ONE of Settle's oldest established shops has announced its closure by the end of the year.

Dawson's of Settle, the hardware shop in the Market Place, is currently having a closing down sale.

Owners Bob and Helen Firth are ceasing trading and are looking for new tenants to take over the property.

The couple, who took over Dawson's from Mrs Firth's father Denys Austin, told the Herald they were looking for a change in direction in their lives, and also blamed a changed trading climate for their decision to pull out of the family business.

Mrs Firth, who is a Craven District councillor and well known for her community activities in Settle, said: "We have been here nearly 24 years and it is time for a change.

"We have never had weekends since we were married, our children have now left home and we are changing our lives.

"Also, this isn't the business it was and trading patterns have changed.

"We are staying in Settle and still remain very supportive of Settle," she added. "We have had some very loyal, very good customers who have been genuinely very sorry to see us go.

"Our staff have been brilliant, we couldn't have asked for better staff and they are being very supportive."

Mrs Firth's involvement in Dawson's has been life long.

Her father bought the business in 1954 and retained the name Dawson's, which it had traded under since at least the end of the 19th century.

It was largely an agricultural engineers when the Austins took over and they then turned more to the domestic hardware market, concentrating largely on the shop after around 12 years.

When Mr and Mrs Firth became more involved, what is now Images and then a workshop was turned into a wood department and the business began to concentrate more on DIY.

In 1986, after Mr Austin went to run Clapham Agricultural Services and his wife, Mavis, decided to retire, Mr and Mrs Firth took over.

Since then Dawson's yard has been transformed, with Images opening up and housing being built on land at the back.

Mrs Firth said: "I found it very hard to start with to make the decision to go.

"Dawson's has been my life since I was three years old. I have enjoyed the social side of it as much as anything else. It really is the end of an era."

Chairman of Settle Chamber of Trade, Tony Price, said he was sad to see Dawson's go, but emphasised that Settle still had a lot to offer with a number of first class businesses in the town.

Settle has a number of long established businesses. Lambert's has been in existence for more than a century, and Sidwell's and Garnett's are among others which have been familiar names in the town for many years.