Halon Menswear marks 75 years on Shrewsbury High Street

On Shrewsbury High Street, one shop has been dressing the town's gentlemen for longer than any other still trading under its original name. Halon Menswear, at 46 and 47 High Street, has been marking 75 years in Shrewsbury this summer, and it is investing for the future.

The Halon business was founded in Manchester in 1905, when Wolf Halon opened his first shop making and selling men's hats, caps and detachable shirt collars. The family bought the Shrewsbury shop on 14 July 1951 from Geoffrey Newton Davies. At the time it traded as Vickery and Co, an outfitters that had moved to 46 and 47 High Street in 1929.

The building itself has plenty of history. Number 46 was a public house from at least 1780 until 1910, while number 47 housed a wine merchant, and Charles Darwin would have walked past the same frontage many times.

Loyalty runs through the story. When the Halon family took over in 1951, they kept on a young employee, John Brake, who went on to serve local gentlemen for 50 years until his retirement in 2001. He was joined in 1964 by Jim Hughes, who clocked up 40 years. Customers still drop in to reminisce about John and Jim.

Today the shop is owned by Andrew Prow, who joined the firm at its Manchester branch in 1986 and moved to Shrewsbury in 2004, when the High Street store became the sole focus of the business. All efforts, the shop says, have been concentrated on the one store, with suppliers and manufacturers producing great ranges for it.

Halon is one of the top 12 handpicked Brook Taverner recommended stockists in the UK, and offers a ring and reserve service so customers can try items without obligation. The team prides itself on personal service, and says many customers travel long distances to visit.

The business is far from standing still. A building extension is under way to provide a much larger stockroom, and a new website now brings its traditional tailoring to customers further afield.

Halon Menswear is at 46 and 47 High Street, Shrewsbury. Call 01743 344804 or visit halonmenswear.co.uk.