About Us

Thorpes of Gosforth since 1947

You may or may not be aware that Thorpes of Gosforth ltd is a third generation family business. Our grandfather, a radio engineer, opened the business in 1947 at 110 High Street Gosforth and since then both shop and business have grown, extending into the ex bakery at 112 High Street.  In more recent times we have extended the shop and are now expanding yet again through the internet with the launch of our Fireside Shop e-commerce website.

Over the years the market and competition has changed considerably.  A number of years ago we realised the way forward was not only to have a reputation of “if you can’t get it at Thorpe’s you won’t get it anywhere” but also to specialise in certain niche markets.

Our first specialisation was key cutting, we now have a reputation for carrying an extensive stock of blanks and cutting keys that work! We felt the obvious development from key cutting was engraving and now offer everything from a simple pet disc through to house nameplate signs.

A few years ago we decided to move into fireside accessories as more and more people started to open up their real fires.  This has proved to be such a success that we now offer this range for sale on our web site at www.thefiresideshop.co.uk

We still aim to provide a very comprehensive stock of traditional hardware products and are always prepared to go that extra mile to help customers track down those ‘elusive’ items. There is a “contact us” facility on the website and we invite you to get in touch and let us know what you are looking for. You can also use this facility to e-mail orders for delivery if you live in the NE2, NE3 or NE13 post code areas.

Thorpes of Gosforth also prides itself in offering the highest standard of ‘good old fashioned’ customer service available today, and we would welcome any comments or criticisms through our contact us page on any aspect of our business.