There are countless reasons for the drastic changes recent years have brought to the UK’s high streets, from the rise of online shopping to world-altering events like the Covid pandemic.

The shopping heart of Oxford is one such place where the retail scenery has developed at a fast pace within the last decade, with many new shops springing up, as well as some long-standing ones being lost.

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We asked Oxford Mail readers which shops they missed the most, and we got hundreds of responses.

One of the most missed shops repeatedly mentioned was Boswells of Oxford, the city’s late, great independent department store.

Boswells of Oxford, Broad Street, 1992 (Image: Oxford Mail archive)

Boswells opened in Cornmarket in 1739, and was the second oldest family-owned department store in the world when it closed in 2020.

Considered a local shopping landmark, the Boswell store in Broad Street – where it opened in 1929 – was popular for toys, kitchenware, luggage, gifts and all sorts of other goodies.

After 282 years of trading, the store hosted a closing down sale in 2020, and the Broad Street building has since been turned into luxury hotel The Store Oxford, which opened four years later.

Coming in a close second for most missed was Debenham’s, another department store of a bygone era.

The former Debenhams in Oxford (Image: Andy Ffrench)

The three-storey branch of the popular department store on the corner of George Street and Magdalen Street closed early in 2021 after the chain went into administration.

Now, the prominent city centre site will be turned into life sciences lab space by new owner, The Crown Estate, much to the disappointment of shoppers.

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Another well-missed shop from the city was the Disney Store at the corner of the Westgate, which closed in 2007 ahead of the shopping centre’s major – and somewhat delayed – renovation.

A visitor to the Disney Store near the Westgate in Oxford, 1994 (Image: Oxford Mail archive)

Taking a left-turn away from department stores and big names like Disney, another much-mentioned and dearly missed shop from Oxford was Gordon Thoday.

Gordon Thoday was a fabric shop in the 1970s, which occupied a huge retail space on Cornmarket Street which is now a McDonald’s.

It was a beloved haberdashery for sewers and crafters while it was open, and Gordon Thoday fabrics remain coveted antique pieces among enthusiasts.

Gordon Thoday Fabrics in Cornmarket Street, Oxford, 1986 (Image: Oxford Mail archive)

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Another store with its own successful niche was Gill’s, or Gill & Co as it was formally known, the High Street shop which claimed to be England’s oldest ironmonger before it closed in 2010, after 480 years trading.

Several readers mentioned how much they missed Gill’s Hardware, which had operated from Wheatsheaf Yard for 50 years when it closed, but the original shop opened in Cornmarket, centuries before.

Other much missed shops include fashion retailers which have closed stores nationwide – some more recently than others – including New Look, River Island, C&A and MK One.

Amarox Limited is recalling the batch after a patient received a pack of Sertraline 100mg tablets that contained one blister strip of Citalopram 40mg tablets by mistake.

Both medicines are SSRIs used to treat depression and anxiety, but taking the wrong drug could cause unexpected side effects.

Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said: “If you have been prescribed Sertraline 100mg tablets and have received batch number V2500425, please check the carton contains the right medication.

(Image: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)

“You can find the batch number and expiry date printed on the side of the outer packaging.

“If the blister strips inside the carton are labelled Citalopram 40mg, please contact your pharmacy as soon as possible.

“If they are labelled Sertraline 100mg, no further action is needed.

“Patients who have accidentally taken citalopram instead of – or as well as – sertraline, may experience some heightened serotonergic side effects.

“These can include nausea, headache, sleep changes, and mild anxiety.”

Both SSRI medications are produced by the same manufacturer, at the same site, and the error appears to have occurred during secondary packaging of the blister strips into the cartons.

The MHRA is urging pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to identify patients who may have received the affected batch and contact them.

Those identified should be advised to return any remaining medication and consult their GP or clinician to discuss whether a new prescription is needed.

Doctors may also need to monitor patients, especially those under 18, over 65, or with existing heart or liver issues.

Adverse reactions should be reported through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

Healthcare professionals have been instructed to stop supplying the affected batch and return all remaining stock to their suppliers.

The former RAF Upper Heyford base, which is earmarked for a major housing development, is under scrutiny due to high levels of per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ‘forever chemicals’.

These chemicals are linked to cancers, thyroid disease and fertility problems and are commonly associated with fire-fighting foams, which would have been used there when the site was operational from 1918 to 1994.

A national-scale preliminary overview study, published in Chemosphere, showed the elevated levels in the surface water at the Leys Farm Ditch test site, a tributary of Gallos Brook which is around 4km away from former airbase.

Despite this, development is already underway, with 1,200 of the proposed homes built over the past 15 years as part of a £5 billion project, led by Dorchester Living.

The Environment Agency, which is responsible for protecting and improving the environment in England, provides advice on applications to ensure no development has an adverse effect on the environment.

It said: “[We] are currently unable to support the development at Heyford Park as the application doesn’t demonstrate the risk of pollution to water quality from wastewater and drainage can be managed safely.”

While housing plans have since been reduced, with 9,000 of the homes removed from the government’s new towns scheme, these could still be built if approved by Cherwell District Council.

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However, the Environment Agency said any link between the development and PFAS would be for the planning authority.

It added: “The Environment Agency judges the application, rather than evidence against it or in favour from a third-party. To that end, testing from nearby watercourses wouldn’t form part of our advice. However, if we were to see the risk of pollution managed safely, we might reconsider our advice.”

Cherwell District Council said: “We will give careful consideration to all the material issues raised by local residents in determining the application and that will include taking the advice of technical consultees where required. 

“However, we will not reach our conclusions until a report on the proposed development is presented to the council’s planning committee.”

Oxfordshire County Council supports the position of the Environment Agency.

It said: “While the county council plays a key role in the development planning process, these specialised bodies are responsible for ensuring that land is safe for human health and that groundwater is protected from contamination.”