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Old 1st Jul 2017, 5:43 pm   #1
David G4EBT
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Default Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Looks like internet has snuffed out yet another of the shops we love so much, which sprang up after WW2 when the country was awash with ex WD components and equipment, and also awash with demobbed service personnel with new-found skills in radio and electronics, keen to use those skills both as hobbyists and for employment. A world that is no more - overtaken by plug 'n play', 'state of the art (soon to be obsolete), consumer electronics, a world in which few have hobbies - only 'pastimes', which change with fashion and trends.

From this link:

http://www.bardwells.co.uk/

Quote:

Bardwells is now CLOSED


It is with heavy hearts that after more than 70 years in business, serving the good people of Sheffield and the surrounding areas with some of the best electronic components available, we must now close Bardwells. We are no longer open for business, either on the Web or from our shop on Abbeydale Road. Thank you for your valued custom over the years, and we wish you all the best.

Chris & Lorraine Bardwell 30/06/17

End quote.

I wonder what's happened to all their stuff, such as those splendid little 10Watt solid state 1970s stereo amp modules?
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Old 1st Jul 2017, 5:56 pm   #2
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

That is very sad news but not unexpected. I heard rumours a couple of years back. I went there the other week by car but missed the shop. Wish I'd turned around and gone back.....
Was going to get one of the amps that David mentioned as well.
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Old 1st Jul 2017, 6:01 pm   #3
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

I had started to wonder as I've passed a few times during the last couple of weeks and it's been closed.

The number of staff seemed to go down over the years until Chris, the original N R Bardwell's grandson, seemed to be running it on his own.

As for the remaining stock it'll probably end-up on e-Bay, where they did sell in any case.
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Old 1st Jul 2017, 6:42 pm   #4
Robert Darwent
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Not been in the shop for a while so this news is quite unexpected. Ordered via the website several times during the past year though and have used Bardwell's since around 1980.

A real shame they have closed as once gone shops like this are gone for good. If any of the Bardwell family frequent UKVRR and should read this thread I would like to thank them for the pleasant and knowledgeable service the have offered to their customers over the years and wish them all the best for the future.

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Old 1st Jul 2017, 7:51 pm   #5
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
Looks like internet has snuffed out yet another of the shops we love so much, which sprang up after WW2 when the country was awash with ex WD components and equipment, and also awash with demobbed service personnel with new-found skills in radio and electronics, keen to use those skills both as hobbyists and for employment. A world that is no more - overtaken by plug 'n play', 'state of the art (soon to be obsolete), consumer electronics, a world in which few have hobbies - only 'pastimes', which change with fashion and trends.
What a great paragraph you have written there David. Sums things up so well.

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Old 1st Jul 2017, 8:51 pm   #6
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

I was just thinking the same . Mick.
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 9:02 am   #7
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Thanks for the (sad) news David, and well put.

Trying to see the other side, and trying to apply some rationale, things do change, things do move on, nothing is forever, and we're talking about a commercial concern here, not a forum or a hobbyist group, whatever. The owners of these shops have to make a living.

I - like many - could see that the writing was on the wall in the early 80s when computers started to come in and the electronics/radio hobbyist mags at the time changed 'overnight' from being based on, and being full of adverts about radio, TV, audio and 'gadget' electronics, to computers, software, floppy discs etc etc. Consequently, the electronic component and 'surplus stock' sellers took a hit; they just didn't fit the magazines any more, and seemingly hobbyists wanted to built computers and peripherals, especially the younger guys just getting into 'electronics'. The excitement of switching on your first home build short wave radio was old hat, a thing of the past.

The rest is history, most of the magazines went to the wall, Tottenham Court Road shops gradually closed and so did a lot of the many regional, old style 'radio component' shops whose proprietors were probably 'getting on' anyway; it was a suitable exit point for many. Additionally, the traditional high street was changing beyond recognition with old, family run, ladies/gents outfitters, ironmongers, newsagents, butchers, fishmongers, confectionery/tobacconist, bakers - all disappearing as the whole nature of 'shopping' and the high street changed totally. And it wasn't just what people were buying, they were now buying online too - yet another blow to the 'old fashioned' radio components shop who often still used old style tills and didn't even own a computer, let alone have a web site.

