Historic Chesterfield furniture store Eyres ceases trading after 147 years

In a letter sent to employees, it was revealed that Eyres of Chesterfield had ceased trading with immediate effect.

The letter reads: “Due to the Company being unable to secure critical funding, which was essential to enable necessary and urgent building repairs to be carried out, and for Eyres to proceed with the planned refurbishment, modernisation and re-opening of the store as scheduled, the Company’s ability to meet creditor demands has been severely affected.

“Regrettably, the Directors have taken the difficult decision to cease trading with immediate effect and to seek professional advice.

“We appreciate this is likely to be a very upsetting time for everyone, and the owners would like to reiterate that every effort has been made to avoid this outcome. However, the current economic climate of financial constraints, lack of funding and rising costs, has made the decision unavoidable.”

In the letter, employees were told that they had been made redundant effective immediately, and that no further payment of wages would be made.

It also said that staff would be contacted as soon as possible with further information on claiming any money they are entitled to, including redundancy, payment in lieu of notice, unpaid wages and accrued holiday pay.

We have made repeated attempts to contact Eyres regarding the situation, but nobody from the store has returned our calls or emails.

Earlier this year, Eyres was rumoured to have closed after signs advertising a closing down sale appeared in the store windows.

In February, an Eyres spokesperson told the Derbyshire Times that they were “temporarily closing for around two months from the middle or end of February” for repairs, and that the store “will be reopening after the refurbishment”.

Eyres was founded in 1875 by Isaac Eyre of Barrow Hill. He was left jobless after a work-related injury and needed to find a way of earning income to raise his family, and established a business that bought and sold sewing machines.

By 1891, Eyres had grown substantially – the business now manufactured furniture for the Victorian middle classes and had moved into the premises on Holywell Street where it remained for the duration of its existence.

The company continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, and in the mid-1980s there were 12 stores trading under the Eyres banner.