Heal's
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Heal's (originally Heal & Son) is a British
furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...
and
homeware Household goods are goods and products used within households. They are the tangible and movable personal property placed in the rooms of a house, such as a bed or refrigerator. Economic role Businesses that produce household goods are categori ...
retail company comprising seven stores, selling a range of furniture, lighting and home accessories based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. The business was started in 1810 by John Harris Heal, and its headquarters have been located in
Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...
since 1818. Under Sir Ambrose Heal, the company introduced Arts and Craft style to mechanised furniture production, making it available to the middle classes. In 2001, an official guide to the archive at the
Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
, wrote that for over two centuries Heal's had been known for promoting modern design and for employing talented young designers. Since 2001, the business has been owned by
Wittington Investments Wittington Investments Limited is the name of two privately owned holding companies, one based in Britain, the other in Canada. Both companies are controlled by the Weston family. Through these holding companies, the Weston family control some o ...
, a company owned by the
Weston family The Weston family is a prominent family of businesspeople that was founded in Canada and eventually developed global business interests, primarily in the food and retail sectors. The family operations began with the purchase of a bakery in 1884 b ...
.


History


Early history

The original Heal's firm was established in 1810 as a feather-dressing for bed mattresses business at 33 Rathbone Place,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
by John Harris Heal after moving from
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. By 1815, Heal had started selling carpets, and in 1818 the business was moved to 203 Tottenham Court Road, London, to be closer to other furniture business. The business has operated from its present site in Tottenham Court Road, moving to no. 196 in 1840, the same year that John Harris Heal Junior, son of the founder of the same name, took charge of the company from his widowed mother, Fanny, who had run the firm after the death of her husband in 1833. Between 1833 and 1844, the company had traded as Fanny Heal & Son, before becoming Heal & Son. During this time the company moved into the manufacturing of bedroom furniture, with the business promoting the ''Heal Bed''. Four years after moving to 196 Tottenham Court Road, Heal's added a steam plant for purifying and dressing feathers. Its first purpose-built store was completed in 1854, then one of the largest in London, and was designed by the architect James Morant Lockyer, who had presented the design to
RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130
with a photographic elevation in May 1855. The store was expanded further by purchasing the neighbouring premises at 197 and 198 in 1864. By 1866, Heal's were issuing invitations in
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
's monthly instalments to visit Heal's to see their furniture displayed in room settings, which would later become a standard for all furniture retailers. John Harris Heal Jnr died in 1876, and the business was run by his brother-in-law, Alfred Brewer, along with John Harris son's, Harris and Ambrose. In 1894, Brewer retired and Ambrose Senior took over as chairman. Ambrose Senior purchased the British patent rights from John Staple, which improved the support of springs in upholstery, and then set up Staples & Co. as an independent bedding factory using these patents, with his son Harold given control.


