See inside eerie abandoned Swindon Debenhams on TikTok

Posted by urban explorer account The Urbanator, the short video shows a torch‑lit tour through the abandoned department store off Canal Walk, capturing silent escalators, stripped‑back shop floors and eerie remnants of window displays left frozen in time since the store closed in 2020.

The video shows that despite having sat empty for several years, there are still a lot of things inside the store, including furniture, manakins and retail shelving units.

Commenters who watched the video reminisced about the story, with one saying "memories", another adding "this was my childhood," and a third person writing "I used to work here LMAO".

The Debenhams block opened in the late 1960s as Bon Marche, part of Swindon’s first post‑war shopping precinct, The Parade.

@the_urbanator SWINDON: Abandoned DEBENHAMS DEPARTMENT STORE (My dad) #abandoned #trespassing #explorer #swindon #lostintime ♬ sonido original - catzwithuke

Designed by architects Shingler and Risdon, the store formed the lower three storeys of a striking modernist slab with the Falcon House office tower above.

Debenhams took over the Bon Marche site as the chain expanded, turning it into a flagship store offering fashion, cosmetics, homeware, a café and even a play area for children.

At its peak, the retailer was part of a high‑street giant with around 170 stores nationwide, before years of financial trouble and the rise of online shopping culminated in its collapse.

In April 2020, amid the first Covid lockdown, Debenhams confirmed the Swindon branch would not reopen after failing to agree new terms with landlord Meadow Residential, with around 150 jobs lost.

Since its closure, the building has been used for military training and has been the subject of several proposed redevelopments, mainly concerning turning it into a storage facility with some retail units - although the latest update suggested these plans were in jeopardy.

This is not the first time urban explorers have gained entry to the shuttered department store.

In 2024, urban explorer and social media personality Mr Airborne visited the site and gained access to the scaffolding around Falcon House.

In 2023, urban exploring YouTube channel Kirbz Vids posted a video showing the inside of the store itself.

A Wiltshire Police spokesperson previously commented on urban exploring said: "While it is not a criminal offence to trespass, it is clear from this website that these people are going into structures that are either derelict or are going to be demolished.

"Our advice to these people would be to stay out of these structures because if they injure themselves, it could be hours or even days before help arrives. If something does happen, it also puts the lives of those people in the emergency services at risk when they have to rescue these people as well."