CARLISLE'S last independent high-street shoe shop will shut next month when its owner retires.

McGrath Shoes in Lowther Street stopped selling men's shoes at Christmas and is due to close completely on Saturday August 13, bringing to an end a business that has traded for 95 years.

But the shop will have a new lease of life as jeweller Nicholson & Coulthard moves from its premises in Crosby Street.

McGrath's owner Callum Shiach, 63, said: “It's time to do something different.

"I have two sons but they are not interested in going into the business so I decided to sell.”

There was no prospect of McGrath's continuing as a shoe shop, however.

He added: “The shoe world is getting tougher and tougher. A lot of clothing shops sell shoes now, and shoes are becoming cheaper and cheaper with imports from the Far East, then there is online competition.

“When I started in 1971 there were nine independent shoe shops in Carlisle, now we are the last. Customers are saying, 'Where am I going to buy my shoes?'.”

Six staff will lose their jobs, although three are beyond retirement age and were due to leave anyway.

The business began in 1921 when Joe McGrath, a shoe repairer, reputedly had a big win on the horses and ploughed it into opening a shoe shop at the corner of Warwick Road and Lowther Street, where Aga Carlisle is now.

Over the years it moved to Bank Street, then its present site in Lowther Street. Mr Shiach's mother, Maisie, bought the business in 1970.

He joined the family firm a year later, stayed a year, then spent three years working for a ballet shoe company in London before returning home.

Nicholson & Coulthard expects to open in McGrath's premises in early September.

Owner Martin Coulthard said: “We are looking to expand the business in a more visible location.

"When we saw an independent business leaving, we thought it would be good for the city and good for our business to replace it.”

Nicholson & Coulthard was founded by Mr Coulthard's father, Alec, 46 years ago. It employs nine people who will transfer to the new shop.

Mr Coulthard added: “We are the only jeweller in Carlisle with working goldsmiths and engravers on site.

"We are hoping that the new location will bring us to the attention of a wider audience.

“We don't get involved in fashion brands. We provide high-quality timeless jewellery and excellent service to back it up.”