NUMBER 1 BUILDINGS

This page is about buildings which claim to be the oldest, the biggest or the first of their kind.

The first and last house

This building at Lands End is the first and the last house on the UK mainland.

 

The Oldest Post Office

 



Dating to 1712, the Post Office at Sanquhar in Scotland is said to be the oldest one in the world.

 

 



 



The oldest Chemist's shop

A chemist’s shop in the Market Place in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, has been in continuous use since 1720. It claims to be the oldest chemist’s shop in England.

Scotland’s Oldest Pharmacy

Thomas Hetherington’s in the High Street at Moffat is said to be the oldest pharmacy in Scotland. It has been in continuous use since it was established in 1844. The original premises have been maintained with some modern modifications. Since 2007 it has been a Co-operative Pharmacy.

The Oldest Sweet Shop


Dating to c.1828, The Olde Sweet Shop in Pateley Bridge is said to be the
oldest Sweet Shop in England.

The largest fish and chip shop

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world’s largest fish and chip shop is Harry Ramsden’s at Guiseley in West Yorkshire, with more than 1,000,000 customers per annum. Harry Ramsden, a man of great vision, opened his fish and chip shop in a small wooden hut at Guiseley Cross in 1928 at a time when fish and chips were the staple diet of most of the working class population and there was a fish and chip shop at the corner of most streets. The business prospered and Ramsden was able to build a much larger shop nearby to include a luxurious 200 seater fish restaurant. Despite the success of the restaurant, Harry did not loose sight of the importance of the take-away side of the business where the food was cooked to perfection due to Harry’s meticulous planning and cleanliness. Everything had to be, and was, spot on. Starting with just an outside bench for take away customers to sit on, Harry soon provided a few tables and chairs and eventually had the area roofed over to further ensure the comfort of those customers, finally providing cups of tea to complement the meal. Ramsden also provided a delivery service by motor bike and sidecar to provide bulk orders to the nearby factories. Some 10,000 people turned out when Harry Ramsden had his last big fry, at original prices, before he retired and the business was sold. The business, now a national concern, still prospers and has extended to many parts of the globe. Harry Ramsden’s original hut can still be seen behind the Guiseley emporium.

In 2012 the premises were renovated and became 'The Wetherby Whaler'.

 The opulant restaurant

Cragside


This revolutionary house ,at Rothbury in Northumberland, was built by Victorian inventor, Lord Armstrong, a wonder of its age and full of ingeious gadgets. Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit by hydro-electricity. Built on a rocky crag it is surrounded by one of the largest
rock gardens in Europe.
The property is now in the care of The National Trust.