December | 2024 | Building Our Past
1 post published by buildingourpast during December 2024| Building Our Past
1 post published by buildingourpast during December 2024| Building Our Past
The importation of meat from North America to Britain started in the 1860s and accelerated in the 1870s as refrigeration improved. One of the leading shippers was Timothy C. Eastman (1821-93) who o…| Building Our Past
London Central Meat Co. Ltd, Upton on Severn (© K. Morrison). The London Central Meat Co. Ltd., renamed Baxters in the 1950s, was one of England’s biggest multiple butchery chains. Traces of its hi…| Building Our Past
Introduction Conditions were ripe for the success of multiple (chain) retailing in the late 19th century, including provision dealers and grocers such as Home & Colonial Stores, Maypole Dairies…| Building Our Past
After months of anticipation, the process of changing the identity of W. H. Smith’s shops to ‘T. G. Jones’ is underway. The new fascia is yet to be installed on my own local high street, where W. H. Smith continues … Continue reading →| Building Our Past
For decades, the best known and most artistic chain of fish shops in the United Kingdom was Mac Fisheries, widely advertised as ‘the blue & white shop you’ll find in town & country’. Mac Fi…| Building Our Past
Alexander the Great Tailor, Oxford Street, 1923 (opened 1902) (© Historic England Archive). The need for uniforms during the Great War gave multiple tailors the opportunity to develop their manufac…| Building Our Past
Sainsbury’s underwent a radical transformation from humble origins in the dairy trade to win favour in London’s polite suburbs and, eventually, become one of Britain’s favourite supermarkets. The founder, John James Sainsbury, began his career as a shopboy. Towards the … Continue reading →| Building Our Past
Introduction A self-made man, Sir Thomas J. Lipton (1848-1931) opened his first provision shop in Stobcross Street, Glasgow, in 1871. His shops multiplied, their openings trumpeted with stunts and …| Building Our Past
79 Bohemia Road, St Leonards Thumbing through their daily newspapers, Victorian consumers were assailed by pictorial advertisement for Mazawattee tea. Indulging nostalgia and sentiment, some featur…| Building Our Past
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…| Building Our Past
Beales, Bournemouth (© Ron Baxter) 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 im…| Building Our Past
David Greig’s thistle emblem above the Turnpike Lane shop (c. K. Morrison) One hundred years ago the very first self-service grocery shop in the British Isles was opened in North London by th…| Building Our Past
Debenhams, Winchester (© K. Morrison). In 1823 the drapers Clark & Debenham of Cavendish House, Wigmore Street, London, opened a branch in Cheltenham. This precocious move did not trigger the b…| Building Our Past
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 →| Building Our Past
Arndale Shopping Centres were amongst the best-known post-war developments in Britain, symbolic of progress and economic rebirth. However, they were routinely scorned by architectural critics and d…| Building Our Past
The co-operative movement is considered the pioneer of self-service shopping in the UK. It opened its first self-service section in Romford in 1942 and its first fully self-service store in Upton P…| Building Our Past
