Derry and Toms

Department Store in/near High Street Kensington, existed between 1853 and 1973

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Department Store · * · W8 ·
JANUARY
9
2019
Derry & Toms was a London department store.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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 Jnr. The building is most famous for its Kensington Roof Gardens, which opened in 1938 and still exists 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. 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.

The name of one of the founders of the former store is preserved in Derry Street, an adjacent street.

Read the Derry entry on the Wikipedia...


Main source: Wikipedia
Further citations and sources



NEARBY LOCATIONS OF NOTE
Ashbourne College Ashbourne College is an independent school and sixth form located in Kensington.
Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s, started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon.
Derry and Toms Derry & Toms was a London department store.
High Street Kensington High Street Kensington is a London Underground station on Kensington High Street.
Kensington Market Kensington Market was a three storey indoor market at 49 Kensington High Street, created in late 1967
Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century.
Kensington Roof Garden Kensington Roof Garden (formerly known as Derry and Toms Roof Gardens) covers 6000 square metres.
Kensington School The Kensington Proprietary Grammar School was an educational establishment founded in 1830 that is perhaps best remembered for being one of the founders of the Football Association in 1863.
Linley Sambourne House 18 Stafford Terrace, formerly known as Linley Sambourne House, was the home of the Punch illustrator Edward Linley Sambourne and open as a museum.
Royal Garden Hotel Royal Garden Hotel is a 5 star hotel in London, England.
St Mary Abbot’s St Mary Abbots is a church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8.

