100-year-old family-owned news shop closes for final time

By Tom Bevan

A newsagent that has been run by the same family for over 100 years has closed for the final time.

Historic store GW Hurley Newsagents was set up back in 1919 and was still being run by the founder's grandson Colin Morris, 80, who was born above it.

Colin had been getting up for work every day at 5am to work behind the counter at the store in Burnham-On-Sea, Somerset, but Saturday saw his last shift.

Grandfather Colin, who announced his retirement, got his first job working there as a paper delivery boy when he was eight, and celebrated his 80th birthday on May 1.

He said it has been hard work to keep the shop going amid changing shopping habits and the rise of online retail.

It marks the end of an era for the historic store that will now be turned into a community hub for local mental health charity In Charley’s Memory.

He said: "My parents ran the business for 20 years and then I took it over, and I have been here ever since - it feels like an eternity.

"I'm getting too old and my legs are getting tired."

Colin was the third generation to run the shop, after his grandparents Mable Hurley and Gilbert Wesley Morris, and then his mother and father, Fhyllis Morris and Harold Morris.

He was running the store with his wife, Monika and had been working seven days a week.

He would wake up at 4:30am to start at the store for 5am, and then finish up at 6pm and return home for 7pm - apart from Sundays when he finished at 1pm for a half day.

He added: "I certainly cannot complain, and I have lots of laughs over the years!"

His wife Monika thanked the local community for its support over the years.

She added: "We thank all our loyal customers for their support over the years A lot of people are sad to see the newsagent closing but are happy to see the premises being taken over by such a great charity.

“The newsagent is a long-standing family shop in Burnham and we have received so many positive messages of support. This will be a well-deserved retirement for Colin, who has been unwell for several months.”

She added: “Locals have been saying they are so pleased that it will be replaced with a charity that is well followed and supported. It won’t be a charity shop — it will be a community hub and will involve the local community, helping to boost footfall and benefit the town center. It’s a really positive use and Colin is at ease with it.”

In Charley’s Memory provides vital mental health support to over 200 young people across Somerset each week. Its move into the building comes after the charity was told it must vacate its current base in Highbridge due to the property being sold.

Dawn Carey, CEO of In Charley’s Memory (ICM), says that after a period of uncertainty, the charity is “absolutely delighted” to have secured a 15-year lease for the new premises, thanks to the support of Monica and Colin.

She said: “I want to personally thank Monica and Colin for their support and determination to provide ICM a home in what is a very important building to them, and to the history of our High Street.”

”The level of support we have received is a testament to how much our community values the work we do here at ICM.”