SHOPPING

Amazon

In 2021 Amazon opened a cashless shop in Ealing.

Location: 59 The Broadway, W5 5JN

Bazaars

Bazaars contained retail space for numerous independent retailers.

A number of drapery stores expanded the range of goods that they sold. They developed into being department stores. By the 1890s the bazaars were largely gone.

Location: The Parthenon, 173 Oxford Street, W1D 2JR. A branch of Marks & Spencer now occupies the site.

Crystal Palace Bazaar

Crystal Palace Bazaar (1858) was located to the north-east of Oxford Circus. The building had been designed by Owen Jones (1809-1874), who had worked on the Crystal Palace itself.

Break Down

Break Down (2001) was a performance piece installation by Michael Landy, a Young British Artist. During it, he systematically destroyed all of is material possessions. The piece was sponsored by Artangel, an arts organisation, and The Times newspaper.

Music was played while he and the operatives worked. Each day would begin and end with a David Bowie track. Even his Bowie records were destroyed. Some of his sister's records went to.

Everything was rendered into granules and then taken away to landfill.

During the process he compiled an inventory.

He even destroyed some of his cat's possessions but not the cat itself.

Location: Artangel, 31 Eyre Street Hill, EC1R 5EW (blue, turquoise)

Primark, 499 Oxford Street, W1C 2QQ. The installation occurred before Primark acquired the building. (orange, brown)

Brixton Market

In 2018 the Market was acquired by Hondo Enterprises, a company controlled by Taylor McWilliams, a Texan property developer. Locally, there was considerable concern that commercial considerations might prompt the company to alter the character of the market. Four years later it was reported that Hondo was intending to build a 20-storey close by. The project was called Pope's Road and had been designed by David Adjaye.

Location: Brixton Village, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PS

Website: www.hondo-enterprises.com/deals/brixton-market https://brixtonvillage.com

Charity Shops

The Charity Retail Association

The Association of Charity Shops

Website: www.charityretail.org.uk

The British Red Cross

In 1941 the British Red Cross opened London's first charity shop at No. 17 Old Bond Street.

Location: 17 Old Bond Street, W1S 4PT (red, purple)

67 Old Church Street, SW3 5BS. A renowned charity shop.

See Also: FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

Website: www.redcross.org.uk/shop/find-a-charity-shop/kensington-and-chelsea

Oxfam

Location: 202b Kensington High Street, W8 7RG (orange, turquoise)

Website: www.oxfam.org.uk/shops/oxfam-shop-kensington

The Consumers' Association

Awareness of the work of Dorothy Goodman prompted Michael Young (1915-2002) to start the British consumer movement.

In 1958 Eirlys Roberts (1911-2008) was appointed as the head of the research and editorial division of the Consumers Association.

Roberts stepped down from her position in 1973.

Website: www.which.co.uk/about-which.who-we-are

The Electrical Association for Women

During the First World War Caroline Haslett (1895-1957) and Laura Wilson (1877-1942) worked as engineers. Following the return of peace, they found that they were unable to secure jobs that used the skills that they had developed. They appreciated that other women were in a similar situation. Together, in 1924, they set up the Electrical Association for Women. This developed into being an educational, lobbying, and a consumer body. It issued pamphlets that enabled people to troubleshoot problems that occur in the devices that they had purchased. It acquired premises in London that acted as a venue for demonstrations

In the 1950s and the 1960s there was major change to British electricity system that required a ground wire to domestic appliances. There were not enough electricians in the U.K. for this to be done at any speed. The Association responded to the situation by producing a tea towel upon which were printed a wiring diagram and instructions about how to attach the wire.

Haslett s corpse was the cremated. She had stated that she wished that this should be done by means of electricity.

The organisation was wound up in 1986.

Website: www.theiet.org/membership/library-archives/online-exhibitions/women-and-engineering/electrical-association-for-women-history-and-policy

The King's Road Shops

New Bond Street

New Bond Street and Regent Street have rivalled one another over the years as to which of them is more upmarket than the other.

Traditionally, the southern end of New Bond Street had numerous jewellers.

Location: New Bond Street, W1S 1DQ (orange, purple)

The Bond Street Association

Website: www.bondstreetassociation.com

New West End Company

New End Company represents retailers on Bond Street, Oxford Street, and Regent Street.

Location: Heddon House, 149-151 Regent Street, W1B 4JD (red, purple)

Website: www.newwestend.com

Pedestrianised Shopping Streets

Gabriel's Wharf

Gabriel's Wharf is a small cluster of shops and restaurants that is located on the South Bank to the west of the Oxo Tower.

Location: 56 Upper Ground, SE1 9PP

Website: www.coinstreet.org/gabriels-wharf

Mayfair

There are a number pedestrianised streets and alleys to the west of the northern portion of New Bond Street.

