Walter Cobb was a department store located in Sydenham in South London. It opened in 1860 and closed in 1981.
HistoryEdit
The Walter Cobb store was founded by Walter Cobb, who was born in Canterbury in 1835, and learnt his trade as a draper in Dover.[1]
In 1860, Cobb opened the store in Lawrie Place, a newly built parade, as a ladies outfitters,[2] with his wife and their shop assistants living above the store. By 1862 the business was described as General Drapery Establishment, selling shawls, dresses, mantles, family mourning wear and having a millinery department.
Cobb was an astute business and marketing man. He advertised his store as having the latest fashions from Paris and London.[2] Over the next 30 years, he purchased shops either side of his property, expanding the Walter Cobb store into each unit with new departments. The business by 1898 occupied 297-301 Kirdale, 270-272 Kirkdale, a furniture depository in Silverdale and an estate agents and funeral parlour at 1-3 Railway Approach.[1]
By 1900, the Walter Cobb store ran the length of Lawrie Place except for the butcher store on the corner. The store was declared to be the equal of Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Marshall & Snelgrove in a Times article of the time.[1] In 1900, the butcher store finally sold out and Walter Cobb built the grand corner entrance to his store which finally opened in 1902 with its grand dome pediment. Walter was also a costume maker for the 1911 Festival of empire at the Crystal Palace. The Walter Cobb store continued to operate, past Cobb's death in 1922 up and to the Second World War.
During the London bombings of World War II, three quarters of the Walter Cobb store was demolished; however the business continued to operate in a condensed form. The business was however grown by the purchase of Penge department store Bryce Grant.[3] The Walter Cobb store was rebuilt slowly, with the building not being completed until 1960.[2] During this time the business continued to open new departments including selling hardware.
The 1970s saw the Walter Cobb store decline. The store closed in 1981.[2]
ReferencesEdit
^ abc"Cobbs Department Store, Sydenham - Sydenham & Forest Hill Local History". Retrieved 5 December 2014.
^ abcd"Walter Cobb Ltd - National Archives". Retrieved 5 December 2014.
^Gerald Gossage (2006). Long Road to the Manse. p. 177. ISBN1425958001.
walter, cobb, department, store, walter, cobb, department, store, located, sydenham, south, london, opened, 1860, closed, 1981, history, editthe, walter, cobb, store, founded, walter, cobb, born, canterbury, 1835, learnt, trade, draper, dover, 1860, cobb, open. Walter Cobb was a department store located in Sydenham in South London It opened in 1860 and closed in 1981 History EditThe Walter Cobb store was founded by Walter Cobb who was born in Canterbury in 1835 and learnt his trade as a draper in Dover 1 In 1860 Cobb opened the store in Lawrie Place a newly built parade as a ladies outfitters 2 with his wife and their shop assistants living above the store By 1862 the business was described as General Drapery Establishment selling shawls dresses mantles family mourning wear and having a millinery department Cobb was an astute business and marketing man He advertised his store as having the latest fashions from Paris and London 2 Over the next 30 years he purchased shops either side of his property expanding the Walter Cobb store into each unit with new departments The business by 1898 occupied 297 301 Kirdale 270 272 Kirkdale a furniture depository in Silverdale and an estate agents and funeral parlour at 1 3 Railway Approach 1 By 1900 the Walter Cobb store ran the length of Lawrie Place except for the butcher store on the corner The store was declared to be the equal of Harrods Harvey Nichols and Marshall amp Snelgrove in a Times article of the time 1 In 1900 the butcher store finally sold out and Walter Cobb built the grand corner entrance to his store which finally opened in 1902 with its grand dome pediment Walter was also a costume maker for the 1911 Festival of empire at the Crystal Palace The Walter Cobb store continued to operate past Cobb s death in 1922 up and to the Second World War During the London bombings of World War II three quarters of the Walter Cobb store was demolished however the business continued to operate in a condensed form The business was however grown by the purchase of Penge department store Bryce Grant 3 The Walter Cobb store was rebuilt slowly with the building not being completed until 1960 2 During this time the business continued to open new departments including selling hardware The 1970s saw the Walter Cobb store decline The store closed in 1981 2 References Edit a b c Cobbs Department Store Sydenham Sydenham amp Forest Hill Local History Retrieved 5 December 2014 a b c d Walter Cobb Ltd National Archives Retrieved 5 December 2014 Gerald Gossage 2006 Long Road to the Manse p 177 ISBN 1425958001 51 25 39 N 0 03 22 W 51 42750 N 0 05617 W 51 42750 0 05617 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter Cobb department store amp oldid 1143060338, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
