Large five storey building with road and passing car to front
The former Hammonds building in Hull as House of Fraser in 2007

Hammonds of Hull was a department store with the original business located in Hull before opening a further branch in Bridlington. The business was later bought by House of Fraser. As of September 2021, the building in Ferensway is being renovated to re-open to the public as an artisan food hall at ground level including space for independent non-food retailers, and with rentable office space above.[1][2]

History

In 1821 H W Hammond opened a drapery shop on the old North Bridge in Hull. The business continued to operate at this location until 1861 when the store moved to Osborne Street.[3] In 1889 the business was sold to James Powell and his three sons, whose family continued to operate the business until 1972. The business was incorporated in 1913.[3]

Due to the growth of Hull, a new store was built in 1916 with modern elevators and a large restaurant. This was further improved before the Second World War with the addition on an escalator and a third storey.[3] However the store was destroyed by German bombing in May 1941, but within a week 47 of the store's departments were open again in a temporary location.

The store was not rebuilt until 1952 on Paragon Square to designs by T. P. Bennett,[4] with extensions added in 1954 and 1957. Within a couple of years the business had grown again by opening its own hairdressing salon,[3] and in 1960 added a new warehouse to accommodate their furniture workshops and stock rooms. This itself was extended within four years, while a fourth floor was added to the main store.[3]

In 1969 the business purchased the Carltons department store located in Bridlington, and within a year had demolished and rebuilt the store. The company's independence did not last much longer, as in 1972 House of Fraser purchased the business for £8 million.[3] The stores were then grouped under the Binns brand. The Bridlington store was closed in 1995[5] and the store stood empty for three years until Boyes opened in 1998.[6] The Hull store was re-branded under the House of Fraser name and closed in August 2019 after the Sports Direct takeover of the group.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Opening of hugely-anticipated new Hammonds of Hull store moves a step closer Hull Live, 27 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021
  2. ↑ Artisan food hall Hull Hammonds of Hull. Retrieved 29 September 2021
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "House of Fraser Archive : Company : Hammonds". Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Draft Local Plan" (PDF). Meeting: Planning Committee - 19/Sep/2006. Kingston upon Hull City Council. p. 12. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Fraser axes three stores". The Independent. 17 January 1995. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Bridlington Through the Ages". www.bridlington.net. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  7. ↑ Corcoran, Sophie; Mutch, Michael (4 August 2019). "Updates as House of Fraser closes in Hull city centre for good". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
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