The atmosphere felt like a funeral party as staff sipped wine and reminisced, upbeat music masking the sombre mood.

As they remembered the store's good old days it was as if they were talking about an old friend.

Around them, shoppers were packing up many of the last few clothes, pieces of crockery and light fittings rather like bereaved relatives clearing out a loved one's home.

Hanningtons opened 193 years ago and many of its staff had been employed there for the best part of their working lives.

Peter Godding started work at the age of 14 in its menswear department 56 years ago. He said: "Hanningtons has been like a family to me.

"There are so many regular customers who are known to the staff by name. There was always a personal touch to Hanningtons, but you go to these big stores and you are just no one."

Mr Godding, who lives in Lewes, will take up a part-time post in a clothiers elsewhere this week. He remembered the formality of the store when he started.

He said: "We had to call everyone sir or madam and we would always be referred to by our surnames, not by our first names as we are today.

"It was quite austere in those days. You were not to talk to your manager until you were spoken to."

Hanningtons is being sold for an undisclosed sum and seven small shops are expected to move into the building's ground floor in North Street. It is possible a hotel, flats or offices may be located on the upper floor.

On its last trading day former staff gathered for a farewell party as shoppers snapped up the last few bargains.

Bernard Harding worked there for 31 years and was general manager for 15 years until he retired in 1995. He turned up on Saturday with former colleagues Colin Berry and Douglas and Pat Avard.

He said: "Hanningtons has always been a family oriented business. But sadly the property prices have outstripped the demand for business. During the years the character of the shop did not change much. It was modernised in terms of escalators and tills, but it kept its traditional values."

Mr Avard remembered waiting for his wife, Pat, to finish work in Hanningtons' hairdressers. She said: "I remember the last member of the Hannington family when I started work. She was called Dorothy and she died in the early Sixties.

"I also remember we had little rest rooms with fireplaces where we would go if it was not busy. Many of the staff also lived upstairs.

"I am sad to see it close. I just hope they keep the blue frontage as it is."

By Saturday most of the upstairs departments in the store were closed off after an extensive sale. A few mezzanine floors were open to the public with furniture, once for sale, sealed off to await auction on July 10.

In the basement, shoppers peered at a group of bare mannequins while staff stuck price tags to themselves reading "Any takers?" and "10p an hour".

Gay Charles, who has worked in Hanningtons for 26 years, was close to tears.

She said: "I have been trying to get another job in a shop or on a reception but I have had no luck so far. Today I have this funny feeling: it doesn't feel real. I can't imagine what it's going to be like on Monday when I don't need to go to work.

"Without Hanningtons there is just going to be this big hole. Its old fashioned nature really fits in with the Pavilion and the Lanes so it's a shame it's just going to vanish."

Meanwhile, luggage department assistant Jo Colyer was making the most of her last day before leaving to take up a post in the Co-Op in London Road.

She said: "We have to get on with it so I am determined to put a smile on. But I will miss people. We have been swapping addresses and phone numbers all day."

Many shoppers were disappointed to see the shop so close to closure.

Pensioner Anna Knight, who paid her last tribute to the store with her friends Joyce Bunting and Marjorie Cozens, said: "Hanningtons is the last great store in Brighton. There is nothing else like it at all. The clothes are also of exceptionally good quality which you can't always find in chain stores."

Violet Sorrie would regularly visit Hanningtons from her home in Crawley. On her last visit on Saturday with her daughter, Alison Flynn, who lives in Burgess Hill, she said: "Hanningtons is the reason we come to Brighton. It is the last distinctive department store in Brighton. I will really miss it."