SIMPSONS was a famous Darlington sports shop, whose bags amazingly went all around the world, but they also played a part in the missing bit of Binns.

The department store wraps around High Row and Blackwellgate, but, if you look up on Blackwellgate, you will see there's a bit that doesn't quite match - and that's because the home of Simpsons held out against the developer for 20 years.

The Northern Echo: Looking down Blackwellgate in the early 1930s, just before Simpsons came to occupy the building on the right

Looking down Blackwellgate in the early 1930s, just before Simpsons came to occupy the building on the right

Simpsons was started in 1936 by David Simpson in Blackwellgate, and when its landlord did eventually succumb to the pressure of Binns, the sports shop moved to Post House Wynd.

The Northern Echo: David Simpson in the sports shop in about 1940 - the cricket bats behind him are priced at 30 shillings and 11s 6d

David Simpson in the sports shop in about 1940 - the cricket bats behind him are priced at 30 shillings and 11s 6d

“At that time, the town supported two other sports shops: Horace Armstrong in Bondgate and Paul Carey in Skinnergate,” says Guy Simpson, the son of the sports shop founder. “But Simpsons saw off the opposition, shrewdly anticipating the boom in gear for walkers and mountaineers.

“One of the famous customers was the great Brian Blessed, who was starring in a play at the Civic, who came to buy some boots. He announced his arrival in typical booming Blessed tones and took over the shop!”

The Northern Echo: Simpsons encouraged customers to take their bags and send them pictures of the bags in exotic parts of the world

One of the most famous aspects of Simpsons was its plastic bags (above). In the days before you were charged 10p for a bag, Simpsons bags were handed out to quite freely as a clever promotional tool.

“Adventurous customers would fly the Simpson's "flag" on the mountain tops of the world and send their pictures back to Post House Wynd, so the little business really did have global reach!” says Guy, whose brother, David, took on running the shop while he became one of the first journalists employed by Sir Harold Evans, the legendary editor of The Northern Echo, to cover the “beat” teenage scene of the 1960s.

Not all the memories are so happy.

The Northern Echo: The front of Simpsons in Post House Wynd in 1982. There has clearly been a disaster as the window is boarded up - perhaps this was a fire

The front of Simpsons in Post House Wynd in 1982. There has clearly been a disaster as the window is boarded up - perhaps this was a fire

“I remember one night 35 years ago when someone broke into the warehouse at the back, through the roof, they couldn’t find the light switch so set some cardboard alight to see by,” says Torben Simpson, grandson of the founder. “This ended up with a huge fire and half of the stock being damaged.

“Several fire tenders and police cars blocked Post House Wynd to put out the fire and I ended up staying up all night to guard the shop as the alarm was no longer functioning.”

When the second David Simpson retired in 2007, a new owner took the business on, but it closed soon after.

The Northern Echo: Binns, or House of Fraser, today. There's a section without ornamentation which was added in 1973 because the owners of the building in which Simpsons Sports started held out against the department store which was built around it

Binns, or House of Fraser, today. There's a section without ornamentation which was added in 1973 because the owners of the building in which Simpsons Sports started held out against the department store which was built around it

SIMPSONS has left another lasting impression on the street scene of Darlington – if you look up to see it.

Its first shop in Blackwellgate was the last building to hold out against the Binns department store which was built on the corner of Blackwellgate and High Row in 1925. It was in the white brick style made famous by Selfridges of Oxford Street, London.

Any properties that Binns had been unable to buy, it simply built around. On High Row, Sidgwick’s drapery had obstinately refused to sell and in Blackwellgate, T Woods and Boots also refused to shift.

Sidgwick’s and Boots caved in around 1935, and were immediately rebuilt by Binns in the white brick style so you can barely see the join, but T Wood, a photographer in marvellous mock-timber building, held out. It was in this building that Simpsons became established, with Binns on both sides of it, and behind.

The photographer finally sold to Binns in 1953, forcing Simpsons to move to Post House Wynd.

However, it wasn’t until 1973 that the department store rebuilt the mock-timber photographer’s to fit in with the white brick department store.

The construction required Europe’s largest crane, 175ft high with a 150ft jib, which needed 200 tons of concrete ballast to keep it upright as it dropped in the steel girders and the escalators.

Binns blended it in terms of colour and scale, but as this was the brutalist 1970s, they couldn’t bring themselves to add adornments or twiddlybits, and so, once you’ve noticed it, this different section stands out like a sore thumb, marking the spot where Simpsons first opened in 1936.