The arrival of Sir Ambrose Heal

In 1893, Ambrose Heal Junior joined the family firm. Prior to joining the company firm, Ambrose had trained in fine art at both
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...
and the
Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
. He embarked on a two-year apprenticeship with cabinet makers, Plucknett of Warwick, before spending a further six months with furniture retailer Graham and Biddle of Oxford Street. Ambrose designed furniture in the Arts and Crafts style, strongly influenced by
Ernest Gimson Ernest William Gimson (; 21 December 1864 – 12 August 1919) was an English furniture designer and architect. Gimson was described by the art critic Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest of the English architect-designers". Today his reputat ...
and Edward Barnsley, but used mechanised production so the style became affordable to the middle classes. The change of style led by Ambrose was different than the company's previous offerings of over ornate furniture and Heal's staff reputedly called it ''Prison furniture''. His first designs were released in the catalogue ''Plain Oak Furniture'' in 1898, followed by ''Simple Bedroom'' in 1899. The designs were initially built by C.R. Ashbee's
Guild and School of Handicraft The Guild and School of Handicraft was established in 1888 in London, later moving to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, England, as a community of artists and craftspeople by the arts and crafts architect Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942). Acc ...
at Mile End Road, until Heal's established their own cabinet making factory in Albert Mews. The ''
Architectural Review ''The Architectural Review'' is a monthly international architectural magazine. It has been published in London since 1896. Its articles cover the built environment – which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism â ...
'' described Heal's furniture as a ''triumph of craftsmanship''. By the end of the nineteenth century it was one of the best-known furniture suppliers in London. Ambrose coined the motto ''When in doubt, innovate'' and he commissioned imaginative retailing techniques, such as
Gleeson White Joseph William Gleeson White (1851–1898), often known as Gleeson White, was an English writer on art. Life He was born in Christchurch, Dorset and educated at Christ Church School and afterward became a member of the Art Workers Guild. ...
, the editor of '' The Studio'', the arts and crafts magazine, writing a brochure with illustrations by C. H. B. Quennell called ''A note on simplicity of design in furniture for bedrooms with special reference to some recently produced by Messrs. Heal & Son'' to advertise Heal's and its products. The company displayed items of their bedroom furniture at the Paris Exposition of 1900, which was awarded two silver medals, with the same display redisplayed at the 1901 Glasgow Exhibition. Heal's displayed simpler designs for the
Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first Garden city movement, garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 United Kin ...
Cheap Cottages Exhibition in 1905. In 1905 Ambrose was made joint managing director of the company, with his brother Ralph, the same year that the business was incorporated into a limited company, and in 1906 he joined the
Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...
, displaying his company's bedroom furniture named after seaside resorts, with Ambrose introducing the four poster bed logo to the firm. Heal's 1905 catalogue ''Simple Bedroom'' stated that their aim was to unite ''the many good qualities of the past with inexpensiveness’, producing furniture that would ‘come within the means of the modest man, and yet be well-constructed, simple, convenient and entirely satisfying to the senses''. One of Heal's customers was
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
, who used Ambrose's design no. 117 bedstead from the Fine Feathers range. In 1910, Ambrose Heal Senior gave his son, Harold, ownership of Staple & Co. Ambrose became chairman in 1913 after the death of his father, and took over every aspect of the business. Ambrose commissioned his cousin and architect Cecil Claude Brewer in 1914 to design a new store on the central part of the site, which opened in 1917. The new building was colonnaded with large windows to display the company's furniture to passers-by. Heal's signage was designed by
Percy Delf Smith Percy John Delf Smith (March 1882 – 30 October 1948) was a British artist who worked in engraving, painting, lettering, calligraphy and book design. Early life Born Percy John Smith in Dulwich, London, Delf Smith took an apprenticeship with ...
, and the Portland stone exterior was decorated with panels advertising bedding, carpets, cabinet makers and upholsterers created by Joseph Armitage, with the central panel matching the company slogan ''At the sign of the four poster''. Another feature of Brewers design was a spiral staircase that is still part of the store to this day, providing access across all the retail floors, and the Mansard Gallery, which opened at the top of the building. A new factory was built on the site of the former farmhouse at the rear of the store in Francis Street. In 1915, Ambrose became a founding member of the
Design and Industries Association The Design and Industries Association is a United Kingdom charity whose object is to ''engage with all those who share a common interest in the contribution that design can make to the delivery of goods and services that are sustainable and enhance ...
, with Heal's becoming a showcase for the designs and work of the organisations members. In the same year, Ambrose and sales manager, Hamilton Temple Smith, patented a unit furniture system design, which along with a plan to use former World War I factories to mass-produce bedroom furniture failed to be commercially successful. Ambrose, who had been influenced by Scandinavian design after Heal's had received a commission from the Hotel Standard in Norrkopping, and in 1923 was captivated by
Orrefors Orrefors () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in southern Sweden and part of Nybro Municipality, Kalmar County, with 719 inhabitants in 2010. The township belongs to Hälleberga parish and is primarily famous for its Orrefors glassworks ...
display at the Goteburg Exhibition, which he soon introduced to English society. This was soon followed by the introduction of Finnish designed furniture to England by Heal's, including designs by
Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...
, as well as other Scandinavian designs. However Ambrose did also embrace the Art Deco style, designing several pieces in his ''Signed Edition Series''. During 1927, Heal's was given the Royal Warrant from King George V as Makers of Bedsteads and Bedding. Heal's also operated an antiques section, and to promote the business when sales were down, Ambrose held a Victorian exhibition in the Mansard Gallery in 1931, displaying a collection of mid Victorian oddities. This was very against Heal's own style that moved further towards modernism with designs that made use of tubular steel and laminated woods, and included designs by
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...
. It was during the 1932 that Anthony Standerwick Heal, son of Ambrose, opened the company's new electrical department, having joined the firm in 1929 after serving an apprenticeship with Gordon Russell. Due to the financial downturn in the 1930s, Heal's finances were struggling, with staff asked to take a pay cut, and introduced a range of economy furniture, with Ambrose investing in a nationwide promotional campaign called Heal's Economy Furniture for 1932 and All That, that was manufactured for them by Greenings of Oxford. In 1933, Ambrose was knighted, and a year later his youngest son, J. Christopher Heal, joined the firm. He would follow his father in designing both furniture and textiles, and was one of the seven architects at Heal's modernist exhibition ''Contemporary Furniture by Seven Architects'' in 1937 (which included the work of
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
Professor
Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981) was a Hungarian-American modernist architect and furniture designer. He moved to the United States in 1937 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1944. At the Bauhaus he designed the Was ...
), and designed a bedroom suite for the Paris Exhibition in the same year. During the same year, the architect
Edward Maufe Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe, RA, FRIBA (12 December 1882 – 12 December 1974) was an English architect and designer. He built private homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings, and is remembered chiefly for his work on place ...
, whose wife Prudence worked for Heal's and was a lover of Ambrose, extended Brewer's frontage to 197-199 Tottenham Court Road, and added a Lenscrete vertical window, inspired by his design for
Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford, commonly known as Guildford Cathedral, is the Anglican cathedral in Guildford, Surrey, England. Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow, Earl Onslow donated the first of land on which the cathedral ...
. The previous year had seen Anthony made managing director.


