The original St Giles Hospice shop frontage in Lichfield

A Lichfield charity shop is getting ready to celebrate 30 years of business.

The St Giles Hospice store, on Tamworth Street, was the first in a string of branches to open up across the region.

The original St Giles Hospice shop in Lichfield
The original St Giles Hospice shop frontage in Lichfield

It was the brainchild of Whittington resident Frances Lang and took £1,000 in its first week of trading.

Since then, the charity has created a network of 31 shops across the region, including its original outlet, staffed by 900 volunteers. It also has a warehouse facility in Shenstone.

Lynwen Truesdale, head of retail for St Giles Hospice, said: “Our shops play a hugely important role in raising the money we need to ensure our caring services remain free of charge for those who need them – and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Frances Lang for laying the foundations for our success, and to the many volunteers who give their time to support us.

The St Giles Hospice shop in Lichfield
The St Giles Hospice shop in Lichfield

“We’d also like to say a special thank you to all of our fantastic customers and everyone who has donated to a St Giles Hospice Shop these past 30 years, because it’s only through their support that we’ve been able to achieve so much.”

St Giles is planning a series of celebrations to mark the anniversary throughout the year, including a party at the original Lichfield store in June.

A report following the decision to open the first branch explained: “The whole concept of a hospice shop was born out of a desire to provide a continual, reliable source of income without having constant recourse to local people, using again and again the traditional small scale fund raising methods, admirable and important in the community though these are.

“Good quality second hand clothes make up the bulk of the stock but books, china, kitchen utensils, silver, jewellery, antique items and bric a brac generally have become specialities and we pride ourselves on the good selection always available.”

For more details on the St Giles Hospice Shops visit www.stgileshospice.com/shops.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.