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 NamesThe following alternative names are associated with this building/design: | | Name | Current name? | Notes | | Harrods | | Briefly in 1920s. Customer complaint forced the company to revert to the original name | | House of Fraser | Yes | From 2005 - the name now over the door as part of a re-branding exercise |
Building Type ClassificationThe building is classified under the following categories: | | Classification | Original classification? | Notes | | Department store | | |
Street AddressesThe following street addresses are associated with this building: | | Address | Main entrance? | Notes | | 98-116, Deansgate | | |
EventsThe following date-based events are associated with this building: | | From | To | Event type | Notes | | 1937 | 1938 | Plans drawn up | | | July 1938 | 1940 | Build/construction | | | 1940 | 1946 | | Requisitioned for use by the Civil Service | | 1946 | 1948 | Opened | on a department by department basis |
PeopleDesign and ConstructionThe 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. | | Name | Role | Partnership Group | From | To | Notes | | J W Beaumont & Sons | | A | 1938 | | | | John Somerville Beaumont | | A | 1938 | | | | Louis David Blanc | | A | 1938(?) | | With 'Mr Beaumont' |
ClientsThe following individuals or organisations have commissioned work on this building/design: | | Name | Notes | | Harrods Limited | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this building: | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | www.artefacts.co.za | | www.artefacts.co.za | | Website of artefacts, for the recording of South African buildings | Accessed September 2011 |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this building: | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 12 August 1938 | | | p315 - plans approved | | Builder | 22 September 1938 | | | p623 - tenders. Full list of sub-contractors | | Manchester City News | 12 March 1938 | | | Formal announcement by Harrods and photograph of model | | Manchester Guardian | 18 November 1937 | | | p18 details of proposed store with phoograph of model | | Manchester Guardian | 16 May 1938 | | | advert with revised elevation | | Manchester Guardian | 24 April 1939 | | | p10 Scheme modified to incorporate special reinforcement against air attack and deep air raid shelters |
|