Theobald Sewing Machines is moving out of Luton after nearly 70 years

Robert with his parents outside the shop on Wellington Street before it moved to the other side of the street

Theobald Sewing Machines Limited is moving out of Luton after nearly 70 years of business in Wellington Street.

Owners Robert and Silvia Theobald decided to move their business down to Dorset once their lease expired in April, since then they have been busy packing up the family business.

Theobald Sewing Machines has been in the family since the 1950’s and the couple will be sad to say goodbye to the town and their customers.

Robert, 71, said: “We are moving down to the seaside this month, after nearly 70 years in town, I believe we may have been the last business of this type in Luton.

Theobalds Sewing Machines - a pen and ink drawing of our shop

“We have been in Wellington Street since 1951, maybe even before that, the lease is now up on this building and we both fancied a change, so we decided to move down to Weymouth.

“Over the years we have noticed a lot of changes, the nature of Wellington Street has changed, as have people’s shopping habits.

“When I was young you could buy everything you needed on this street, from clothes and groceries to furniture and shoes, now it is much more restricted.”

The company was formed during the Second World War by Robert’s father, Mr J F Theobald, the shop caters for all sewing machine needs and will continue to run the website from Weymouth.

Robert added: “We would like to thank our customers for their custom over the years and we hope we have provided a good service for them, I think we have, we have stood the test of time being here so long.”