Joseph Della Porta 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 ...

located in The Square,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

History

Founder Joseph Della Porta came to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1847 from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and by 1857 had opened a small store on Princess Street, Shrewsbury. He expanded the business by purchasing other stores right up to The Square. By 1869 Joseph's son-in-law Augustine Alfred Rabnett joined the business as a partner and the store traded as Joseph Della Porta Son & Rabnett. Rabnett later left the partnership to open his own store, and the business reverted to the name Joseph Della Porta & Son, with Joseph's son John Lewis Della Porta taking over the reins upon the death of Joseph in 1904. In 1929 John died, and his son Joseph William Della Porta took over, incorporating the business as a private

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

in 1930. Joseph William was the last member of the

Della Porta Della Porta is an Italian surname. It may refer to: * Antonella Della Porta (1927–2002), Italian actress * Antonio della Porta (died 1702), Swiss Baroque architect * Ardicino della Porta, ''iuniore'' (1434–1493), Italian Roman Catholic bishop a ...

family to run the business but continued to grow the business by buying additional property fronting the High Street. In 1948 the business was purchased by the department store chain Hide & Co, who ran Della Portas as a subsidiary, with another Shrewsbury business purchased by Hide & Co in 1950 - drapers Edwin Powell & Son being run by Della Portas. The business continued to grow and by 1957 the store had over 40 departments. In 1975 Hide & Co was purchased by

House of Fraser House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...

who rebranded the store under the Rackhams name. The store today is now House of Fraser Shrewsbury.

References

Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1857 Della Porta Joseph Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury 1857 establishments in England 1948 mergers and acquisitions Retail companies disestablished in 1975 1975 disestablishments in England {{UK-retail-company-stub