CLINTONS has closed its doors in Dorchester for a final time.

The card shop closed in the past week having traded over the Christmas period but follows the likes of M&Co, Joules, The Healthy Weigh and The Cheeky Tipple in closing in recent months.

Clintons, whose Dorchester branch was situated on South Street,   fell into administration in 2012 and 2019, and was purchased both times by companies owned by the Weiss family.

Councillor Janet Hewitt, Mayor of Dorchester, said: “It’s sad to see another shop close. Unfortunately there were rumours for a few weeks and they stayed open over the Christmas period but closed last week.

“It’s very sad to see shops closing in Dorchester, we’ve lost one or two independent shops and we’ve lost chains as well - but we are hoping that people will visit the town and we will thrive once again."

HSBC announced at the beginning of December that they would be closing their branch on Cornhill by the end of 2023.

A provisional date of August 22 has been earmarked for the closure with branches in Blandford, Shaftesbury, Bridport and Christchurch all closing between April and July.

Councillor Les Fry, town councillor for Dorchester (West Ward), said the move would be a "massive loss to the community".

Cllr Fry said: "I was very disappointed to hear about the closure of HSBC's banks both in Dorchester and in neighbouring towns. This is a great loss of a service to the community and another loss to the high street." 

Joules, a British clothing and homeware store, closed their store in Brewery Square on December 29: becoming the third branch of Joules to close in Dorset after the company announced that outlets in Lyme Regis and Sherborne were to close on Thursday, December 1. 

M&Co, meanwhile, closed towards the end of November with the company as a whole entering administration just a couple of weeks later.

The company appointed administrators on Friday, December 9 amid rising costs and weakening consumer confidence.

Convenience store McColl's likewise closed their Dorchester branch after supermarket giant Morrisons received clearance to take over the financially-troubled convenience store chain.

Clintons has been approached for comment.