There has been much TV watching with many films and almost no writing and contemporary art project work. Mr Selfridge is a new BBC fictional series on Harry Gordon Selfridge from his arrival in London and creation of the famous store in Oxford Street. I have always been fascinated with this store since taken there on one of my first visits to central London as a boy after the end of World War II. The interest of the “aunties” was because the store imported olives and Italian salami. In general our circumstances prevented other purchases and visits were only made once or twice a year, I continues to visit on trips to London because of the childhood experience although not to purchase as salami and olives can be bought far cheaper in supermarkets and local delicatessens. On my last visited I noted that Champagne, oysters and caviar bar where one will part with £100 plus.
I commenced to write a piece about this and other TV programmes several hours ago but I then sidetracked myself into a different kind of piece about my attraction to the department of old and trying to find out when Kennards of Croydon was developed although I suspect after Selfridge had introduced the concept into the UK of A Store to Entertain. Whereas Selfridges always aimed at the better class of client Kennards of Croydon was a store for the people with a zoo in the basement and Donkey rides outside in the road leaving to Surrey Street and an orchestra for dancing to in the restaurant. There was also an announcer advertising bargains and events.
This contrasted with Grants of Croydon which was created before Selfridges in 1894 and remained traditional akin to the kind of store which he disliked and was regarded as the Harrods of the day. There was added significance because of the proximity to London’s main airport of the era, Croydon and the store provided uniforms for the RAF when the airport became a key location with Biggin Hill for the Battle of Britain. There are two videos around 3.35 of Croydon airport in the thirties and in 1938 on You Tube.
Grants closed in 1985 but in 2000 the Facade was retained and returned to its original condition while behind a multiplex, Gym, restaurants and night club were created. While there is a new Debenhams on part of the Kennards site, the other Croydon store Alders continued as part of a large indoor shopping centre behind the pedestrian High Street. Alders was the oldest of stores created in 1862 and was the third across the road from Kennards and less than 100 metres from Grants. Although the store was damaged during World War II along with most of the properties in Croydon, it never closed. However its fortunes have varied since, becoming the flagship for a major group, going into administration, a management buy out saw fortunes change again and a growing company which purchased a number of other stores and then disaster struck last year, went into administration and I understand is now closed.
My search for information about Kennards led me to Internet site of Francis Frith, the photographer, some of whose photos of Old Wallington and Beddington I have purchased. I discovered 56 pages of memories about Croydon Times past and seven pages of photos. This led to a site which contained photos and performance bills` The Grand Theatre, Davis Cinema and Theatre, Theatre Royal, Empire Theatre of Varieties, Hippodrome/Odeon and to the Frith site and photos of the areas Wallington, Beddington, Sutton, Purley and Croydon and then the two 3 minute plus videos of the Airport.
So it is back to Selfridges which had 100 departments when it was created nine public lifts and six staircase including a grand one at the entrance. The store aimed to attract more and a wider range of customers through displaying goods and providing a range of other services, including a library and a reading room and reception areas for French, German, American and Colonial customers, There were several restaurants including the Palm Court which was used by the rich and the famous. The was cafe and garden on the roof terraces and an all female gun club. The store employed 1400 people when it opened. It was badly damaged in the second World War where its lower basement was used by the US army with a rumour that a tunnel was built connecting to the US Embassy.
According to Wikipedia the creator of the enterprise started work at 14 he made his way to become a partner in the department store of Marshal Field in Chicago where he is said to have originated the Christmas Sale and x shopping days left to Christmas as well as the customer is always right. He married well and indeed it is argued that his wife was his backbone with his life rapidly deteriorated after her death. He grew up without a father which is an important factor and his mother lived with him for the greater part of his life until her death.
Coming to London on holiday with his wife he realised there was a great opportunity for an American style store. He purchased the buildings in Oxford Street before demolition and having the store purpose built to meet his purpose. His reported to have spent £400000 of his money. However in the TV series he is dependent on a financial backer who pulls out and on another backer introduced to him by an aristocratic married women socialite with a young lover and lots of good connections/
In the BBC production his wife has been portrayed so far as the mother of his four children rather than a force behind the business. He is portrayed as an extravagant spendthrift, as well as creative and daring. It is accurate that he arranged to show the aeroplane flown by Bleriot after crossing the channel for the first time. He is also known as a womanizer, with in the TV show his first interest is a theatre show girl singer who he sets up in a house in St John’s Wood. According to one source he is alleged to have affairs throughout his married life. I know a number of episodes are planned.
He rented Highcliffe Castle in Dorset and had planned to build his own Castle on a mile long promontory Hengisbury Head as well his London home in Berkeley Square. It is here he entertained lavishly which continued after the deaths of his wife in 1918 and his mother in 1824. His association with Selfridges ended in 1941, and he was forced to leave his home. He died in 1947 ages 93 a poor man. He is buried with his wife and mother at Highcliffe.
The series also looks at the lives of some of staff in particular a young sales assistant. Selfridge visits a London store and is surprised to find the goods are not on display and therefore you have to know what you want and trust the assistant to show you what is in stock. He persuades the young woman to show him all the gloves available. She is sacked as a consequence and has a hard time with a drunk for a father and a brother unable to stand up to the man, In desperation when the store recruits staff she approaches Selfridge at his home he arranges for her to become a senior assistant which causes resentment with junior staff and finds herself at loggerheads with the section head until she discovers the woman is having an adulterous affairs with another senior member of the staff. She is pursued by a waiter in the posh restaurant who in turn is pursued by lonely females who asks for personal services which he is encouraged to provide by the restaurant manager.
The young assistant also allows her father to return home with the anticipated consequence that he returns to drinking and violent behaviour. She blackmails the recruiting manager to employ her brother in the goods reception and despatch department where there is evidence of a fiddle. The two episodes to date suggest can be described as an Upstairs Downstairs or Downton Abbey of the Departmental store world.
For the record Selfridges, still one the great stores in Europe and third largest is about to have a new lease of life with a significant expansion after adjacent property worth £140 million has been acquired by the present owning company. It in its present size it is half that of Harrods the largest store of its kind in Europe and which employs 5000 with 300 departments and one million square feet of selling space. Harrods was owned by Al Fayed until his retirement in 2010 when the store was acquired by the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar with its Prime Minister attending the formal purchase for 1.5 billion half of which is reported to have been used to clear its bank debts. I have only been to Harrods a couple of times and both within the last 20 years. Another store which I visited in childhood was Gamages because of large toy department including its model railway. It did not survive.
I will do the rest of the TV the next film review and then it be back to the contemporary artwork.
