George Street, Richmond
1790s
No. 80 George Street was the site of J H Gosling & Sons, department store, founded as a drapers by John Hunt Gosling in 1796. The site expanded to include 75-79. In 1947 it was taken over by John Barker & Co. (later acquired by House of Fraser in 1957); it was demolished in 1968 after being damaged in a fire. It reopened as Dickins & Jones on completion of new building 1970; renamed House of Fraser 2007; closed in 2020 and is now undergoing redevelopment.
1890s
The facade of the former General Post Office building at 70–72 George Street, now a retail store, incorporates the coat of arms of the former Municipal Borough of Richmond, which existed from 1890 to 1965.
No. 29, now a Tesco Metro, was built in 1896 by the brothers Alfred and Harold Wright as a drapers shop. It developed into the first department store in Richmond, Wright Brothers Ltd, in 1929. Wright Brothers was purchased by Hide & Co Ltd, of Kingston, in 1940; they were taken over by House of Fraser in 1975, and the department store was sold to Owen Owen in 1976 and closed in 1990.
The street is one-way eastbound. Westbound traffic uses Eton Street, Paradise Road and Red Lion Street.
Memorial plaque
At Barclays Bank a memorial plaque, relocated in 2014 from the bank's former branch in Ham, commemorates Angela Woolliscroft, a bank teller who was murdered in 1976 during a bank robbery at the Ham branch. It reads: "In fond memory of Angela Woolliscroft who died on 10th November 1976. A member of staff of this branch who will always be remembered by her colleagues."
Gallery
-
Former Post Office building on George Street
-
Facade of the Post Office building, showing the coat of arms of the former Municipal Borough of Richmond
-
Memorial plaque paying tribute to bank teller Angela Woolliscroft, murdered in 1976 during a robbery at Barclays Bank's branch in Ham
-
Corner of the former Wright Brothers building
References
- ^ The Streets of Richmond and Kew (Fourth ed.). Richmond Local History Society. 2022. p. 47.
- ^ "Riverside – south of the river, west of the Tower. Richmond – central and riverside". Edith's Streets. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ Historic England (10 January 1950). "Greyhound House (1080824)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- ^ "HOUSE OF FRASER Archive :: Company: Gosling & Sons Ltd". Housefraserarchive.ac.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ^ Gill, Shane (20 January 2021). "The Development of Retail on Richmond High Street and the impact this had on the local area". BA History at Bournemouth University. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
- ^ Dyduch, Amy (24 April 2014). "Murdered Chessington teller's memory to be honoured when bank moves out of Ham Parade". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
Further reading
- Richmond Local History Society (2022). The Streets of Richmond and Kew (4th edition), ISBN 978-1-912314-03-4.