A legendary name in Morecambe antiques will be closing its doors after more than 50 years of business in the town.
Tyson's Antiques will be shutting up shop after the retirement of its owners George and Andrew Tyson.
The family business has been operating in the town since 1968, said Andrew, whose father George started out as a scrap dealer in Morecambe when he was a teenager.
Listen to Andrew Tyson talking about the history of Tyson's Antiques:
"Dad started out when he was just 14 years old," said Andrew.
"He also drove landaus on the promenade and he was also dealing in antiques at a young age.
"It wasn't Tyson's Antiques until about 1968. The first shop was on Poulton Road, the corner shop, and we dealt from there, and above the fruiterers at the back of the New Inn.
"From there, we bought a shop at the other end of Poulton Market. It was very busy at times. Coachloads coming into town. The market was fantastic. But then it moved to the Promenade and all the shops shut down. I used to go with my dad when I was 18 months old on the horse-drawn landau. I worked with my dad right through my childhood. I left school at 14 and went straight into the job.
"I was buying antiques when I was six or seven. Then when I was 17, my dad said get on that road, and go get something bought up north, So I was the first in the family to go travelling around, buying. And it built up from there.
"We ended up buying this building from Pye Motors (on Clark Street) in 1985, and we've been here ever since.
"We've lived in this vicinity, within half a mile of Poulton, all our lives.
"As a mainly trade-only warehouse we've done a lot of exports. We do a lot with the Japanese, but they haven't been able to fly over because of Covid, so I've continued to send them photographs and they've bought off my photographs because they've trusted us. And it's kept us going.
"My dad had to retire from the job last year. He's 89 this year and he was still lifting all the furniture up until just over a year ago, but he got a bit unsteady and I had to stop him. But he misses it a lot.
"I've been doing this for 50 years. I'm 64 this time and I've just got a bit too much pain in my back, so I've decided it's time for me to be closing the doors and clearing my stock."
The warehouse on Clark Street, opposite where Morecambe fire station used to be, is a treasure trove of furniture, clocks, paintings and other antique items, packed to the rafters on two floors. See below for a peek inside the warehouse!
But Andrew is confident he will be able to clear it all.
"It's going to take me months, but I've got a lot of good customers who have been and are trying to buy as much as they can.
"I've told all the auctioneers that I attend, that I'm closing. They were all a bit sorry to see us go, because we really did buy a lot at auctions.
"It's the end of an era.
"We've shipped all over the world, America, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Korea, we have a lot of friends over there.
"But we don't take holidays. It's 15 years since I had my last holiday.
"I think my wife has been very very understanding!"
Listen to more of our interview with Andrew Tyson here:
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