Banks Lyon shoe shop in Church Street is now on to the fourth generation of owners, since Jonathan Banks-Lyon took over from his father 25 years ago.

The shop was first opened by Jonathan's great-grandparents in 1887 in North Road, before moving to Church Street in 1921.

In that time it has built up a reputation for offering high quality shoes with matching customer service.

"Once you become established you get a loyal customer base," said Jonathan's wife Gill. "In order to survive you have to find your niche in the market. People perceive that we are very expensive and we do have expensive shoes but equally we have cheaper shoes too; we do try to cover a wide range.

"The crucial thing is to become more adaptable and fashionable. A few years ago people had the impression that we were old-fashioned but we have tried to bring a bit of fashion in."

This has been helped in no small part by the media, Gill believes.
"Sex and the City brought shoes and bags much more into people's minds and now suddenly carrying the right handbag and wearing the right shoes has become very important to people," she said.

"We see people who have been shopping in Manchester and come back to us."

The shop has outlived many other shoe shops which have come and gone in Lancaster in recent years, and the couple believe they can still offer more than a chain store to today's discerning shopper.

"Being a small independent shop you win on customer service," Gill said.

"It's about having that experience and expertise, and it's also largely down to dogged determination. This is our life and we have got to work at it.

"We have got to know our customer base and what they like and have a good rapport with them, so we can buy something knowing there's a particular person who will like it.

"We are also very fortunate in having good staff who we know will go the extra mile, and customers like that – they want to come in and feel relaxed.

"It should be a pleasure to buy shoes, not a pain."