That lot has been swapped for specialist groups such as the BVWS, specialist magazines such as the 'Radiophile', and specialist web sites and forums like this one. There's no mainstream radio constructers 'scene' any more. Conclusion? the vintage radio movement (formerly known as radio enthusiasts) is alive and well, it's strong and healthy - you just won't find it on the high street any more..
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 10:05 am   #8
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

This is sad but inevitable. I think the high street is dead these days. I rarely if ever use one apart from to fulfill my caffeine addiction occasionally. My childrens' generation is well accustomed to obtaining things efficiently via the Internet as am I if I'm honest. Scarcity and lack of choice was the only thing that kept the niche retailers open and the Internet killed that. This leaves spaces open only for food outlets and even most of them deliver now. Even the traditional large retailers like WH Smith are a poor value proposition.

I think that discussion is separate to the various hobbies. As an analogy, I periodically play the old trading game Magic the Gathering. This was a game that was also powered by niche initially as the supply of cards was limited. Now you can get it online anywhere (ebay!). So we religiously play the old 1993-94 edition of the game because the scarcity is still there. Some of the fun is the struggle to obtain the resources you need. This builds communities, like this one, which propel an "obsolete" hobby forwards.

On top of this, the younger generations perhaps are enticed with somewhat cooler engineering possibilities made possible with more recent technology. From the outside I get asked periodically "why are you dabbling around with designing and repairing analogue electronics when you could be building sumo wrestling robots [1] or flying drones [2] - I can't answer that effectively either because that does look like a whole lot more fun. No one sells motor drivers, microcontrollers and mechanical parts on the high street apart from Maplin and they are incredibly expensive and suffering from a persistent identity crisis.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCqxOzKNFks
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcLk_uZe33w
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 12:05 pm   #9
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

We still have a traditional electronics shop in Cheltenham in the lower high street along with a part time hi tv repair shop a few doors down from it which is unbelievable.
Of course we have a Maplins too which i have to say give very good service ,and i cant fault them .
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 5:15 pm   #10
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

I called in last year when I was in the UK and bought a few items for old time's sake.

I was a regular visitor to the shop in the late 60s when I was a student in Sheffield.

I bought some 2N3055s with which I built a PA amplifier to work off 24 volts to start my PA hire business.

Sad to see it go but things move on. My best wishes to the Bardwell family and thanks for their service.

Bob
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 6:25 pm   #11
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Quote:
Originally Posted by David G4EBT View Post
Looks like internet has snuffed out yet another of the shops we love so much, which sprang up after WW2 when the country was awash with ex WD components and equipment, and also awash with demobbed service personnel with new-found skills in radio and electronics, keen to use those skills both as hobbyists and for employment.
http://www.retinascope.co.uk/lislestreet.html
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 10:14 pm   #12
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Lisle street et al were just magazine ads to me, mostly long gone before I got there, but a couple of my jobs included Sheffield in my patch. I staggered upon Bardwells looking for a sandwich shop as it wasn't on the main road. Not big, but an Aladdins cave. I hadn't been there for a long time, so am as guilty as the rest for it's demise.
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 10:57 pm   #13
David G4EBT
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Quote:
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. I staggered upon Bardwells looking for a sandwich shop as it wasn't on the main road. Not big, but an Aladdins cave. I hadn't been there for a long time, so am as guilty as the rest for it's demise.
That would have been the original shop on Sellars Street, started by 'Old Man' Bardwell as he became known - Norman Bardwell, who was a gentleman in every sense of the word. Sellars St was a back street off the main road. (I think that shop was destroyed by fire). For maybe the last 30 years or more, the shop has been on Abbeydale Road - the main road in and out of Sheffield, to the west of the city. If you were lucky, you could park in the layby outside the shop. In the mid 1980s there were often queues out of the door - it took ages to get served - as often as not, due to CBers asking obscure questions about 'rigs 'n twigs' and 'burners'.
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 11:12 pm   #14
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