Location: Avery Row, W1K 4AL (purple, yellow)

Lancashire Court, W1S 1EY (purple, brown)

South Molton Street, W1K 5QN (red, yellow)

St Christopher's Place

St Christopher's Place is a pedestrianised shopping street that runs northwards from Oxford Street. Its 19^thC appearance has acquired an overlay of outdoor cafes and restaurants.

In 1978 the fashionable opticians Cutler & Gross opened its second branch in St Christopher's Place. However, this soon proved to more of a social club than a retail outlet. It was closed five years later.

Location: St Christopher's Place, W1U 1NH (purple, blue)

Website: www.stchristophersplace.com

Regent Street

Location: Regent Street, W1B 5AS (red, yellow)

Website: www.regentstreetonline.com

The Retail Act of 1950

The Retail Act of 1950 enabled retailers to sell pornography and alcohol on Sundays but not The Bible or powdered milk.

Royal Warrants

Above the entrances of some shops can be seen royal warrants. A number of businesses hold more than one. They indicate that the retailer or service provider enjoys the commercial patronage of a senior member of the royal family. Those royals are: the sovereign, the sovereign's heir-apparent, and the consorts of past and present sovereigns. Warrants are issued for a number of years - ten years in the first instance - and end automatically with the death of the issuer. Periodically, they are reviewed and if the firm is no longer used then the warrant will often be removed.

The warrant is attached to a specific individual within the business and if that person leaves (be it through death, retirement, or change of employer) then the warrant is reconsidered.

Location: 1 Buckingham Place, SW1E 6HR (red, yellow)

See Also: ROYALTY

Website: www.royalwarrant.org www.royal.uk/royal-warrants-0

Shopgirls

In the early 19^thC it became increasingly commonplace for women to work in shops. It was regarded as being better than manual work was not regarded as being altogether respectable. For many people shopwork carried an overtone of tawdriness.

The arrival of commercial gaslight extended the working day for people who worked indoors.

In the early 1840s the Early Closing Association addressed many of the issues that afflicted shopworkers. The organisation sought to reduce working hours and end Sunday trading.

The employers furnished leisure opportunities for their employees and set up social clubs for them.

In 1891 three-fifths of shop workers were living in accommodation that was provided by their employers

Female shopworkers proved to be in the vanguard of the labour movement. The Seats for Shop Assistant Act of 1899 required that there should be a seat behind every shop counter.

When it opened Selfridges was exceptional in not requiring some of its works to live-in.

Following the First World War it became socially more acceptable for women to work in shops. Some female shop assistants were even university graduates.

In the 1960s, following the arrival of the boutiques, it even became fashionable to work in some varieties of shop.

Shopping Malls

The Elephant & Castle (1965) was London's first purpose-built shopping mall. The previous year Birmingham's Bull Ring had become Britain's first. The former has been demolished.

Location: 113c Elephant Road, SE1 6TB

Website: https://elephantandcastletowncentre.co.uk

Westfield

The Westfield London shopping centre opened in 2008. With just under 1.6m sq. ft. of floor space, it was then the U.K.'s fourth-largest retail development. Westfield Stratford opened three years later. It over 1.6m sq. ft. of floor space. It became the U.K. s fourth-largest shopping centre, demoting Westfield London to fifth position.

Location: Ariel Way, W12 7GF

2 Stratford Place, Montfitchet Road, Olympic Park, E20 1EJ

Website: https://uk.westfield.com/london https://uk.westfield.com/stratfordcity

Wedgwood

Josiah Wedgwood (d.1795) was born into a Staffordshire potting family. He suffered smallpox as a child. It left him with a weakened right knee. This meant that he was unable to work a potter's wheel. Therefore, he focused upon learning other aspects of the trade. He not only developed a reputation as an outstanding designer but also made a series of technical breakthroughs.

Wedgwood proved to be a highly innovative retailer. He used illustrated catalogues, direct mail, travelling salesmen, self-service, and money-back guarantees. His business partner Thomas Bentley ran the firm's London showroom and its Chelsea-based painting operation. Following the latter's death, Wedgwood's nephew Thomas Byerley took over the role.

In 1795 Josiah Wedgwood the younger bought No. 8 St James's Square. In 1809 he and Byerley opened the building up as a showroom. It was used as such until a downturn in trade prompted the facility's closure.

Location: Wedgwood Mews, 13 Greek Street, W1D 4DL (purple, red)

8 St James's Square, SW1Y 4JU (purple, brown)

Website: www.wedgwood.com www.vam.ac.uk/info/va-wedgwood-collection www.worldofwedgwood.com

David Backhouse 2024