Catalogue description Hamptons and Sons Ltd, furnishers, 8 Pall Mall and 1-3 Whitcomb Street

History of the firm, reminiscences, photographs and catalogues

Photographs in Local Studies Collection, which include at least a partial view of Hamptons

A black and white photograph of 7 Duncannon Street ooking towards Trafalgar Square 1904 F138 Duncannon Street (2)

A black and white Photograph of Trafalgar Square from the corner of Whitehall and Northumberland Avenue c1905 F136 (72)

A postcard of Trafalgar Square [1910] F136 (77)

A black and white photograph of 8-11 Pall Mall East from Trafalgar Square on the occasion of the visit of Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America 1918 F138 Pall Mall East (10)

A black and white photograph of Trafalgar Square, taken from the South-East corner 1930 F136 (20B)

A black and white photograph of bomb damage to Hamptons and Sons on the corner of Whitcomb Street and Pall Mall 16 Nov 1940 CD 131.4 Incident No 1047

Hamptons and Sons Ltd, furnishers

Records were donated by Mrs Shirley Rodwell July 2001.

In 1830 William Hampton opened a shop for the sale of general household furniture in Cranbourn Street. He was subsequently joined by his two sons George and William Powell (the sons of George Hampton; Harold, Fred and Clarence also later entered the business). In 1869 the business expanded with new premises on the corner site comprising 8 Pall Mall East and 1-3 Dorset Place (now Whitcomb Street). Throughout its history the firm suffered a number of serious fires, the first of which occurred in 1890. As the firm continued to expand it took over control of a number of other firms, beginning with James Coulson and Co of Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1898, and in the early 1950's Goodall, Lamb and Highway of King Street, Manchester and Robson and Sons Ltd of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

In 1926 the firm opened a factory at Ingate Place, Battersea close to the firm's existing depository. Amongst the firm's noteable contracts were the Royal Yacht Britannia, the liners the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the Duke of York Theatre, the Dorchester and the Mayfair Hotels and the palaces of two Indian princes, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maharajah of Kashmir. On the night of 16th November 1940 an incendiary bomb hit the Pall Mall premises and the greater part of the building was destroyed. Temporary one-storeyed buildings were erected on the site but these were eventually demolished in 1957 following the sale of the site to the Canadian Government. In October 1940 the firm had acquired a controlling interest in the firm of Storey & Co Ltd of Kensington High Street and it was there that the firm established its new headquarters.