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The legendary 'Shop at Binns' slogan (as seen here adorning preserved former Northern General Transport AEC Routemaster, 2105) was a familiar sight on buses throughout north east England for a number of decades up until the mid-1980s.

From the 'Sunderland Echo' website, some information on the store itself:

The legendary store was founded as a draper by George Binns in 1811, and was the forerunner of a Binns empire which stretched the length of the country.

Initially based in High Street, the shop was moved first to Villiers Street, and then to High Street West in 1856, as the shopping district moved steadily westwards.

By 1884, with George's grandson, Joseph John Binns in charge, it was all change as two houses in Fawcett Street were converted into a new store. The firm then became a limited liability company in 1897, known as H Binns, Son & Co Ltd, and was employing a staff of 30 just two years later.

The next 20 years saw the store expand rapidly, with the Binns family buying up almost the entire block on Sunderland's Fawcett Street to store and sell their merchandise.

Binns stores throughout the North of England and Scotland were flourishing by 1920, while 1921 found the firm trading from both sides of Fawcett Street too.

The "Hungry Thirties" saw Binns survive the recession by aggressive marketing, even chartering special buses to bring the customers in. And, despite major damage during the bombing raids of World War Two, the firm rose from the ashes in 1949, with work starting on a new five-storey building.

Just a month after re-opening in March 1953, however, it was taken over by House of Fraser – going on to become a flagship of the business. Expansion followed in 1958, when work on a four-storey building started. A spiral staircase leading up to the furniture department was a feature of the new shop. An underground subway was also created to link the stores, so that shoppers could move between both Binns shops without having to cross the busy road.

The subway cost £15,000 and, in 1962, was the only one of its type in the North East. Today, it is thought to still exist – but is not in public use.

The Al Fayed brothers took over the firm in 1985 and, following a drop in customer numbers over the next few years, the east side store was closed in April, 1989.

Eventually, however, the decision was taken to close Binns for good in 1993 – to the sadness and disbelief of its many loyal customers. The move brought the loss of 140 jobs and was blamed on the recession and the House of Fraser at the MetroCentre.

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