Walter Cobb was a department store located in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. It opened in 1860 and closed in 1981.

History

The Walter Cobb store was founded by Walter Cobb, who was born in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in 1835, and learnt his trade as a draper in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. In 1860, Cobb opened the store in Lawrie Place, a newly built parade, as a ladies outfitters, with his wife and their shop assistants living above the store. By 1862 the business was described as General

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 ...

Establishment, selling shawls, dresses,

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

s, family mourning wear and having a millinery department. Cobb was an astute business and marketing man. He advertised his store as having the latest fashions from Paris and London. Over the next 30 years, he purchased shops either side of his property, expanding the Walter Cobb store into each unit with new departments. The business by 1898 occupied 297-301 Kirdale, 270-272 Kirkdale, a furniture depository in Silverdale and an estate agents and funeral parlour at 1-3 Railway Approach. By 1900, the Walter Cobb store ran the length of Lawrie Place except for the butcher store on the corner. The store was declared to be the equal of

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

and

Marshall & Snelgrove Marshall & Snelgrove was a department store on the north side of Oxford Street, London, on the corner with Vere Street founded by James Marshall (b.1806 Yorkshire – d.22 November 1893). The company became part of the Debenhams group. Histor ...

in a '' Times'' article of the time. In 1900, the butcher store finally sold out and Walter Cobb built the grand corner entrance to his store which finally opened in 1902 with its grand dome pediment. Walter was also a costume maker for the 1911 Festival of empire at the Crystal Palace. The Walter Cobb store continued to operate, past Cobb's death in 1922 up and to the

Second World War 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 ...

. During the London bombings of

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 ...

, three quarters of the Walter Cobb store was demolished; however the business continued to operate in a condensed form. The Walter Cobb store was rebuilt slowly, with the building not being completed until 1960. During this time the business continued to open new departments including selling hardware. The 1970s saw the Walter Cobb store decline. The store closed in 1981.

References

{{Authority control Cobb Walter Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1860 Shops in London