Co-operative Store and associated warehouse and hall, built 1937 and opened 1938. It has a plain red brick elevation with Classical and Art Deco touches including quoins, plat band with a central datestone and a stepped parapet with concrete coping. An article in The Newark Advertiser for April 1938 records the opening of the store, which included a 1,200 square foot shop, stocking ‘groceries, hardware, provisions and fruit’. The first floor was identified as ‘the Co-operative Hall’, a large space which was to be available for meetings and other public events. The store was listed as ‘Co-op furniture store’ on a 1969 plan of the town. Co-operative stores were typically owned by the local society, and Newark was no exception with the newspaper article recording that it was the Newark Society who were responsible for the reconstruction. Co-operative store style generally aimed to fit into local surroundings, rather than to impose one uniform design. In this Newark is again typical, reflecting the predominant local use of brick. Its form however has clear Art Deco touches, making it a relatively contemporary design, and the newspaper description makes it clear that originally this was continued on the interior with internal fittings in chrome and Vitrolite (a form of tempered glass). (1)

<1> Historic England, 2024, Newark on Trent, Historic Area Assessment by Historic England (Unpublished document). SNT6029.