Category Archives: Department Stores

House of Fraser Stores

Posted on May 21, 2025 by buildingourpast

In 1927 Hugh Fraser II, the head of Fraser, Sons & Co. Ltd., died, leaving the established family business in Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, in the hands of his entrepreneurial son Hugh Fraser III. Over the next 20 … Continue reading →

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Looking Back at Beales and Bealesons

Posted on May 5, 2025 by buildingourpast

Introduction The impending closure of Beales in Poole – the last store to bear that well-known name – offers an opportunity to reflect upon the history of this important British department store group. Throughout its existence it opened (and closed) … Continue reading →

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Stores of The Debenhams Group

Posted on February 13, 2025 by buildingourpast

In 1823 the drapers Clark & Debenham of Cavendish House, Wigmore Street, London, opened a branch in Cheltenham. This precocious move did not trigger the birth of Debenhams’ store group. Instead, in 1883, the Debenham family withdrew from the Cheltenham … Continue reading →

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Stores of the John Lewis Partnership

Posted on January 30, 2025 by buildingourpast

The John Lewis Partnership currently (2025) operates 36 stores in the UK, mainly in England. Many of these stores occupy sleek modern buildings in shopping centres or retail parks, in marginal positions with ample parking. A dwindling minority still occupy … Continue reading →

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The Bon Marché in Victorian Britain

Posted on January 23, 2025 by buildingourpast

The name Bon Marché (meaning cheapness or a good bargain) has featured on high streets throughout the British Isles for 150 years, but was especially fashionable in the last quarter of the 19th century. The modern clothing chain Bonmarché, founded … Continue reading →

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Department Store Parking: A Brief History

Posted on November 27, 2024 by buildingourpast

‘Drive your car in London. Not so difficult as many women think’, urged Margaret Montague Johnstone in the pages of The Motor in March 1933. As well as being a keen shopper and motorist, Johnstone was the daughter of the … Continue reading →

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The Coliseum in Stockton-on-Tees: Unpicking W. Basil Scott’s ‘First English Steel-Framed Building’

Posted on May 23, 2021 by buildingourpast

Today it is generally accepted that James Frank Doyle’s Royal Insurance Building in Liverpool was the first significant steel-framed building to be erected in the UK. Although it was designed around 1895-96, it was not erected until 1900-03. The Scottish … Continue reading →

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