Liberty Shopping Hall: The Great Oaks Shops
Great Oaks History:123456 Part 3 of the complete Great Oaks history, covering liberty shopping hall: the great oaks shops.
From Tesco to an Indoor Shopping Hall
After Tesco left the large Great Oaks supermarket unit, the building was converted into an indoor arcade called Liberty Shopping Hall. It officially opened in May 1984 and covered about 32,000 square feet. Contemporary local-history records describe roughly 70 small shops and stalls operating within the hall.
Why It Was Called Liberty Hall
The name was taken from an older property called Liberty Hall that had once stood in Hotwater Lane, on or close to the area later occupied by the Great Oaks development. The shopping hall therefore reused a name from the landscape that existed before the New Town.
What Could You Buy There?
Liberty Shopping Hall was very different from a conventional chain-store parade. Its small units supported specialist and independent traders selling music, computers, clothes, jewellery, home furnishings, model kits, fishing tackle, bicycles, flowers, art, games and unusual services. The surviving directory is not a perfect record of all approximately 70 units, but it preserves a substantial list of named traders.
M.J's Music
Music and records; later relocated to East Square.
Matthew Champney
Photographic specialist.
The Crystal Garden
Clairvoyance, tarot and astrology.
Lock-Out (Andy Cutler)
Locksmith services.
St. Luke's Hospice
Second-hand and charity goods; later relocated elsewhere in the town centre.
Collectables
Collectables including banknotes and related items.
Café
Refreshments for shoppers inside the arcade.
Second-hand Records
Used records and music.
Bubbles
Printed T-shirts made to order.
Just Jeans
Jeans and sweatshirts.
Dried Flowers
Potpourri, dried flowers and basketware.
Sun Flair
Swimwear, shorts and beachwear.
KTP Kitchens To Please
Fitted kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.
Just Weddings
Bridal accessories.
Del's Music
Music retailer; recorded in more than one Liberty Hall unit.
C Fashion Jewellery
Women's fashion jewellery.
Mansworld
Menswear.
Steve Taylor
Tattooing and piercing.
Home Art Sales
Oil paintings, posters and picture frames.
Software Plus
Computer software, games and video.
Basildon Software Centre
Computer software.
Ladies Fashion Shoes
Shoes, handbags and sports bags.
Basildon Reproduction Centre
Reproduction furniture and French polishing.
Pete's Paint & Paper
Wallpaper and paint.
Perfect Timing
Watches and lighters.
The Model Shop
Airfix, Hornby, skateboards and model-related goods.
Gaggle of Games
Games.
Nirvana
Second-hand goods.
Pen & Ink
Writing accessories.
Cycle Shop
Bicycles and cycling goods.
Rods, Tackle & Sports
Fishing tackle and sporting goods.
Reynolds
Clothing.
Barram Jewellers
Jewellery.
Paragon Electronics
Electronic goods and specialist electronics.
The Draper's House
Curtains and linens.
Townsend Florist
Flowers for all occasions.
A Very 1980s Shopping Experience
The mixture of computer software, records, model kits, specialist clothing, home improvements and collectables reflected the independent-shopping culture of the 1980s and early 1990s. Some traders later moved elsewhere in Basildon when Liberty Hall declined, including businesses that relocated to East Square, South Walk and Basildon Market.
Closure
Liberty Shopping Hall closed during the 1990s. The large building did not disappear: it returned to a single large retail format and became associated with QD, preserving the footprint of the original Great Oaks Tesco beneath the wider former cinema complex.
Great Oaks History:123456