End of an era: Stourbridge shoe shop owner prepares to say farewell after a century of trade

Clive Sowerby, who runs Sowerby’s Shoes, is set to close his shop in Lower High Street next month.

The beloved business has been in its present location for almost 50 years, having originally been based in New Street.

In its earliest guise, it operated from a garden shed in Cecil Street - having been established in 1925 by Will Sowerby who began repairing shoes for neighbours for a penny a tap.

Premises were later bought in New Street with the shop leased to Joe and Arthur Sowerby, with Arthur’s son Clive later joining the family business in 1968.

In 1977 Sowerby’s Shoes moved to Lower High Street and has remained there ever since.

On May 31, however, the business will be shutting its town centre doors for good.

Despite calling it a day with the physical store, which is one of the longest trading shops in Stourbridge, Mr Sowerby, aged 81, remains optimistic for the future. 

The business will continue online and will continue to exhibit at county shows, including the Three Counties and Devon County Show, which Sowerby’s Shoes has been attending for the past 40 years.

Mr Sowerby said of his decision to shut the much-loved shop: “It’s sad, you’ve got to feel sad, but I'm also confident it’s the right decision. I’m looking forward to the future and doing something different.”

Buoyed by help from computer science student Ben Thompson from Kinver, a student at the University of Birmingham, who has been helping to develop the Sowerby’s Shoes website, Mr Sowerby said he will be keeping busy running the business online - providing the same high level of customer service.

He said: “That very much is going to continue.

“It’s really a combination of experience and knowing what sells and good value for customers - customers who haven’t met us.”

He added: “We’re finding a lot of customers are picking up on the fact that we’re a family business. We’re not just faceless - we’re here and we’re real people and we have knowledge of 50-plus years.”

As well as keeping busy with the online business, grandfather-of-one Mr Sowerby, who lives in Chaddesley Corbett, plans to spend more time with his wife Helen, who has been battling a rare form of leukaemia, as well as tending his allotment.

He said: “I’m nearly 82 but I don’t believe in retiring - to me I enjoy life too much - meeting people and selling shoes.”

As well as running the shop, Mr Sowerby has played a big part in the community over the decades.

He was on the Lye Carnival Committee at one stage and was chairperson of Dudley Mediation Network, which offered help for people involved in housing disputes, as well as serving as a Black Country magistrate for many years.

He said: “I think it’s good to give to the community.” 

There won’t be any great fanfare to mark his retirement, however, despite his standing in the community.

He told the Express & Star: “I don’t believe in fuss. We’ve done our job and I’ve loved every minute of it. I really have. I feel invigorated by the experience.”

Loyal customers, however, have been flocking to the shop to snap up a last pair of shoes before he bows out of the town and one told him while browsing: “We don’t want you to go!”