Basic Site Details

Name: Selfridges
City or county: London
Country: England
Parish:  
Status:  
Grid ref:
Notes: Modelled statues of the Four Winds for the tower by Gilbert Bayes, but planning permission was refused, 1924. The Queen of Time clock by Bayes was installed, 1927-31. Floor roundels, 1927-29 and Madonna & Child in Doulton ware in roof garden, 1931

Bas reliefs of children and figures of Science & Art 1924 and Britannia and lions statue, 1935, on roof garden, by William Reid Dick, sculptor

The original part of the building is the SE section in Oxford Street and Duke Street.

Chief engineer on project was Sven Bylander, a Waring & White employee who was Swedish born and had settled in London in 1902. Project supervised by R Frank Atkinson who was acting for Waring & White.

Street Addresses

The following street addresses are associated with this building:
 AddressMain entrance?Notes
Item 1 of 1Oxford StreetYes 

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 71906 Plans drawn upElevations redesigned from the original Neo-Grec to Louis XIV.
Item 2 of 713 November 1906  Original contract with Waring & White, (prior to submission to LCC) White being the American engineer on the Selfridge project.
Item 3 of 7February 1907  Plans submitted to LCC.
Item 4 of 715 March 1909 Opened 
Item 5 of 719191921 Second phase
Item 6 of 7Before 1919  First phase
Item 7 of 71926  Third phase

People

Design and Construction

The following individuals or organisations have carried out design/construction work. Where architects or practices worked together, matching letters appear beside their names in the Partnership Group column.
 NameRolePartnership GroupFromToNotes
Item 1 of 5D H Burnham & Co A1906 Orginal plans prepared. Daniel Burnham visited London in connection with the project in April 1907.
Item 2 of 5Robert Frank Atkinson Ac. 1906 Partially responsible for first phase (acting for Waring & White); input also from Albert D Millar of Daniel H Burnham's office in Chicago, and others
Item 3 of 5(Sir) John Burnet & Partners B19191926Second and third phases - with Albert D Millar of Graham, Anderson, Probst & Whyte (successor practice to Daniel H Burnham)
Item 4 of 5(Sir) John James Burnet B19191926Second and third phases - with Albert D Millar of Graham, Anderson, Probst & Whyte (successor practice to Daniel H Burnham)
Item 5 of 5Thomas Smith Tait B19191926Second and third phases - with Albert D Millar of Graham, Anderson, Probst & Whyte (successor practice to Daniel H Burnham)

Clients

The following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design:
 NameNotes
Item 1 of 1Selfridge & Waring LtdOriginal client. Waring was Samuel J Waring of Waring & Gillow Ltd. The Company was dissolved in 1909, the client thereafter being Selfridge & Co Ltd.


References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 9Academy Architecture1926 Volume 58 pp54-56
Item 2 of 9Bradley, Simon and Pevsner, Nikolaus (ed)2003London 6: Westminster (The Buildings of England) New Haven and London: Yale University Presspp465-7
Item 3 of 9Burrows, E J1924Modern Architectural Art: Sir John Burnet & Partners Cheltenhampp26-27
Item 4 of 9Clarke, Jonathan2014Early Structural Steel in London Buildings: a discreet revolution English Heritagepp246-249. Deals mainly with the original D H Burnham Frank Atkinson structure for which Sven Bylander was the endgineer.
Item 5 of 9Edwards, A Trystan1930The architectural work of Sir John Burnet and Partners (Masters of Architecture Series) Genevapp15-23
Item 6 of 9Honeycombe, Gordon1984Selfridges   
Item 7 of 9Irvine, Louise and Atterbury, Paul1998Gilbert Bayes sculptor 1872-1953  pp48, 159
Item 8 of 9Lawrence, Jeanne C2000Steel Frame Architecture versus the London Building Regulations: Selfridges, the Ritz and American Technology Chapter 15 in 'Studies in the History of Civil Engineering' volume 10, Structural Iron & Steel, 18 
Item 9 of 9Wardleworth, Dennis2013William Reid Dick, Sculptor Farnham: Ashgatepp83-84, 115

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 12American Architect28 October 1908XCIV p140 Shows change in design from origonal Neo-Grec to Louis XCIV.
Item 2 of 12Architects Journal18 February 1920  Further references to post-war phase of the project
Item 3 of 12Architects Journal15 April 1925  Post-war phase of the project
Item 4 of 12Architects Journal9 December 1925   
Item 5 of 12Architects Journal15 May 1929   
Item 6 of 12Architects Journal12 February 1992  Dan Cruickshank
Item 7 of 12Architectural RecordDecember 1909  By Francis Swales
Item 8 of 12Architectural ReviewJune 1909  Written by Francis Swales
Item 9 of 12ArtistOctober 1934  p46, 48 (Four Winds),49 (madonna & child), 82 (illustration of clock), 151 (roundels), 154 (clock and Four Winds statues)
Item 10 of 12ArtistNovember 1934  pp79-80
Item 11 of 12BuilderMay 1931  p789
Item 12 of 12Illustrated London News25 July 1908  Final scheme illustrated

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this building:
 SourceArchive nameSource catalogue no.Notes
Item 1 of 3MacDonald Price Partnership, SurreyArchive of drawings  
Item 2 of 3RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Drawings Collection Drawings
Item 3 of 3RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Nomination Papers Thomas Smith Tait: F no2346 (box 5)