I hadn’t really planned on this post, but after finding this pic of Ayr’s current Marks & Spencer shop in the High Street, I was infuriated as I tried to find some reference online to the old store, which lay only a few yards (sorry, metres) to the left of this view, and was abandoned when they built their ‘bigger and better’ new premises.
The old place limped on for a few years after that, becoming The Forum, an indoor shopping market.
In the past, I’ve come across a few pics of the High Street which still showed the old place standing, but these were undated.
I should probably be able to have a reasonable stab at a date, having been there (as a tiny) when it was still standing, and can even, somehow, claim to vaguely remember The Forum. However, that’s as far as I can go, which means Marks & Spencer must have moved/reopened at some time during the 1970s, but I can’t be any more specific than that.
If YOU know any dates, these would be appreciated – there’s a comments section below.
These pics, I can be sure about, having caught them in February of 2023.
The new Marks & Spencer is obvious, behind the Auld Brig.
Less obvious is its former location, however that can be easily identified, as it lay almost on the site of the new Cutty-Sark Centre, the light, low building to centre right.
Secret Scotland 