NEARBY STREETS
Abbots Court, W8 Abbots Court is a block in Kensington (High Street Kensington)
Abbots Walk, W8 Abbots Walk is one of a number of thoroughfares built over the site of St Mary Abbots Hospital (Kensington)
Abingdon Court, W8 Abingdon Court is a block of flats on Abingdon Villas (Kensington)
Abingdon Gardens, W8 Abingdon Gardens is a block on Abingdon Villas (Kensington)
Abingdon Mansions, W8 The Abbots of Abingdon were once Lords of the Manor of Abbot’s Kensington (Kensington)
Abingdon Road, W8 Abingdon Road stretches between Stratford Road and Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Abingdon Villas, W8 Abingdon Villas runs between Earls Court Road and Marloes Road (Kensington)
Adam And Eve Mews, W8 Adam And Eve Mews is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Albert Mews, SW7 Albert Mews is a small cobbled mews, built in 1865 (Gloucester Road)
Albert Place, W8 Albert Place runs west off Victoria Road. (Kensington)
Allen Street, W8 Allen Street extends south from Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Ansdell Street, W8 Ansdell Street (and Andsell Terrace) commemorate Richard Ansdell RA, whose animal paintings were highly popular with the Victorian public (Kensington)
Ansdell Terrace, W8 Ansdell Terrace is a cul-de-sac off of Ansdell Street and was previously known as St Albans Road North. (Kensington)
Argyll Road, W8 Argyll Road was built as part of the development of the Phillimore Estate (Kensington)
Arundel House, W8 Arundel House is a block on Palace Green (Kensington)
Atlantic House, W8 Atlantic House is a block on St Alban’s Grove (Kensington)
Ball Street, W8 Ball Street was created by the Kensington Improvement Scheme of 1868-71, carried out by the Metropolitan Board of Works. (High Street Kensington)
Cambridge Place, W8 Cambridge Place is a short cul-de-sac on the west side of Victoria Road (Kensington)
Campden Grove, W8 Campden Grove runs between Kensington Church Street and Hornton Street. (Kensington)
Campden Hill Close, W8 Campden Hill Close is a small cul-de-sac entered by a narrow driveway off Hornton Street (Kensington)
Campden Hill Court, W8 Campden Hill Court is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Campden Hill Road, W8 Campden Hill Road runs between Notting Hill Gate and Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Campden Hill, W8 Campden Hill is a hill and street in Kensington (Kensington)
Cedar House, W8 Cedar House is sited on Marloes Road (Kensington)
Cheniston Gardens, W8 Cheniston Gardens is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Como House, W8 Como House is a block on Wrights Lane (Kensington)
Cope Place, W8 Cope Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Cottesmore Court, W8 Cottesmore Court is a block on South End Row (Kensington)
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Derry Street, W8 Derry Street formerly known as King Street and laid out in the mid-1730s (High Street Kensington)
Douro Place, W8 Douro Place is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Drayson Mews, W8 Drayson Mews is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Duchess of Bedford’s Walk, W8 Lady Georgiana Russell, wife of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford lived at Argyll Lodge, a former house on Campden Hill, near the location of the road (Kensington)
Eden Close, W8 Eden Close is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Eldon Road, SW7 Eldon Road runs between Stanford Road and Victoria Road (Kensington)
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Gloucester Walk, W8 Gloucester Walk is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
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Kensington Apartment, W8 Kensington Apartment is a road in the W8 postcode area (High Street Kensington)
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Kensington Church Court, W8 Kensington Church Court is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Kensington Court Place, W8 Kensington Court Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Kensington Court, W8 Kensington Court is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Kensington Gate, W8 Kensington Gate is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Kensington Palace Gardens, W8 Kensington Palace Gardens is a street in west central London with some of the most expensive properties in the world. (Kensington)
Kensington Road, W8 Kensington Road is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Kensington Square, W8 Kensington Square is a garden square in London, W8 (Kensington)
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Kynance Place, SW7 Kynance Place was originally called St Georges Place (Gloucester Road)
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Launceston Place, SW7 Launceston Place was the last street to be developed on the Inderwick estate. (Kensington)
Launceston Place, W8 Launceston Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Leonard Court, W8 Leonard Court is a block on Leonard Court (Kensington)
Macmillan House, W8 Residential block (High Street Kensington)
Melon Place, W8 Melon Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Observatory Gardens, W8 Observatory Gardens commemorates what was the world’s finest private observatory. (Kensington)
Old Court Place, W8 Old Court Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Palace Avenue, W8 Palace Avenue is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Palace Green, W8 Palace Green is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Palace Place Mansions, W8 Palace Place Mansions is a street in Kensington (High Street Kensington)
Pembroke Mews, W8 Pembroke Mews is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Pembroke Place, W8 Pembroke Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Phillimore Place, W8 Phillimore Place was part of the old Phillimore Estate and, at first, named Durham Villas (Kensington)
Phillimore Walk, W8 Phillimore Walk is a street in Kensington (High Street Kensington)
Pitt Street, W8 Pitt Street is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Prince Of Wales Terrace, W8 Prince Of Wales Terrace is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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Scarsdale Place, W8 Scarsdale Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Scarsdale Villas, W8 Scarsdale Villas was built between 1850 and 1864 (Kensington)
Sheldrake Place, W8 Sheldrake Place is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
South Edwardes Square, W8 South Edwardes Square derives its name from William Edwardes, 2nd Lord Kensington - the square was built on part of his Holland House Estate. (Kensington)
South End Row, W8 South End Row is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
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St James House, W8 Residential block (Kensington)
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Stafford Court, W8 Stafford Court can be found on Kensington High Street (Kensington)
Stafford Terrace, W8 Stafford Terrace was built between 1868 and 1874 by builder Joseph Gordon Davis (Kensington)
Stanford Road, W8 Stanford Road is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Stone Hall Place, W8 Stone Hall Place leads to Stone Hall Gardens (Kensington)
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Thackeray Street, W8 Thackeray Street is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
The Barkers Building, W8 The Barkers Building is located on Derry Street (High Street Kensington)
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Victoria Grove, W8 Victoria Grove is a street in Kensington (Gloucester Road)
Victoria Road, W8 Victoria Road stretches north to Kensington Road (Kensington)
Warwick Chambers, W8 Warwick Chambers is a street in Kensington (Kensington)
Wright’s Lane, W8 Wright’s Lane is a old lane of Kensington (Kensington)
Wynnstay Gardens, W8 Wynnstay Gardens is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
York House Place, W8 York House Place existed between 1839 and 1904 (Kensington)
York Passage, W8 York Passage is a road in the W8 postcode area (Kensington)
Young Street, W8 Young Street, named after the developer of Kensington Square, was in use as a road by 1685 (High Street Kensington)
Zetland House, W8 Zetland House can be found on Marloes Road (Kensington)


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