AN era has ended in Minchinhampton with the closure of FA Wall & Sons electrical store after half a century.
Brothers Eric and Clive Wall shut up shop on Saturday to bring an end to 55 years of the family business.
Many items have been on sale at the Tetbury Street shop in recent days.
Both brothers entered the family business as teenagers after the shop was founded by their late father Frank Wall in 1957.
Frank, who died a year ago aged 94, was the man who brought the first TV set to Stroud.
Leaving school at 14, he became an apprentice at the Western Electricity Co and, at the outbreak of the Second World War, transferred to the RAF.
Frank built the first TV set in the Stroud area, building it from scratch using surplus radar parts. It picked up the weak signal on a green and black screen.
In 1957, Frank set up his electrical business in Chalford. He later moved to "the top shop" in Tetbury Street, Minchinhampton, and then down to its present location in 1965.
Eric and Clive have both worked for more than 40 years in the business, selling electrical goods and "repairing anything with a plug on it".
Now, aged 62 and 67, they are looking forward to retirement.
Trading in recent years has been tougher, said Eric.
"The internet is a big factor, people call in, seek advice then go elsewhere," he said.
