Hammonds of Hull

Hammonds was a department store located originally in Hull before opening a further branch in Bridlington. The business was bought by House of Fraser.

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.^[1] 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.^[1]

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.^[1] However the store was destroyed by German bombing in 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,^[2] with extensions added in 1954 and 1957. Within a couple of years the business had grown again by opening its own hairdressing salon,^[1] 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.^[1]

In 1969 the business purchased the Carlton 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.^[1] The stores were then grouped under the Binns brand, before the Bridlington store was closed and the Hull store re-branded under the House of Fraser name.

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