Watch: Historic Halesowen clothing shop closes its doors after 144 years - but new business will take its place

But the Dancers clothing store in Halesowen won't be empty for long, with a new school-uniform shop set to open in its premises next month.

Mike Dancer, who has worked in the shop for more than 60 years. is retiring along with his sister Janet Duerden and brother-in-law Martyn Duerden.

Mike's son Dave Dancer, who has been assistant manager of the store, said it was a day of mixed emotions.

"We're sad because we're 144 years old, and we have staff who have been here since the late 1990s, who feel like an extended part of our family," he said.

"On the other hand, there is a sense of relief as it will give my dad, my aunt and my uncle the chance to properly retire, having had this huge weight over our shoulders for a number of decades. 

"As a family, we never got the opportunity to take a break together, and if we tried to carry on there is a chance we could have lost the business completely."

He said the past two decades had been a never-ending battle to compete with online retailers, and high streets across the country were struggling with the loss of shoppers who had become used to purchasing goods from their own home.

He said the family did not wish the Dancers name to continue once their involvement with the business ended.

Mr Dancer said the company would continue to supply school uniforms as an online business for the time being, but said from January 6 the shop would be taken over by Totally Uniform, which also has branches in Kingswinford and Stourbridge. 

Four years later, John and his wife Sarah moved to a lock-up shop in High Street, Halesowen, and business did so well that they were able to purchase a plot of land on the corner of Peckingham Street and Hagley Road, Halesowen, and build a three-storey shop on the site.

Branches in Ludlow, Kidderminster, Cradley Heath, Bromsgrove and Tenbury Wells followed. 

The business passed, first, to John’s son Wilfred, and then through his son Wesley who was born above the shop in 1913. 

As the years progressed, the shop began to transition away from boots and towards the sale of both men’s and women’s clothing. In the 1950s, Wesley spotted a gap in the market for men’s suit hire, and Dancer’s became one of the first shops in the country to offer what would become a major growth area over the decades that followed.

During the late 1960s, Halesowen was undergoing major redevelopment, and Wesley decided that rather than be left behind, it was time for Dancers to get new premises too. He moved to a temporary shop at the top of Peckingham Street, while the old shop was demolished and a new one built in its place. The new Dancers opened on May 1, 1968.

The shop business was founded in 1880 by John Dancer in Lye, originally as a shoe and bootmaker. 

Four years later, John and his wife Sarah moved to a lock-up shop in High Street, Halesowen, and business did so well that they were able to purchase a plot of land on the corner of Peckingham Street and Hagley Road, Halesowen, and build a three-storey shop on the site.

Branches in Ludlow, Kidderminster, Cradley Heath, Bromsgrove and Tenbury Wells followed. The business passed, first, to John’s son Wilfred, and then through his son Wesley who was born above the shop in 1913. 

As the years progressed, the shop began to transition away from boots and towards the sale of both men’s and women’s clothing. 

In the 1950s, Wesley spotted a gap in the market for men’s suit hire, and Dancer’s became one of the first shops in the country to offer what would become a major growth area over the decades that followed.

During the late 1960s, Halesowen was undergoing major redevelopment, and Wesley decided that rather than be left behind, it was time for Dancers to get new premises too. He moved to a temporary shop at the top of Peckingham Street, while the old shop was demolished and a new one built in its place. The present Dancers building opened on May 1, 1968.