'll probably discover a bit of a building site....this was Caley's. It was before The Castle Hotel building, so if you do miss it and reach the hotel, turn around, and you'll find it.......and T.K. Max(sp), well that might be going into the old Woolworth's site, which you would have passed on your journey to the top of Peas.St. It might though, be sited in the old Caley's site. Again, thamesweb would know far more of this than me/I. I get news of what's happening to Windsor via the forum, as you may have guessed....
movingtoEngland		#16	[-]
Posts: 44 ( 9-Sep-2009 04:42 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I took a walk to the former Caley's today. It was difficult to see what they were doing with the facade as it was too covered by scaffolding. Hopefully they will do a decent job as it is in a very prominent location. A TK Max (We have those in the states too) would probably "blend" in better in the old Woolworth's building than standing out on High Street like a sore thumb. Since I first visited Windsor, several of my favorite shops on Peascod have closed - Woolworth's, Tschibo's, and a tea shop (can't remember the name) that had a good selection of teas and china. Hopefully Lakeland and the Kitchen Helper shops will never leave!
posicon		#17	[-]
Posts: 1 (20-Oct-2009 12:10 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I was looking for information about Caleys on this forum and then extended my search through google. It looks like there's some info I found which is not yet on these forums including for plans and views of the site. Following is a description and a link at the end to the views. Project Location: Former Caleys Store No's 19 to 23 High Street Windsor. Architect: DLG Architects Client: High Point Estates Ltd Site opening: December 2007 Completion: First half of 2010. Details: The proposed hotel layout has been designed to recognise the stepping principle established at the backs of the buildings and to remove the visual mess that exists at present and to provide a positive lively frontage to Acre Passage. It thus reflects the nature of the workshop areas while providing usable space which enhances the appearance of the Conservation Area. The approved plans include three new retail units with frontage onto the high street at ground floor level and a four star hotel totalling 69,000 sq ft. No. 23 High Street will provide the main entrance to the four star hotel, with the retained Gothic Cottages providing an entrance off Acre Passage. Macdonald Hotels & Resorts has recently completed a deal to operate the hotel which will offer 128 bedrooms. The informal connection between the High Street and Acre Passage will also be retained through the larger retail space, an important link and historical reference to Caleys, which will accord with the public's memory of the store. Forming a major part of the retail offer in Windsor, the three large units, totalling 25,000 sq ft, will improve the attractiveness of the town as a destination for people to shop. Gross area of 2350 Sqm -3 Retail Units with a surface of 3050 Sqm. -1 Car parking with a surface of 1320 Sqm. -1 Hotel with a surface of 8650 Sqm -High street aerial view Here is the link provided by an architect who worked on this project for DLG Architects. http://ethicalarchitecture.co.uk/portfolio/former_caleys.html I hope this is helpful to you all. Regards, MB
thamesweb		#18	[-]
Posts: 2398 (20-Oct-2009 02:55 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Welcome to you and very many thanks for this which is very valuable and informative (and a nicely done site too).