Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an
upmarket 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 ...
in
Piccadilly,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, with additional stores at
The Royal Exchange,
St Pancras railway station,
Heathrow Airport in London and
K11 Musea In Hong Kong, as well as various stockists worldwide. Its headquarters are located at 181 Piccadilly, where it was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason. Today, it is privately owned by
Wittington Investments Limited
Wittington Investments Limited is a privately owned British holding company. It was incorporated in 1941 and is based in London, England.
The company is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, one of the United Kingdom's largest grant-ma ...
.
Founded as a grocery store, Fortnum's reputation was built on supplying quality food, and saw rapid growth throughout the Victorian era. Though Fortnum's developed into a department store, it continues to focus on stocking a variety of exotic, speciality and also 'basic' provisions.
The store has since opened several other departments, such as the gentlemen's department on the first floor. It also contains a tea shop and several restaurants.
History
William Fortnum was a
footman
A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage.
Etymology
Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
in the
household
A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...
of
Queen Anne. The royal family's insistence on having new candles every night resulted in large amounts of half-used wax, which Fortnum promptly resold. Fortnum also had a side business as a grocer. He convinced his landlord, Hugh Mason, to be his associate, and they founded the first Fortnum & Mason store in Mason's small shop in St James's Market in 1707. In 1761, William Fortnum's grandson Charles went into the service of
Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
, and the connection with the royal court led to an increase in business. Fortnum & Mason claims to have invented the
Scotch egg
A Scotch egg is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and baked or deep-fried .
Origin
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives the first instance of the name as of 1809, in an edition of Maria Rundell's '' A New System ...
, in 1738.
The store began to stock speciality items, namely ready-to-eat luxury meals such as poultry or
game served in
aspic jelly.
During the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, the emporium supplied
dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to th ...
, spices and other
preserves
Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread.
There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
to British
officers
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
and during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
it was frequently called upon to provide food for prestigious court functions.
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
sent shipments of Fortnum & Mason's concentrated
beef tea to
Florence Nightingale's hospitals during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
.
Charles Drury Edward Fortnum
Charles Drury Edward Fortnum (1820–1899), often known as C. Drury E. Fortnum, was an English art collector and historian, known as a benefactor of the University of Oxford.
Life
Born on 2 March 1820, Fortnum was the surviving son of Charles For ...
(1820–1899), of the family, was a distinguished art collector and a Trustee of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, to which he donated his collection of Islamic
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
.
In 1886, after having bought the entire stock of five cases of a new product made by
H. J. Heinz, Fortnum & Mason became the first store in Britain to stock tins of
baked beans
Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white beans that are parboiled and then, in the US, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. In the United Kingdom, the dish is sometimes baked, but usually stewed in sauce. Canned ...
.
The shop at 181–184 Piccadilly was rebuilt between 1926 and 1927 to a neo-Georgian design by the architects
Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie. The building also incorporates 22–27 Duke Street and 42–45 Jermyn Street.
In April 1951, the Canadian businessman
W. Garfield Weston acquired the store and became its chairman following a
boardroom coup.
In 1964, he commissioned a four-ton clock to be installed above the main entrance of the store as a tribute to its founders. Every hour, models of William Fortnum and Hugh Mason emerge and bow to each other, with chimes and
18th-century–style music playing in the background. The chimes were incorporated into
Jonathan Dove's orchestral adaptation of
Zeb Soanes
Zebedee Soanes (born 24 June 1976) is a British radio presenter who presents the weekday evening music show ''Smooth Classics at Seven'' on Classic FM. He was previously a newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extr ...
' children's book Gaspard's Foxtrot, which depicts the clock and its figures as illustrated by
James Mayhew. Since Garfield Weston's death in 1978, the store has been run by his granddaughters,
Jana Khayat and Kate Weston Hobhouse. The Chief Executive Officer is Tom Athron, who joined the business in December 2020.
The store underwent a £24 million refurbishment in 2007 as part of its tercentenary celebrations.
In March 2012, Queen
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
,
Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall and
Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge made their first official joint visit to Fortnum & Mason. During this visit, they were each presented with their own personalised hampers.
The Queen opened the
Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon on the fourth floor.
In November 2013, the first company's additional store was opened at
St Pancras International station.
The retailer has since opened stores and restaurants at
Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
Terminal 5 in 2014 and
The Royal Exchange in 2018.
Fortnum & Mason opened its first standalone store outside Britain in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
on 21 March 2014. This store closed on 9 July 2017.
On 4 April 2019, it was announced that Fortnum & Mason would open a
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
store at
K11 Musea in September 2019. The 7,000 square-foot space features a retail store and restaurant.
Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards
Fortnum & Mason runs an annual food and drinks awards scheme.
According to the company's former CEO Ewan Venters, the awards recognise ‘the pinnacle of high achievement in food and drink across the media’. The awards celebrate writers, publishers, presenters, image-makers and personalities working in the food and drink industry.
