Former department store in London
Derry & Toms
Company type
| Private/ceased trading 1971
|
---|
Industry
| Retail
|
---|
Genre
| Department store
|
---|
Founded
| 1860
; 164 years ago
(
1860
)
|
---|
Founder
| Joseph Toms, Charles Derry
|
---|
Defunct
| 1973
; 51 years ago
(
1973
)
|
---|
Headquarters
| Kensington High Street
,
London
, England
|
---|
The former Derry & Toms building in 2006
Derry & Toms
was a
London
department store that was founded in 1860 in
Kensington High Street
and was famous for its
Roof Garden
which opened in 1938. In 1973 the store was closed and became home to Big
Biba
, which closed in 1975. The site was developed into smaller stores and offices.
Origins
[
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]
In 1853 Joseph Toms opened a small
drapery
shop on
Kensington High Street
. In 1862 Joseph Toms joined forces with his brother-in-law, Charles Derry, to set up Derry & Toms.
[1]
By 1870 the business had grown to incorporate seven of the surrounding stores, with one of the buildings being used as a mourning department. The company prided itself as being the supplier of goods to the upper class of Kensington.
History
[
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]
In 1920
John Barker & Co.
, the department store next door, acquired Derry & Toms. The firm already owned
Pontings
, which was adjacent to Derry & Toms on the other side.
[1]
In 1919 Derry & Toms employed the services of poster artist
F Gregory Brown
to produce advertising. His advert
The Daintiest of Legwear at Derry & Toms
sold for £6,240 at Bonhams in 2007.
[2]
In 1930, building work was started and the new, seven-storey building on
Kensington High Street
opened in 1933. The building was designed by
Bernard George
in an
Art Deco
style popular at the time, and featured
metalwork
by Walter Gilbert and panel reliefs, entitled
Labour & Technology
, by Charles Henry Mabey Jr. The building is most famous for its
Roof Gardens
, which opened in 1938 and still exist today. The garden was designed by landscape architect
Ralph Hancock
after the Managing Director of Barkers, Trevor Bowen, visited
Rockefeller Center
in New York.
The main restaurant, situated on the fifth floor, was called
The Rainbow Room
and became a venue for thousands of "Dinner & Dances" (banquets), for both private firms and government departments. In 1957 John Barker & Co was bought by
House of Fraser
, bringing Derry & Toms under their stewardship.
The store was sold in 1971 to
Biba
.
[3]
Derry & Toms continued to operate until 1973, when it finally closed. It was replaced in 1974 by Big Biba, which itself closed in 1975. Developer
British Land
developed the site into offices and shops. The location is now used by
Marks & Spencer
,
H&M
, and
Gap
, and as offices for
Sony Music UK
and Warner Music Group. In 2012, the American luxury fitness chain Equinox opened its first UK location on the fifth floor. Since 1978 the roof garden has been listed as Grade II, and since 1981 the building has been a Grade II*
listed building
.
[4]
The name of one of the founders of the former store is preserved in the adjacent Derry Street.
[5]
References
[
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]
External links
[
edit
]
51°30′04″N
0°11′32″W
/
51.5012°N 0.1921°W
/
51.5012; -0.1921