Retail Gallery

Harrods Shoe Department 1919 BL24450_021

HARRODS, Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, London. Baroque luxury of the ladies shoe department in Harrods. The ornate plaster ceiling and the lavish use of space emphasise the exclusive nature of the store. It was rebuilt following a fire in 1884 and was given a major extension in 1901-5. Photographed by Bedford Lemere & Co in April 1919

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Mr Selfridges Room, Lansdowne House BL25525

LANSDOWNE HOUSE, Berkeley Square, London. An interior view of Mr Selfridge's Room. Photographed by Bedford Lemere and Company, 1921. At the time of this photograph, Lansdowne House was leased to the American retail entrepreneur Gordon Selfridge, of Selfridge's department store fame. Lansdowne House was the family home of the Marquesses of Lansdowne, but like many London homes of the aristocracy, it proved difficult for the owners to maintain in the harsh British economic climate after the First World War, and prior to a period of it being leased out to occupiers, it was finally sold off and became a gentlemen's and ladies club

© Historic England Archive

Market Hall Wolverhampton, 1942 AA42_03222

Market Hall, North Street, Wolverhampton. The west portico of the Market Hall in North Street.
The Market Hall opened in 1853. By 1868 it was described as being the worst conducted market hall in England with stall holders complaining of a lack of enforcement of bye laws and a prevalence of pick-pockets. Over the subsequent years the situation improved, thanks in part to the presence of police officers, and the market went from strength to strength. It finally closed in 1960 after concerns that repairs would prove too costly. The Civic Centre now occupies the site

© Historic England Archive