World War II and the 1950s

During World War II, Heal's factory workers at first made beds and pillows for the armed forces, before moving to producing parachutes, which would lead to Heal's launching textiles after the war. The production area was so tight, that to meet the demand, Heal's expanded production of the parachutes into the showroom space and Heal's created Heal Contracts Ltd in 1944 to manage the contract. In 1941, Heal's started Heal's Wholesale and Export Ltd to export all of Heal's merchandise. The company continued to manufacture furniture during the war, under the British government's Utility controls, but the designs were controlled by the Utility Design Panel, led by Gordon Russell. The company made its first purchase of another firm in 1944, buying the small building and decorating firm of George Coulter. After the war Heal's had a significant presence at the Britain Can Make It exhibition at the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in 1946, commissioning designers like Alix Stone and pottery firm AE Gray & Co to produce pieces to be displayed. In the same year, Heal's Contracts moved away from war contracts and into the furnishing contracts business. The company backed Clive Latimer and Robin Day's involvement in the 1948 International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture held by the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, where they won first prize for the sole storage unit. During the same year, Tom Worthington took charge of Heal's Wholesale and Export and started to develop the textile side of the business, where Heal's purchased the cloth, selected the designs and then employed printers to produce the finished article. In 1949, the Utility controls were amended so Heal's could design and manufacture their own furniture, but under the rules set out, it had to be sold at a set price and so had to be produced in larger numbers than Heal's would normally have done. Heal's also presented at the 1951
Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...
, with plywood and moulded furniture designs by J. Christopher, several designs from the newly formed textile department and pottery from artists such as Australian contemporaries David Boyd and Hermia Boyd. However its biggest contribution was manufacturing 900 perforated steel sheet and steel rod stackable chairs by the designer Andrew John Milne that were used as terrace seating. Heal's itself hosted an exhibition, ''Scandinavian Design for Living'' in the same year, the first time the term had been used. The Utility controls were dropped by the British government in 1952, and a year later Sir Ambrose retired, with Anthony replacing his father as chairman and J. Christopher as design director. Heal's after the war expanded into textiles, using their experiences gained from World War II, with young designers compositions selected by both Tom Worthington and J. Christopher. This included
Lucienne Day Désirée Lucienne Lisbeth Dulcie Day Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Designers for Industry, RDI Chartered Society of Designers, FCSD (''née'' Conradi; 5 January 1917 – 30 January 2010) was one of the most influential British textile ...
, whose Calyx design of 1951 won a prize at the 1951 Milan Triennale and from the American Institute of Decorators, while other prominent designers were Helen Close, Jane Edgar, Dorothy Lupton, Michael O'Connell, Helen Sampson and Margaret Simeon. Day would go on and regularly create patterns for Heal's throughout the 50s and 60s. Michael O'Connell had produced patterns for Heal's after meeting J. Christopher who recalled:
it was the first time I had met a craftsman (O'Connell) who could handle vat dyes producing fabrics in colours that would not fade. The designs were striking, of a kind unlike any I had seen. I quickly decided to buy some and hold a small exhibition of Michael's work in the Fabric Dept; so began a long lasting friendship.'
After the Festival, Heal's greatly expanded their pottery offerings with designs by artists such as
Lucie Rie Dame Lucie Rie, (16 March 1902 – 1 April 1995) () was an Austrian-born, independent, British studio potter. She is known for her extensive technical knowledge, her meticulously detailed experimentation with glazes and with firing and her unu ...
and
Hans Coper Hans Coper (8 April 1920 – 16 June 1981) was an influential German-born British studio potter. His work is often coupled with that of Lucie Rie due to their close association, even though their best known work differs dramatically, wit ...
and selling Scandinavian glass by companies such as
Holmegaard Until 1 January 2007, Holmegaard was a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Storstrøm County in the southern part of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 66 km2, and had a total p ...
. In the world of furniture, Heal's invested in Clive Latimer's Plymet furniture range, and as well as promoting Scandinavian furniture, they retailed modernist pieces designed by British artists such as Robert Heritage and Robin Day. The company expanded in 1955 by the purchase of architectural joiners, J. L. Green & Vardy, who were based in Essex Road, Islington. A year later, Heal's own cabinet making factory was moved from Tottenham Court Road to share premises in Islington. With Heal's Wholesale and Export Ltd being mainly involved in the textile business, the company name was changed in 1958 to Heal's Fabrics Ltd. In 1959, a further subsidiary, Carpet Layers Ltd, was formed to move into the furnishing fittings business, and Anthony Heal was selected as Master of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers. The company ended the decade being awarded the Royal Warrant by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
.


