ONE of the area's most loved stores has gone on the market after 47 years of supplying customers with gardening equipment, tools and houseware items.

Launceston Hardware Centre has an extensive range of quirky and long-established products, from blocks of carbolic soap and beanpoles to bee escapes and work boots — not forgetting the Reckitt's Crown Blue soap!

But the family business, run by Anne Bickle, will come to an end over the next few months, due to a combination of unforeseen and unfortunate family circumstances.

The store has been owned by the Bickle family since May 1968, when Claude Bickle and his son Brian opened the premises on Southgate Street.

Claude and Brian were already familiar with running a hardware store, having owned a shop in Newport Square from 1946. In 1965, Claude decided to retire and that business was sold.

Eighteen months down the line, Claude and Brian set to work on a new venture, visiting hardware stores across the county gathering ideas for a new, more modern store in Launceston.

Brian's son, Richard, lives and works in Birmingham, but returns to the store during holidays to help out.

He recalled his father's and grandfather's story: "He sold the Newport store to Mr Gibbons, but after 18 months of retirement he was bored out of his mind so he decided to look at a new business, but he couldn't do anything until the time was up on the non-complete sale period.

"At the time, granddad and dad toured the county looking at hardware centres and getting ideas to become the most modern."

Eventually, the former Co-op butchers on Southgate Street was purchased and transformed into Launceston Hardware Centre. A small piece of lino flooring from the original building still remains at the foot of the staircase, which now leads to the flat above.

In an extract written by Brian, he said: "The Hardware Centre opened in May 1968 with just dad [Claude] and myself with an opening offer of 10% off everything, and one of our first customers bought some cutlery."

Richard added: "When they opened there were four hardware shops in Launceston, but by the mid-1980s this was the only hardware shop in town. Having started off in a small way, by the mid-1980s they had seven staff."

Following Brian's death three years' ago, his wife, Anne, has been running the business, and the store has remained very much the same. Shelves are neatly lined with brown boxes full of screws and spare parts, with traditional scales on the counter in order to weigh the desired amount. Tools hang from the walls, teapots trail next to each other and nestled out the back are fork handles —and four candles!

Anne said: "Customers still come in with the four candles joke, at least once a week."

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.