For decades, the McIlroys department store was a popular part of Swindon's town centre.
Draper Wiliam McIlroy founded the first of a chain here in 1875 and images from Swindon Libraries' Local Studies archive show signage for our town's site appearing around town as early as 1906.
The Regent Street store also included a famous ballroom which opened in the 1930s - and once hosted The Beatles on July 17, 1962 and The Rolling Stones in 1964 - as well as Swindon's first public lending library which was set up in-store in 1943.
It attracted customers and concert-goers for decades but, unfortunately, competition from national chains like Debenhams and House of Fraser proved too strong and the store announced its closure in 1998.
In the years that followed, both Debenhams and House of Fraser also left the town centre.
Is there anything you would like to see from the Adver or Local Studies archives? Email suggestions to daniel.angelini@newsquest.co.uk
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