Knight & Lee

Knight & Lee is a department store in Southsea, Hampshire, England. The store was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership in 1933 and is one of only two stores remaining which does not trade under the John Lewis & Partners name.

Pre Partnership History

The store was originally a lace business operated by Mr William Wink in Queens Street.[1] In 1857 William Wink died and his wife took over the business and it was listed as a ‘lace manufacturer, milliner and dressmaker’. By 1865 Frederick Wink had taken over the business.[2]

Frederick moved the business to the more fashionable Palmerston Road in Southsea[3] in 1874. The business expanded with purchase of further premises in Palmerston Road and increased it's offering to become a department store.

In 1887 brothers-in-law Jesse Knight and Edward Herbert Soden Lee purchased the business.[4] They had previously worked for William Whitley in Bayswater, and brought a Mr Brown with them as General Manager.[5] The business was greatly expanded by a novel Boys wear department which was followed by a menswear department. In 1899 the business was incorporated.

In 1908 they purchased a former Fishmongers on the corner of Stanley Lane and Palmerston Road.[6] This was eventually joined by further purchases along Palmerston Road that joined the stores together, with the buildings being rebuilt in 1910. In 1922 Mr Knight died, with Mr Lee dying two years later. Mr Brown who had joined the business from Whitleys when Knight & Lee had purchased the business ran the business until the John Lewis partnership bought the business in the 1933.[7]

After John Lewis Purchase

By 1937 John Lewis were announcing that Knight and Lee had increased its turnover to £100,000.[8] However World War II saw destruction to Portsmouth and Knight & Lee was no different. In 1940 the store was hit in an air raid, but was re-opened but was then destroyed by incendiary bomb on 10 January 1941.[9] The business however quickly recovered by opening offices in the nearby Queen's Hotel and opening premises in Palmerston Arcade by 24 February. By 1950 the business had expanded into further premises next to Palmerston Arcade, with further premises in Elm Grove.[10] In 1955 it was announced that a new purpose built building was to be constructed on the corner of Palmerston Road. The store opened in 1959 with all bar the Boys and Menswear departments operating in the new premises.[11]

However, in 2004 the business was under threat as John Lewis had agreed to become an anchor store for the new Portsmouth Northern Quarter development.[12] The development was put on hold by Portsmouth City Council in 2005, however the scheme was resurrected by developers and locals were worried that Knight & Lee would close. However, in 2014 John Lewis announced that Knight & Lee would be staying in Southsea.[13]

Coordinates: 50°47′06″N 1°05′18″W / 50.7850°N 1.0883°W / 50.7850; -1.0883

References

  1. ↑ "Humble beginnings - By Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Humble beginnings - By Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Humble beginnings - By Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Founding fathers Knight and Lee - By Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Founding fathers Knight and Lee - By Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "The early Twentieth Century by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "The Aquisition of Knight and Lee by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Aquisition of Knight and Lee by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "The War Years by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Soldering on with Trade by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "The construction and opening of Knight & Lee by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  12. ↑ "John Lewis Portsmouth in Pipeline - by Jonathan Blatchford - johnlewismemorystore.org.uk". Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "John Lewis pledges its Knight and Lee store in Southsea will stay - The News p.28 April 2014". Retrieved 17 January 2017.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.