The company had its origins in 1853, with a Sunderland draper, Robert Newlands, whose business, originally, was in Green Street.
In 1881, it was taken over by a Charles Pearson who, in 1896, sold it to Thomas Allen. He, in turn, went into partnership with a chap called Johnson in 1911, at the same time as acquiring premises at 84-94 Laygate and 2-6 John Williamson Street.
Allen died in 1924, leaving Johnson in sole control. The store in John Williamson Street was rebuilt in 1934 and, round about the same time, further premises were added at Laygate and in Princes Street.
In 1937, Allen's also opened a branch at 157-159 Prince Edward Road, to serve the by-then substantial community at Cleadon Park. One of Allen's oddest acquisitions, however, had to be the old Tivoli Theatre at Laygate, bits of which it absorbed over time until, by the late 1940s, the old playhouse and cinema had become a whole department devoted to furniture and carpet showrooms.
Interestingly, also after the war, Allen's committed itself to a new store on the site of Crofton's, on the corner of King Street and the Market Place, which had been destroyed during an air raid in 1941, but by the early 1950s, it seems it had pulled out of the scheme.
Subsequently, over time, the whole Allen's concern gradually contracted, until only the Laygate store remained, becoming Hedley Young's in the early 1970s.
Allen & Co.
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Material
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Bronze
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Filename
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TAS001
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Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. ½D
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Rev.
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. ½D
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Size (mm)
|
|
Weight (gram)
|
|
Notes
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No dot below D
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Source
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© malj1 Collection
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Material
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Bronze
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Filename
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TAS002
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Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 1D.
|
Rev.
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 1D.
|
Size (mm)
|
33.2
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Weight (gram)
|
|
Notes
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Source
|
agoodall
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Material
|
Red plastic
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Filename
|
TAS002a
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Description
|
ALLEN & Co / SOUTH SHIELDS / LTD. / 1D.
|
Rev.
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ALLEN & Co / SOUTH SHIELDS / LTD. / 1D.
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Size (mm)
|
|
Notes
|
DNW's auction on August 27th 2020, lot 712
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Source
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agoodall
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Material
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Brass clad
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Filename
|
TAS003
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Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 3D.
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Rev.
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ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 3D.
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Size (mm)
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27.6-28.0
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Weight (gram)
|
6.12-6.92
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Notes
|
Photo shows two different tokens
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Source
|
agoodall
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Material
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Copper-Nickel
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Filename
|
TAS004
|
Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 6D.
|
Rev.
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ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 6D.
|
Size (mm)
|
21
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Weight (gram)
|
|
Notes
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Source
|
agoodall
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Material
|
Copper-Nickel
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Filename
|
TAS005
|
Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 1/-
|
Rev.
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 1/-
|
Size (mm)
|
|
Weight (gram)
|
|
Notes
|
|
Source
|
agoodall
|
|
Material
|
Copper-Nickel
|
Filename
|
TAS006
|
Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 2/-
|
Rev.
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 2/-
|
Size (mm)
|
|
Weight (gram)
|
|
Notes
|
|
Source
|
agoodall
|
|
Material
|
Copper-Nickel
|
Filename
|
TAS007
|
Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 5/-
|
Rev.
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 5/-
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Size (mm)
|
36.5
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Weight (gram)
|
12.64
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Notes
|
|
Source
|
agoodall
|
|
Material
|
Brass
|
Filename
|
TAS008
|
Description
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 10/-
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Rev.
|
ALLEN & Co / (SOUTH SHIELDS) / LTD. 10/-
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Size (mm)
|
16.6
|
Weight (gram)
|
2.16
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Notes
|
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Source
|
agoodall
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