From 60s growth, 70s struggles to family departure

At the start of the decade, Heal's store had 21 departments which were organised into three different management groups - furniture, soft furnishings and domestic equipment. However the company's senior bed maker, Percy Brierly, retired after 53 years of service. In the early 1960s, Heal's surveyed their customers to understand their buying habits, which was used to influence the layout of the store after it was extended in 1962. The extension, designed by Herbert Fitzroy Robinson, was built with a steel frame faced in Portland stone with seven bays in an interrelated style to Brewer's original design, with ceramic blue and cream relief panels designed by John Farleigh and made by
Kenneth Clark Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director and broadcaster. His expertise covered a wide range of artists and periods, but he is particularly associated with Italian Renaissa ...
, depicting wares sold by the store and interspersed with large letters "H" for Heals. With the extension the store frontage stretched between Torrington Place and Alfred Mews. At the start of the 1960s the company launched the ''Can’t-wait-to-get-it-home'' advertising campaign. In the same year, Heal's Contracts opened a new office in
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...
as the volume of furniture contract work expanded in the Midlands. The financial success of Heal's, which had seen turnover doubled, allowed them to grow further in 1964, first by purchasing a 50% share in H.G. Dunn's of
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
, a furniture retailer after its owner, Geoffrey Edward Dunn invited the approach as he had no family to carry on the business. The company's German importer for Heal's Fabrics retired in the same year, and Heal's purchased his business in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
and renamed it Heal Textil GmbH. In the same year Anthony was awarded the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
Bi-Centenary Medal ''to recognise the considerable influence you have exercised in many fields of design''. In 1965, Heal & Son was awarded in its inaugural year the Royal Society of Arts Presidential Awards for Design Management. By this time Heal's design office was working separately from the store, producing designs for both Heal's Contracts and the store, who sold more products from the design office's competitors. The store by this time had three stock lines, those designed and made by Heal's, those commissioned by Heal's just for their store, and the third line being items that could be found in rival retailers. The commissioned designs included furniture by John and Sylvia Reid, Nigel Walters and Martin Grierson; toys by Kristin Baybars and John Gould; textiles by Colleen Fan, Howard Carter, Barbara Brown and Doreen Dyall; and silverware by Robert Welch. The company had set up the CONT/ex team in 1960, led by Gilbert Rabjohn to sell continental designed and manufactured furniture, such as
Yngve Ekström Yngve Ekström (June 16, 1913 – March 13, 1988) was a Swedish furniture designer, wood carver, sculptor and architect and an important figure in the evolution of the Scandinavian Modernism movement. Yngve Ekström is best known for the "Lami ...
's Kurva chairs, and by 1965 had moved into the wholesaling business, selling the furniture onto other British retailers. In 1966, J. L. Green & Vardy and the CONT/ex department were merged and renamed as Heal's Furniture. The business created a holding firm, Heal & Son Holdings Ltd in 1968 to oversee all the subsidiaries, while Heal & Son was incorporated to manage the retail side of the business. During 1969, the company further expanded by purchasing John Bowles & Co. of
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, in what was termed a merger, which saw Bowles move to new premises at 143 North Street and expand its range to include lighting, pottery, glass, cutlery and linen. Heal's Contracts was expanded and moved from their Edgbaston office into a larger site in central Birmingham. Anthony was recognised by the Finnish Government in 1970 for his promotion of Finnish products when he was awarded the
Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland (; ) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...
. In 1971, Carpet Layers moved to a new workshop in Haringey, being renamed Carpet Layers and Curtain Makers Ltd to reflect the subsidiary's expansion, but the company lost Tom Worthington, who retired being replaced by D S Neill. Further expansion occurred in 1972, when a new store was opened in Guildford. The company's finances however started struggling by the mid 70s because of the oil crisis. Profits of £616,000 had been recorded in 1972, but this fell to £552,000 in 1973, and lead to a far larger drop of £292,000 in 1974. The company closed Bowles of Brighton in 1975, but Heal's Contracts opened offices for a short time in Glasgow and Dubai. In 1976, the company purchased the remaining 50% share holding in H.G. Dunn of Bromley upon Geoffrey Dunn's retirement, later renaming the store Heal's of Bromley, and purchased selected assets of cabinet makers, Archie Shine Ltd. To try and entice customers from younger rivals such as Habitat, during 1978 Heal's launched the lower priced Buzz range, but Heal's Fabrics was struggling to find its identity in the changing design world. Heal's worries however continued losing £200,000, and the Islington factory of Heal's Furniture was closed in 1979, with a small cabinet making unit opening back at Tottenham Court Road. In May 1980, Heal's reported that turnover was at £11.34 million but they had lost a smaller amount at £192,000, with the retail sale profits not helping against the disappointing performance of Heal's Contracts. In 1980, Anthony retired as chairman and was replaced by his son Oliver, who tried to recapture Heal's past by staging the Classics exhibition in 1981. Oliver had said at the 1980 AGM that Heal's had ''"sacrificed its clarity of image in an unavailable short term search for volume sales"''. The Bromley store was closed in the same year.


