‘… a store in every aspect, is an extension of the advertising idea, an idea that should permeate the whole building; façade; window; signs; and even down to the garments of the commissionaire and sales people. It should be the union of the architectural and merchandising.’ Joseph Emberton, Art & Industry, 1936
Previous page Construction of Harrods, 1901 building.
Up to the late 18th century there was little to ‘show off’ about shopping in London; shops as we know them now hardly existed, let alone stores. What are now the main shopping streets were spawned from ancient highways, some still rough tracks. Oxford Street was part of a former Roman road from East Anglia to the south coast; the King’s Road, a private route for the monarch to Hampton Court; Piccadilly described as no more than a muddy lane; the Brompton Road a mere lane leading to the village of Brompton; and Kensington High Street, a narrow shabby thoroughfare, part of a coaching road to the West Country. Such shops as did exist were little more ‘show’ worthy than the roads, some still merely the houses of craftsmen making goods for sale. A few of our modern stores, as Selfridges, Austin Reed’s and Simpson’s were built from scratch, but most London stores originated from small shops, mainly drapers or haberdashers, acquired with some optimism by young would-be entrepreneurs. Heal’s started as a workshop selling beds and bedding, moving to Tottenham 10
Heal’s, 1854, architect J. Morant Lockyer.
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