Basic Site Details

Name: Kendal Milne & Company Premises
City or county: Manchester
Country: England
Parish:  
Status:  
Grid ref:
Notes: Listed Grade II

Contractor: Walker and Slater Limited Uttoxeter Road, Derby

Kendal’s (Mancunians steadfastly refuse to call it anything other) had its origins in a draper’s shop opened by the Watt family in 1796 and began trading as Kendal Milne and Company on Deansgate in the 1830's. Harrods purchased the company in 1919. The new building stands opposite the original main building, now Waterstones and was formally announced in March 1938.

MANCHESTER ARCHITECTS' PLAN FOR £750,000 KENDAL MILNE STORE
A Manchester firm of architects will be responsible for the new £750,000 Kendal Milne store in Deansgate, announced Sir Woodman Burbage, chairman (of Haarods). The architects are Messrs. J W Beaumont and Sons of Spring Gardens, Manchester. Building begins in July and will take three years.

The new building will occupy the site on which Kendal’s have been trading for many years, facing their main building. It will comprise a department store consisting of seven storeys above ground with basement and sub-basement. The total floor area will be 294,000 square feet - nearly seven acres - and the selling area will be 202,500 square feet. The building will have a frontage to Deansgate of 215 feet, will be 160 feet deep and 100 feet high.

Construction will be carried out in two sections, and its cost, when complete and equipped, including the installation of lifts and escalators etc., will be £750,000. [Manchester City News 12 March 1938]

The building was completed in 1940 at which point it was immediately requisitioned for the Civil Service and did not open to customers until after the war. Transfer of departments commenced in 1946 and the new building was being used in its entirety by March 1948.

During the design stage (1937-8) the three principal elevations were significantly altered. There is a story that this redesign was the work of a "foreign assistant" or German emigre but as yet I have been unable to verify this. (Neil Darlington September 2011)

Alternative Names

The following alternative names are associated with this building/design:
 NameCurrent name?Notes
Item 1 of 2Harrods Briefly in 1920s. Customer complaint forced the company to revert to the original name
Item 2 of 2House of FraserYesFrom 2005 - the name now over the door as part of a re-branding exercise

Building Type Classification

The building is classified under the following categories:
 ClassificationOriginal classification?Notes
Item 1 of 1Department store  

Street Addresses

The following street addresses are associated with this building:
 AddressMain entrance?Notes
Item 1 of 198-116, Deansgate  

Events

The following date-based events are associated with this building:
 FromToEvent typeNotes
Item 1 of 419371938Plans drawn up 
Item 2 of 4July 19381940Build/construction 
Item 3 of 419401946 Requisitioned for use by the Civil Service
Item 4 of 419461948Openedon a department by department basis

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 3J W Beaumont & Sons A1938  
Item 2 of 3John Somerville Beaumont A1938  
Item 3 of 3Louis David Blanc A1938(?) With 'Mr Beaumont'

Clients

The following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design:
 NameNotes
Item 1 of 1Harrods Limited 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this building:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1www.artefacts.co.za www.artefacts.co.za Website of artefacts, for the recording of South African buildingsAccessed September 2011

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this building:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 6Builder12 August 1938  p315 - plans approved
Item 2 of 6Builder22 September 1938  p623 - tenders. Full list of sub-contractors
Item 3 of 6Manchester City News12 March 1938  Formal announcement by Harrods and photograph of model
Item 4 of 6Manchester Guardian18 November 1937  p18 details of proposed store with phoograph of model
Item 5 of 6Manchester Guardian16 May 1938  advert with revised elevation
Item 6 of 6Manchester Guardian24 April 1939  p10 Scheme modified to incorporate special reinforcement against air attack and deep air raid shelters