Bon Marché was a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

based in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. It was the first purpose built department store in the city. The store was founded in 1877 by James Smith of

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

after he won a fortune at

Newmarket races Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of British horseracin ...

. The store was named and modelled after Bon Marché in Paris. The store was not successful and Smith went bankrupt in 1892. The new owners were more successful, eventually acquiring nearby stores Quin and Axtens and

Pratts of Streatham Pratts was a department store located in Streatham High Road, London. Established in the 1850s it became part of the John Lewis chain before its closure in 1990. Early history George Pratt arrived in Streatham from Silchester at the age of 13 t ...

. Eventually the group was bought by Selfridges. The building went on to be used as a market, retail units, a pub, and a business centre. The store had two buildings: the main building on the corner of Brixton Road and Ferndale Road, and Topland House opposite. Topland House was originally built as staff accommodation and currently houses The Department Store bar and restaurant.

Violette Szabo Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo, GC (née Bushell; 26 June 1921 – February 1945) was a British-French Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War and a posthumous recipient of the George Cross. On her second mission i ...

, an

SOE SOE may refer to: Organizations * State-owned enterprise * Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation ** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel * Society of Opera ...

secret agent during the Second World War and posthumous recipient of the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

, was working at Bon Marché when the war started.

References

{{Coord, 51.46368, -0.11498, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Lambeth History of the London Borough of Lambeth John Lewis Partnership Selfridges Brixton