“We will miss him” – Mansfield barber retires after 55 years

People in Mansfield have been wishing a happy and well-deserved retirement to barber, ‘pillar of the community’ and friend, Roger Brown, after he announced he would be leaving his shop for good later this month after 55 years of service.
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Roger, now 75, set up his barber shop on Ladybrook Lane in 1965, and 55 years on he will finally be putting down the scissors.

In recent years, the barber shop has been more like a ‘drop-in centre’, with people popping in just to sit and read, chat, laugh, and have a drink.

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Roger and his friend Alan Bridges have known each other since they were two years old, living three doors down from one another as children, and the memories and laughs they have shared in Roger’s barber shop will be sorely missed.

Barber Roger Brown cutting the hair of comedian Frank CarsonBarber Roger Brown cutting the hair of comedian Frank Carson
Barber Roger Brown cutting the hair of comedian Frank Carson

Alan said: "We grew up together, we have always had a bit of banter and, to be honest, the last few years at his barber shop have been more of a drop-in centre than a barbers.

"You walk through the door and there will be six people there and you'll be thinking, 'I'll be here for a while', then five are only there reading the paper or picking the winners, just doing something else.”

Roger served his three-year apprenticeship at Oscroft’s on Outram street in Sutton, and then two years on Huthwaite Road, and finally ended up on Ladybrook Lane, where he has been ever since – witnessing the scenery around him change, and customers’ children, and grand-children starting to come in for their cut.

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Not only has Alan been getting his hair cut by Roger all these years, so did his Dad and three sons, as well as many more from the estate and beyond.

He's not changed one bit! Roger Brown at his barbers in Ladybrook, then and nowHe's not changed one bit! Roger Brown at his barbers in Ladybrook, then and now
He's not changed one bit! Roger Brown at his barbers in Ladybrook, then and now

"When you have been there 55 years there is probably three/four generations of family, like me, that have gone to him.

"It has been one of those situations where everybody knows him when they go in to the shop, and it is all friendly, laughable banter.”

Roger has not only been a barber, he has also worked in numerous industries across Mansfield.

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He spent 10 years working as governor at Ethel Wainwright school in Mansfield, and also worked in front of house at the Mansfield Palace Theatre in the sixties – which involved drinking with numerous comedians, from Norman Wisdom and Jethro, to Frank Carson, who even let him cut his hair.

Alan added: "A lot of people on the Ladybrook estate in Mansfield will miss him.

"We usually go dancing four times a week, but when we did, the amount of people that have casually mentioned that they all know him is amazing.

"I went to see him the other day and he said, 'a bloke came in that has been coming all his life and he brought me a bottle of brandy and he was in tears when he walked out’.

"We will miss him and we all wish him all the best in his retirement.”

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