Bradbeers in Romsey town centre - geograph

Bradbeers is a family run chain of department and furniture stores with branches in

New Milton New Milton is a market town in southwest Hampshire, England. To the north is in the New Forest and to the south the coast at Barton-on-Sea. The town is equidistant between Lymington and Christchurch, 6 miles (10 km) away. History Ne ...

Hedge End Hedge End is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, England. Situated to the east of the City of Southampton, it adjoins the districts of West End and Botley. Hedge End lies within the Borough of Eastleigh and is part of the Southampton Urban ...

and

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

. It has been running in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

for over 175 years. The origins of the business stem back to a small

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...

shop in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

run by R. S. Smith. The store traded under various names until 1892 when Mr Bradbeer entered the business. The shop was destroyed during the

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

of Southampton during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the firm ceased trading in the city. Today, the business operates from four main sites with department stores in Romsey and New Milton and furniture stores in both New Milton and Hedge End.

History

Beginnings and name changes

In 1837 a small

shop in Bernard Street,

was opened by Mr R. S. Smith. He was actively involved in the running of the business for another 50 years until his death in 1887. During that time, the firm's name changed to include the partners with whom he ran the business. In 1865 the business had changed its name to Smith, Bumpstead & Trippe, in 1884 it had changed to Smith, Brookman & Lewis, but following Mr Smith's death, Mr Lewis took over as manager, trading as Smith & Lewis until he retired in 1892. It was at this point that Mr Bradbeer entered the business and the firm became incorporated. It is perhaps worthy of note that Mr Smith never met Mr Bradbeer.

Southampton store

In 1905 the company relocated to a prime site in Above Bar, Southampton. In 1935, the store was expanded by taking over the next door site. Mr Bradbeer remained a bachelor all his life, and when he died in 1932 he left the business to his employees. Two members of staff in particular benefited from this. The first was a Mr Saunders who had joined the firm back in 1895 and who was Mr Bradbeer's right-hand man. The second was a Mr Gwilym Davies who had joined the firm in 1931 and who later married one of Mr Saunders' daughters. Gwilym Davies was the father of the present generation of owners of the business.

World War II

The company experienced a major setback during

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

when the Southampton store received a direct hit by a bomb on 23 November 1940. Two weeks later, however, the firm was trading again from sites in

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

and

. Plans were laid to rebuild the Southampton store after the war, but these were curtailed in 1949 when the local Council served a compulsory acquisition order. The following year's appeal was lost and so Smith Bradbeers left the city where it had been trading for over 100 years.

Postwar expansion

After the war, the company was trading from three towns;

and

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

. 1969 saw the death of Gwilym Davies and the succession of his three sons to the helm of the business. The firm has continued to expand in the last 50 years.

Bradbeers Today

Bradbeers operates from four main sites, in three towns on the south coast. The department stores can be found in

and

whilst the furniture showrooms are based in New Milton and

. In addition, Bradbeers operates a Removals & Storage business out of Romsey as well as a furniture rental business. In addition a clearance furniture store is located on

high street.

New Milton stores

The New Milton shop expanded vertically by building a new storey in 1969. It is currently located at 126–134 Station Road,

. It has a

cookware Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...

department, ladies'

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

s department, menswear department,

haberdashery In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...

and gifts department,

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

ry department, ladies' fashions department,

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

department, soft furnishings department,

linens Linens are fabric household goods intended for daily use, such as bedding, tablecloths, and towels. "Linens" may also refer to church linens, meaning the altar cloths used in church. History The earliest known household linens were made from ...

department and a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

. A furniture store established by Bradbeers is also located in New Milton.

Romsey store

The Romsey branch, situated at 14–20 Bell Street,

, was opened in a building formerly known as the Dolphin Inn and expanded by buying up adjoining properties in the 1960s and 1970s. A Major expansion which doubled the floor area and included the installation of an escalator and provision of two new restaurants was complete in 2003. The building is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a white or blue lady who has been sighted in the older parts of the store. This branch sells a range of products including clothing, cosmetics, jewellery, homeware and luggage.

Hedge End store

The most recent major expansion of the business was in 2010 with the acquisition of a retail park in the thriving retail arena of

, the largest of the site was redeveloped and is now operated by Bradbeers as a furniture showroom. The remaining four sites are let to other businesses.

Charitable Trust

The Smith Bradbeer Charitable Trust was set up in 1997 and is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

. The key objectives are to support the advancement of the Christian Faith (anywhere in the world). It is a grant making charity to support churches, missionaries and evangelism anywhere in the world. The Trust is dependent on Smith Bradbeer & Co for donations received, and is administered by a management committee comprising five trustees. The Trust donates a percentage of profits annually for the advancement of its objectives.

Markets

Smith Bradbeer & Co manages the popular Romsey market held in the Cornmarket outside the Romsey department store, taking place on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday every week.

References

{{reflist

External links

www.bradbeers.com
official site
www.bradbeersremovals.co.uk
official site Department stores of the United Kingdom