I did say a long time, but I didn't realise just how long!
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Old 2nd Jul 2017, 11:45 pm   #15
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Quote:
Originally Posted by electronicskip View Post
We still have a traditional electronics shop in Cheltenham in the lower high street along with a part time hi tv repair shop a few doors down from it which is unbelievable.
Of course we have a Maplins too which i have to say give very good service ,and i cant fault them .
Yes, the part of the High Street in Cheltenham with these shops in is like a time warp. Each time I look inside Hardings (electronics shop) I wonder how it stays in business. However, I do enjoy looking around it now and again and it makes me feel like a spotty student again because it really is like a time warp back to the 1980s

Maplins seems to get a lot of stick on several forums but the staff in the Cheltenham branch are always polite and helpful. I usually have to try hard to stop myself buying the latest RC car/plane/drone they have on special offer...
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Old 3rd Jul 2017, 12:09 pm   #16
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

They’ve been in the Abbeydale Road shop since before July 1982. I know that as I remember my Mother meeting me from primary school and taking me.

I certainly remember the long queues and CB gear. In recent years there’s rarely been more than one or two people waiting to be served.

I’m as saddened as anybody at their demise but can’t in all honesty say it will inconvenience me as the world has changed. For me to go to Bardwell’s would cost at least £3 in ’bus fares, which is more than a lot of on-line suppliers charge for postage — Bardwell’s themselves charged £2.50 — and there’s no risk of a wasted journey and the goods themselves would probably be cheaper.

In recent years I’ve called in for things when passing but usually come out with only a few of the items I wanted, occasionally none. Not only was this disappointing for me but represented lost business for them.

Borwood Electronics is run by one of the Bardwell clan. Chris called him “Uncle Will” but whether he’s an uncle by blood or marriage I don’t know. I think he can make a go of things by specialising in a narrower range and not having the overheads of a physical shop.
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Old 3rd Jul 2017, 5:09 pm   #17
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

I can't believe they have closed.
I had some great experiences in that shop. I remember one occasion going in for an equivalent transistor. The guy on the counter looked around the back and said we have not got one of those. Will an equivalent do? So I told him it was an equivalent to such and such. He said we have one of those, you didn't think we would have it did you?

I always used to avoid going in Saturdays. Some kids were in ordering parts. One at a time! It took ages to get served.

Another time the guy said a part was a expensive. I asked how much? So he said £2.50! He thought that was expensive
Mind you the shop was so cheap for parts.

The staff was so helpful too, it was like having some of the experts from this site there. If they didn't know one of their regular customers would chip in or the guy would ask them!
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Old 3rd Jul 2017, 5:25 pm   #18
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Hi.

It's a shame that these small shops are going one by one. I bought several very good value parts from them over the years and there can't be that many businesses like them still in existence. I always thought it wasn't the same when they went over to ebay. Before that they had better value deals and a wider range of components. Sorry to hear of their closing down of business.
Harrison Electronics was another good source for some parts also sadly not trading.

Regards
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Old 3rd Jul 2017, 7:18 pm   #19
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

It is a really big shame, I have used Bardwells since I was 10 years old going to the original emporium in a converted terrace house in one of the back streets off abbeydale road.A saturday morning visit was a real treat. I used to buy dozens of boards stuffed with components to mess about with.Sorry to "Grubhead" I was probably one of those annoying little brats !

Will is still trading ( he married one of the bardwell daughters ) from a unit down near dronfield, he left abbeydale road quite a while ago, I guess the business as it shrunk was not able to provide them all a living.

All credit to them that it lasted as long as it did.

The family are fabulous people and I wish them all the very best.

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Old 3rd Jul 2017, 8:40 pm   #20
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Default Re: Another old time dealer gone (Bardwell's of Sheffield)

Photo from the Sheffield Star when they were 40 years old (1988).
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