A POPULAR family shop will make its final sale today after 136 years in business.

Five generations have worked for RF Tilney & Son, in Worthing, which has sold stationery since 1878.

But with family members now pursuing their own careers Tilney’s is to close.

Julia Brown, great-granddaughter of the original owner, said: “We feel quite sad about it.

“It’s a shame it didn’t carry on because there is so much it could do.”

After 58 years at the firm, managing director Ann Peters is retiring from the business.

The shop, in Tarring Road, will lose its family tie but continue trading under a new owner further along the road, before changing its name to Office First.

Mrs Brown said customers were disappointed about the change and enjoyed being recognised by familiar faces.

She said: “It’s a wrench for the local community. I’ve been listening to customers’ comments and I’m astonished at how upset they are.”

A letter has been written and handed out by the family thanking customers for their business and times shared.

The shop originally opened in Ship Street, Brighton, by Mr RW Tilney and was relocated to Worthing in 1955, when it was given its current name.

Shareholder Pat Tilney said it was a thriving and well-known shop and had 47 people working there at one time.

She said: “This was a shop where you could buy a single envelope to entire office supplies but every single person that came in mattered.

“The comments of relief we heard when customers found something on our shelves that they had been searching for was so rewarding.”

Family members thanked staff who have contributed, some of whom have worked their entire lives at the business.

The new shop will reopen as Tilney’s on Monday, October 27 at 207 Tarring Road.