Shoppers are just realising that there’s a Co-op in a ‘castle’

SHOPPERS have only just realised that they can go shopping at a Co-op in a “castle”.

A recent thread on Reddit has highlighted that one of the chain’s supermarkets carries the features of a fortress from the Middle Ages.

The building which houses the Co-op contains three towers and what looks like battlements all the way along its exterior walls.

The supermarket is located in Devon, near the market town of Newton Abbot.

But its characteristics have left many questioning the history of the building online.

Many seemed confused about the style of the building with one asking those on Reddit: “Is it an actual castle or just a building that’s made to look like a castle?

“Either way, it looks nice but it’s a shame it’s Co-op though, especially if it is an actual castle,” they said.

In response to the photo of the shop, one said: “That’s awesome, every shopping trip would feel like a noble quest” and another said it must contain “produce fit for a king”.

One joked: “They should also start selling armour and medieval weaponry.”

But Co-op confirmed that the building isn’t actually a real castle.

Instead, the building is part of a wider shopping complex called Trago Mills in Newton Abbott which was built in the early 1960s.

The buildings were specifically designed to have a castle-inspired profile, with white towers and black-framed windows.

Matt Evans, Co-op’s Trago Mills Liverton store manager, told The Sun: “It’s not quite a medieval castle as it dates back to the early 1980s.

“The store has mock towers and black framed windows giving it a castle-inspired look. It’s just missing a moat!

“All the team love our very unique Co-op store which often attracts the attention of tourists to the area.

“However far from just being fit for royalty, our doors are open to the whole community.”

At the center of the site is the Trago Wells department store offering shoppers anything from home furnishings to clothing and garden supplies.

And opposite the Co-op is a Shell petrol station which made the headlines back in July of this year after drivers queued for more than a mile to get their hands on cheap fuel.

Motorists queued to fill up at 164.9p a litre – 20p less than the national average.

The Shell filling station undercut the national average of 190.65p for unleaded and 198.42p for diesel.

It meant that the average driver at the Newton Abbot department store paid less than £100 to fill up, paying 164.9p for unleaded 179.9p a litre for diesel.

It came after diesel prices peaked on June 25 at 199.09p a litre and unleaded prices peaked on July 3 at 191.53p.