page_title: Boyes (retailer)
section_title: York
hierarchical_section_title: Boyes (retailer) / History / York
context_page_description: Boyes is a chain of department stores in England. William Boyes founded the firm in 1881 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire and it has been run by generations of the Boyes family ever since.
  The company's slogan is "for good value" and the stores specialise in the discount retail sector, stocking a mixture of regular lines, one off special purchases and clearance items. Boyes stores stock over 30,000 products over a large range including household products, fashion and footwear.
  Its full trading name is W Boyes and Co. Ltd, however the stores trade as "Boyes". It is still owned and family run with Andrew Boyes and his son Richard as joint managing directors. Richard represents the fifth generation of the family.
  The company is based at its head office at Havers Hill in Eastfield. It expanded this site with the purchase of the former Polestar Greaves factory in 2011. It also has a warehouse site at nearby Hopper Hill.
  The stores serve around 250,000 customers a week. They run a twice yearly sale and hold other promotional events.
context_section_description: Boyes opened in York in 1906, on Bridge Street near the River Ouse in a former paint warehouse. The store was destroyed by fire on 8 December 1910. The fire was thought to have begun in the toy department when gas lamps came into contact with Christmas decorations. The fire took six hours to put out, but all staff and customers were safely evacuated. Boyes moved temporarily to Clifford Street whilst their premises were being rebuilt. The fire is estimated to have caused £20,000 of damage.
  There was a delay to the rebuilding of the store in a tragic accident in February 1912. A workman was killed and seven others injured when a clock tower being built collapsed. The store reopened without a clock tower in December 1912.
  The building was extended in 1966, and plans were made for it to be modernised in 1978. However, these plans were not viable and the store closed on 26 February 1983. Boyes returned to York on 15 May 1987 with a smaller store on Goodramgate. Another store within the York city area was opened in Acomb, in April 2015.
caption: Fire at Boyes, Ouse Bridge, York
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