The 2018 awards ceremony was hosted by
Claudia Winkleman
Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...
and winners included
Nadiya Hussain
Nadiya Jamir Hussain (''née'' Begum; born 25 December 1984) is a British television chef, author and television presenter. She rose to fame after winning the sixth series (Season 3 on PBS, or Collection 3 on Netflix in the US) of BBC's ''Th ...
,
Nigel Slater
Nigel Slater (born 9 April 1956) is an English food writer, journalist and broadcaster. He has written a column for ''The Observer Magazine'' for over a decade and is the principal writer for the ''Observer Food Monthly'' supplement. Prior to ...
and
Jay Rayner.
[
]
Royal warrants
Fortnum & Mason holds two royal warrants, the first granted by Queen Elizabeth II as Grocers and Provisions Merchants, and the second by Charles, then Prince of Wales as Tea Merchants and Grocers.
Their first royal warrant was granted in 1910 by Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 t ...
. Later Royal Warrants were granted to Fortnum & Mason by King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
, though Fortnum & Mason temporarily lost their warrant for King George V in 1948, due to post war rationing of the time. The warrant for King George V was restored in 1951.
Later, King George VI and his consort Queen Elizabeth, known as The Queen Mother
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
after the death of King George VI in 1952, both granted Fortnum & Mason Royal Warrants.
Platinum Jubilee
In 2022, Fortnum & Mason was a sponsor of the Platinum Pudding Competition, as part of the official celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration in 2022 marking the Platinum jubilee, 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952, the first British monarch to ever celebrate one.
In the Un ...
.
Fortnum & Mason was also one of sixteen partners of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, held on 5 June 2022.
Controversies
In November 2010, animal rights group PETA UK began a campaign against Fortnum & Mason's sale of foie gras
Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding).
Foie gras is a popular and well-known delica ...
citing the cruelty in the production process. The group regularly held demonstrations involving celebrities, activists and volunteers outside the store. Celebrities supporting the campaign included Geezer Butler
Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...
, Sir Roger Moore, Owain Yeoman
Owain Sebastian Yeoman is a Welsh actor. His credits include '' The Nine'', '' Kitchen Confidential'', AMC's '' Turn'' (as Benedict Arnold) and the HBO series '' Generation Kill''. Additionally, he portrayed CBI Agent Wayne Rigsby in ''The Men ...
, Tamara Ecclestone, Bill Oddie
William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies.
A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...
, Twiggy
Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London.
...
and Morrissey. In 2011, Fortnum & Mason was reprimanded by Westminster Trading Standards for misleading customers about its animal welfare standards. As a result, the grocer changed its corporate social responsibility document to state that only UK suppliers are required to adhere to its welfare standards. In December 2020, Fortnum & Mason ceased sale of foie gras in favour of the ethical alternative, foie royale.
On 26 March 2011, Fortnum & Mason was targeted by the group UK Uncut
UK Uncut was a network of United Kingdom-based protest groups established in October 2010 to protest against cuts to public services and tax avoidance in the UK. Various sources have described the group as left-wing in its political orientati ...
, who broke off from the main 2011 anti-cuts protest march to target the tax avoidance policies of Associated British Foods, which, like Fortnum & Mason, is owned by Wittington Investments. This took the form of a mass sit-in, with some 138 UK Uncut protesters arrested.
In popular culture
Fortnum's history of offering a wide variety of foodstuffs is referenced in the 1960 Hammer Studios film, '' The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll''. Set in 1870s London, Mr Hyde quips regarding a lively and risqué London nightspot, ''"Rather like Fortnum & Mason ... you can buy anything here."''
In Alan Bennett's play The Madness of George III
''The Madness of George III'' is a 1991 play by Alan Bennett. It is a fictionalised biographical study of the latter half of the reign of George III of the United Kingdom, his battle with mental illness, and the inability of his court to handle h ...
(also made into a 1994 film), set in the late 1780s, a footman named Fortnum leaves in a huff to start a "provision merchant's in Piccadilly." This is an anachronistic reference to the founding of the store, as William Fortnum's position as a footman in the royal household was many decades earlier, in the reign of Queen Anne.
In Anthony Trollope's novel "The Claverings," Sir Hugh Clavering disdains to trust Fortnum and Mason to provision his yachting trip to Norway. "He was not a man to trust any Fortnum or any Mason as to the excellence of the article to be supplied, or as to the price."
See also
* Harrods
* Jenners
References
External links
Official website
Bonhams – Fortnum & Mason
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortnum and Mason
1707 establishments in England
Shops in London
Luxury brands
Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
Privately held companies of the United Kingdom
British Royal Warrant holders
Tourist attractions in the City of Westminster
Department store buildings in the United Kingdom
Food retailers of the United Kingdom
Delicatessens in the United Kingdom
British companies established in 1707
Retail companies established in 1707