Our History

Gerry volunteered for the RAF and spent most of the next five years in India before returning to Lichfield and rejoining his father.

In the early 1950's Sidney retired and George decided to expand and go into retailing. The front of the Lombard Street premises was refitted and the new shop was called SMITHS. In 1955 George expanded further and bought The Friary Cafe opposite the Friary School in St.John Street which he set about turning into The Friary Shoe Shop. His daughter Vanessa joined him in the early 1960's and became the third generation to be involved.

At the end of 1965 the original Lombard Street (Smiths) shop was sold and it eventually became a pet shop.

The move into a new unit in City Arcade took place in 1968 and a second next door unit, formally Henri the Hairdressers, was obtained the six years later.

By the end of the 1970's George's health was declining so in 1980 he retired and Vanessa and her husband Mel took over. In 1981 they purchased a second shop over in Uttoxeter which today is still trading successfully. As a result of this acquisition the name of the business was changed from The Friary Shop to Friary Shoes.

By 1985 the Lichfield shop was proving too small and they managed to obtain a further two adjacent units, formally a Chinese restaurant, which doubled the available space. Friary Shoes continued to grow and in 1995 their son Adam joined the business, bringing with him a number of years experience managing shoe shops all over the country. Further expansion took place in 1999 when two more units, originally occupied by Network Clothing, were added and a major refit carried out to create an ultra modern shop suitable for trading in the 21st century.

Over the next 10 years Adam gradually took on more responsibility and Mel and Vanessa retired from the business in 2006. Adam was then joined in the business by his wife Tracey. Tracey had already worked in retail for almost 20 years managing department stores. Together they continued to work hard with the team to drive the business forward.

In 2013 Friary Shoes moved to it's current location in the Three Spires Shopping centre.

Friary Shoes is now the oldest independently original family owned retail outlet in Lichfield having been trading for 120 years. Retail has changed so much in the last 10 years with the trend towards online shopping, the impact of Brexit and then the closure of non essential shops during Covid, it has been a difficult few years. However with the help of an amazing team Adam and Tracey are determined to carry on the Friary Shoes Brand.  They continue to look at new ways of improving the business but not forgetting their traditional values.