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Is The Clothing Warehouse in Hambridge Lane Newbury’s best kept secret?




A bit out of the town centre, there is a shop by the side of the River Kennet chock full of second-hand clothing, shoes, accessories and fabrics.

Regular customers know just how good it is. For those who have never been, it is a treasure trove of affordable fashion waiting to be explored.

Over 30 years, The Clothing Warehouse in Hambridge Lane has quietly become one of Newbury’s most stalwart independent retailers and it has gone from strength to strength over the three decades of its existence.

It is a family-run business that supports dozens of local charities and promotes sustainability, recycling and reusing pre-worn and pre-loved garments.

Sibling pair John and Lisa Cole own and operate The Clothing Warehouse
Sibling pair John and Lisa Cole own and operate The Clothing Warehouse

Sibling pair John and Lisa Cole own and operate The Clothing Warehouse, and they ensure that their sizable shop is constantly stocked with a huge variety of affordable, interesting and unique items of clothing.

John said: “It’s like a giant charity shop, but we know what we’re doing.

“If it’s cheap, it will be cheaply priced, and if it’s worth more we will try and get some more money out of it.

“There’s a lot of it and we like to think the clothing is well presented. There’s no rubbish on the rails.”

The warehouse contains countless rails full of clothes of all types for all ages, sizes and genders.

There are new, vintage, designer and unique items, so there really is something for everyone, if you’re willing to put the time in and look.

John: “You’ve got to be a rummager. You’ve got to be willing to spend that time. It’s not for everyone.”

The warehouse contains countless rails full of clothes of all types for all ages, sizes and genders
The warehouse contains countless rails full of clothes of all types for all ages, sizes and genders

Lisa added: “We have some customers that literally come in every single day because they don’t want to miss something.

“The weirder and more wonderful things are what people are actually looking for.

“If they go into town they’re going to buy something from a shop and everyone’s going to be wearing it, whereas when they come here, because our range is so big, we have all sorts of brands and vintage stuff.

“That is the appeal for a lot of people, especially younger people. They are looking for different stuff. They don’t want generic high street clothes.”

The unique Newbury business has even caught the eye of Hollywood and the royal family.

Film crews making the Harry Potter and Bridget Jones films have sourced costumes from the shop, and Princess Anne is expected to make a visit later this year to commend The Clothing Warehouse on all its charitable efforts over the years.

The Clothing Warehouse receives between 10 and 12 tonnes of new stock every single week
The Clothing Warehouse receives between 10 and 12 tonnes of new stock every single week

John and Lisa’s parents John and Christine Cole set up the business over 30 years ago.

Christine already worked in the rag trade, with stints at Oxfam, before the couple decided to start their own venture.

It began at car boot sales. Both Cole siblings remember most of their childhood Saturday and Sunday mornings being spent at jumble sales throughout the local area, steadily growing what would eventually become the warehouse business.

John said: “They used to pay me for my time, I’d get 10 per cent of the take.

“We had a few rails and then in the end we had a tarp over a market stall with several and it used to do really well.”

Lisa added: “We used to get regulars actually.”

Building on their success at car boots, in 1995 the Coles rented out a small part of a business complex at Hambridge Farm in Hambridge Road.

The former farm used to be divided into several small commercial units and each time a business vacated a unit The Clothing Warehouse would take on the space and grow until eventually it took over the entire complex.

John and Lisa’s parents John and Christine Cole set up the business over 30 years ago and it moved into the Hambridge Farm complex in 1995
John and Lisa’s parents John and Christine Cole set up the business over 30 years ago and it moved into the Hambridge Farm complex in 1995

At one time the business had a shop in Newbury town centre but it didn’t quite take off.

However, the warehouse was still steadily growing and flourishing at its Hambridge home.

John said: “When the landlord sold the land and the buildings, he sold it to my parents.

“Now, the company has bought it off my parents so the company owns it.”

Over the years the two Cole children started taking on more responsibility within the business until eventually their parents retired and John and Lisa took the whole operation on.

The pair thought that reaching 30 years as a family-run, independent retail business was quite an achievement, with Lisa saying: “We aim to be here a while longer yet.”

John added: “If people want to come down and shop and support us then that’s great. The busier we are, the better.”

The Clothing Warehouse in Hambridge Lane
The Clothing Warehouse in Hambridge Lane

The Clothing Warehouse receives between 10 and 12 tonnes of new stock every single week.

To source all this second-hand clothing, it relies on public donations to clothing banks that are partnered with different local organisations that are often charitable.

These partnerships include Bracknell Forest Council and Veolia, the waste management company used by West Berkshire Council, as well as Newbury Cancer Care, Thames Hospice, the Acland Memorial Hall in Cold Ash and Chieveley Recreation Ground.

The clothing banks are located at 50 sites in the local area.

They are often emblazoned with charity branding, and many people think the clothes they are donating at these banks are going to their affiliated charity shops or to the people the charity support.

However, this is not the case.

The Clothing Warehouse collects whatever is inside, takes it back to Hambridge Farm to sort through and clean and then the clothes are displayed and sold on to customers.

The business then gives a lump sum to the various charities it supports every month.

“You’ve got to be a rummager. You’ve got to be willing to spend that time. It’s not for everyone.”
“You’ve got to be a rummager. You’ve got to be willing to spend that time. It’s not for everyone.”

This allows the warehouse to thrive with a constant turnover of stock while charities receive consistent funding without having to lift a finger.

It is almost a round the clock, 365 days of the year operation, with the Coles only closing the shop on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day each year.

Their team of 15 employees is constantly sorting through piles of rag by hand, before making the pieces presentable, pricing them individually and hanging them on one of the numerous rails.

The business has never advertised, and it has managed to spread the word of the good work it does through word of mouth alone for 30 years.

Lisa said: “Our clientele is really varied.

“Some people turn up in their top-of-the-range Range Rovers and others walk here.”

“From the very well off to the poorest”, John added. “You can bring £100 here and get a nice load of stuff, whereas you can go to town and buy two items for that.”



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