Published: 09:57, 18 August 2026

Staff at TG Jones in South Street, Bishop’s Stortford, have been told the store will close on Saturday, October 3.

This week, an “everything must go” sale commenced in preparation for the departure of the retailer that sells books, stationery, newspapers, magazines, cards, and confectionery

Modella Capital, which bought and rebranded WH Smith's high street businesses in 2025, has confirmed a rescue plan which will shut up to 150 outlets, including Bishop’s Stortford. There are currently 451 stores employing 4,700 workers.

In addition to the closures, around 120 landlords will receive no rent for up to three years, and rent will be slashed at other stores by between 15% and 75%.

In the High Court, Modella claimed the plans were critical to the survival of TG Jones, and the judge agreed that the restructuring was “the lesser of two evils”.

In 2017, East Herts Council granted planning permission to split the 1 South Street shop into two retail units, but the work never took place.

The site was the location for Bishop’s Stortford’s first movie theatre, The Cinema, which opened on February 10, 1912.

It was bought by Ernest Smith, who also owned Saffron Walden's cinema, in 1916. After the First World War, he modified it and reopened the premises in 1919.

It was so popular that in 1929 he bought a plot of land to build a second, more up-to-date cinema. The 999-seat Regent, designed by E M Allen-Hallett and built by local builder F Cannon & Son, was officially opened on November 9, 1931, by Hertford MP Rear Admiral Murray Sueter.

To ensure it succeeded, Mr Smith shut The Cinema – or “flea pit”, as it had become known – but reopened it as The Phoenix in 1935 with 500 seats. However, by the 1950s it was surplus to requirements once again.

* Historical information is taken from Paul Ailey's www.stortfordhistory.co.uk website and Joe G Smith's book, The Story of Bishop's Stortford's Cinema.