With shock news that W Hurst and Son is closing two branches, and possibly a third, the County Press takes a look back at where it all began for the historic retailer...
The story of Hurst started in 1859 when Charles Wheeler opened a foundry.
The business mainly supplied materials and carried out implement repairs to the then booming farming industry.
Scroll through the historic photos above
Read more: W Hurst and Son: Shop closures and job fears — everything we know
Originally operating at Pan until 1886, he eventually moved to Holyrood Street, in Newport.
Branching out, he supplied farm machinery, fences, gates and even milking machines - this being in the days when horsepower was the norm.
Incidentally, Hurst supplied milking machines right up to the 1960s, and also until the 1960s shoeing the horses for the prisons on the Island, and still employing three blacksmiths.
Evidence of the foundry's work can still be found across the Island, with drain covers and some gratings stamped with the name of Hurst.
During the First World War attention was turned to producing metal parts for the war effort.
Following the war the company rapidly expanded, and by this time had acquired a yard in Sea Street where they stored Calor gas supplies for the Island, being the main dealer.
It was under the skilled leadership of Harry Chivers and Robin McLaughlin that this period of successful expansion took place.
Branches were opened in Ryde, Cowes, Shanklin, Ventnor and Freshwater, and the Newport flagship store upgraded and extended.
By this time, household goods and many other lines had boosted the range of stock in order to keep up with the changing demand of the buying public.
Today, Hurst is well-known for having items that seem unavailable elsewhere, or some personally informed advice that seems so hard to obtain from other outlets.
Traditional local Island businesses must survive by local support, as they fight against increasing national competition from all sources, and as the saying goes 'Use it or lose it'.
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