Iconic Peebles furnishing firm’s 60th birthday

Customers enjoyed cake and fizz as they helped our Northgate store celebrate its diamond anniversary. On November 20 1964, 60 years ago, the manager Sandy Finlayson, aged 24, opened the doors, for the first time, at the three floor furniture, flooring and bedding branch of the family firm founded in 1896. Sandy, a grandson of the family firm’s founding partner Alexander, had joined the company after training as a manager at Patrick Thomson’s in Edinburgh.

In 1964 the Finlayson family saw a chance to expand into a new area of business with the purchase of the former Freer Smith’s auction rooms. They set about about creating three floors of Furniture, Bedding & Flooring which Sandy managed.

On Saturday 16th November, the closest to the actual anniversary, members of Castle Warehouse staff including Kate Jones (née Finlayson), her brother, the current manager of the Northgate branch Robert Finlayson, Chris Green and Colin Millar, cut a 60th anniversary cake, made by Forsyths, to celebrate the momentous occasion. Sandy’s son Robert also marked 31 years in the Northgate this year since joining his dad in 1993.

Perhaps one of the store’s most often repeated stories about a sale, is that of ‘hell-raising’ actor Oliver Reed ordering a Castle Warehouse armchair in 1996. In 1996 Reed was in Peebles to film ‘The Bruce’ and his favourite watering hole was The Crown where he became great pals with the owner Peter Cassidy. Reed was not happy with the chairs in the bar, often complaining to Mr Cassidy about the “hardness of the seats.” One day Reed thrust a bundle of notes into the hand of a regular and ordered him: “Go along to the local furniture store, Castle Warehouse and buy the pub a properly comfortable armchair.” The regular returned walking along the street with the chair balanced on his head. The chair, reupholstered a few times, still sits by the fire, beneath a photo of Mr Cassidy and Reed, who passed away in 1999. Mr Cassidy’s son Chris, the current landlord, who was a young boy at the time the chair was installed recalled: “One of my jobs was laying the fire but one day I forgot to do it. “Reed was giving a talk at the Burgh Hall about the making of the film. Whoever laid the fire added Reed’s £300 Italian leather shoes and I found the remains the next day.”