A piece of British television history is up for grabs as the Doncaster property that served as Arkwright’s corner shop in the beloved BBC sitcom Open All Hours is going up for auction. The iconic building, located on Lister Avenue, just south of Doncaster city centre, will be auctioned on 16th October.
Fans of the show will instantly recognise the end-terrace building, which was used for the external shots of Arkwright’s grocer shop. The sitcom, starring the legendary Ronnie Barker as the miserly grocer Arkwright and David Jason as his hapless errand boy Granville, became a classic after airing between 1973 and 1985. The property was once again in the spotlight when the show was revived as Still Open All Hours from 2013 to 2019, following Barker’s death, with Jason’s Granville running the store.
Currently, the building houses a vacant hairdressing salon on the ground floor, with two tenanted, self-contained flats above. It will be sold by Sheffield-based auction house Mark Jenkinson, in partnership with Kembles Estates, with a guide price starting at £150,000.
James Vandenbrook, associate director of Mark Jenkinson, highlighted the building’s significance: “The shop is instantly recognisable from the outside as the backdrop to the drama that played out between Ronnie Barker’s spendthrift grocer Arkwright and his long-suffering errand boy Granville. It really is part of television history, and of course, that has created lots of interest in the sale from potential bidders.”
He added: “It will be interesting to see what happens when the auction closes – and what the next episode will hold for this totally unique end-of-terrace Doncaster property.”
The property narrowly escaped demolition in 2008, after campaigners stepped in to save it. Now, it offers a unique opportunity for fans, investors, or business owners to own a piece of TV heritage.
The Mark Jenkinson auction, featuring 15 Lister Avenue and other lots, will take place online on 16th October. For more details or to bid, visit www.markjenkinson.co.uk.
