English Shops and Shopping

by Kathryn Morrison

Shoppers in England from medieval times to the present have been beguiled by attractive merchandise, rarely heeding the details of their surroundings. This appealing book shifts the focus of attention for the first time to the architecture of retail buildings in England. It examines the history and character of retail settings since the Middle Ages, including shops, arcades, market halls, co-operative stores, department stores, multiples, supermarkets, precincts, and malls.
The book traces how various types of retail buildings developed in response to fashion, social and economic conditions, technological advances, and innovations in retailing methods. It reveals how the act of shopping helped to shape urban centers, and how shops of the near and distant past have left their mark on today’s high streets. Encompassing topics as diverse as the impact of chains like Marks & Spencer and the revolutionary effect of lifts on store planning, the book provides a unique record of English shop buildings throughout the centuries.

Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, in association with English Heritage

352 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2003

Reviews

[Mike Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ground floor perfumery, stationery and leather goods, wigs and haberdashery, kitchenware and food, going up! Kathryn Morrison’s English Heritage treatise manages to be both comprehensive and concise, tracing the story of the domestic retail trade from medieval market place to Lakeside and Amazon. Of course, dating from 2003, it can’t have foreseen the demise of Woolworths (which features heavily as a case history - did you know it was once considered upmarket of - shudder - M&S?), BHS, Debenhams or indeed the decline of the department store as a format. But there’s plenty to love (lots of super Victorian, Art Deco and Brutalist shop fronts, and a host of names you’ll remember, some with fondness, some with a moué of distaste, many barely at all) plus background and insight such as how shopping had to be made safe for the middle classes, and why the Co-op, which once accounted for a quarter of the grocery market, lost so much ground in the era of upward mobility and out of town shopping. A glorious romp through our favourite pastime, and a fine slice of social history too.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my most prized books, an absolute must for those interested in architecture and history