Peter Crisp was apprenticed as an ironmonger when the war interrupted his training. He finished that training after the war, and then became a shop manager. Peter married Rosemary, and together they decided to look for a business to buy, and eventually decided to buy Fairy Brothers’ ironmongery shop on Church Parade, in Rushden, in 1959. The business flourished, and in 1964 when the adjoining chemist shop, Fleeman’s, was for sale they decided to expand. The range of goods was expanded too and the china department was started. When the “Blue Windows”, a specialist china shop, closed down in 1967, it was the opportunity to become an agent for the well known brands of china, such as Minton and Wedgewood. The shop was doubled in size.
The business continued to grow and when land behind the shop became available they purchased it and began a gardening section. In the 1970s several adjoining properties also became vacant when Clark & Co (shoe manufacturers), J S Taylor (furnishers) and J F Cook (printers) all ceased trading. These properties were also taken into the Peter Crisp premises and now there were specialist departments for ironmongery, tools, and china.
In 1978 a major renovation was undertaken and household wares and nursery equipment were added to the range.
As further property close by became vacant in the 1980s, so the store expanded. A new department specialising in kitchen design, and later bathroom design, was opened in Church Street, and a car park was made behind the shops.
Peter Crisp died suddenly in May 1996 and his wife Rosemary and their eldest daughter Julia, became joint managing directors of the Peter Crisp store, now with 15 departments and covering 20,000 square feet of retail space.
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1999 40th Anniversary - Frisby
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The shop frontage was fully renovated in 2002 and the interior in 2005.
In 2007 the Coffee Tavern Restaurant company moved into the store and Peter Crisp Ltd took over the cafe in 2008. The floor space was reduced in 2008 when the old Clark & Co building was vacated, and the ironmongery moved into an upstairs room of the shop. The company also trades across the world via their website.
Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen came to open their 50th Birthday event in July 2009.
Note: Since writing the above in July 2009, it has been announced that Peter Crisp Ltd will close in early 2010. The employees were given 3 months notice in October 2009.
18th November 2009 - The closing down sale began today. It has now been announced that the main shop will close down before Christmas, but the Kitchen & Bathroom Design Studio in Church Street (below the main shop) will remain open.
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Postcard sent to known customers
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Van supplied by Hamblins Garage
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Storecard and a Key cut from a Peter Crisp blank
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