The arrival of Conran

In 1983, the Heal family decided to sell the business as they could not sustain the losses, and contacted
Terence Conran Sir Terence Orby Conran (4 October 1931 – 12 September 2020) was a British designer, restaurateur, retailer and writer. He founded the Design Museum in Shad Thames, London in 1989. The British designer Thomas Heatherwick said that Conran "m ...
, who although the boss of rival
Habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
, they had a good relationship with. Conran had displayed pottery at an exhibition in the Mansard Gallery as a schoolboy, and had sold his designs in the store. The full stock of the company was purchased for £4.8 million by Habitat, who had merged with
Mothercare Mothercare plc is a global brand for products for parents and young children. The company's shares are listed on AIM in London. Mothercare was founded in the United Kingdom in 1961, and specialized in products for expectant mothers and in ge ...
in 1982. Conran had been inspired by Heal's as a regular visitor as a child with his mother Christina, and believed that not only could he turn Heal's fortunes around, he believed that they complimented Habitat, in that Habitat was for younger customers, Heal's would become the mature person's Habitat. Former buying director at Habitat, Geoff Davey was appointed as managing director at Heal's. Conran implemented a fast-paced reorganisation plan as he wanted to celebrate Habitat's 20th anniversary in the following year. The cabinet making unit was closed in 1983, with the bedding factory being moved out of Tottenham Court Road to Islington, and Buzz ended as it clashed with Habitat's own ranges. Heal's Fabrics were merged into the newly formed Heal's Products Division in 1984, ending their own fabric collections. The building was made into Habitat Mothercare's new headquarters, with the 1962 extension becoming Habitat's new lead store, with a branch of NOW, the men's clothing retailer and Mothercare included, with Heal's downsized. The Mansard Gallery was shut, to allow for the upper floors to be converted into the groups offices and design studio space. A poster, based on a 1928 Heal's advertisement by R. P. Gossip, was created by Conran Design group artist Helen Senior to advertise the newly redeveloped store. Conran himself updated the Heals four poster emblem, and Susan Goodden was commissioned to write a history of Heal's. Conran reopened in Heal's an outdoor furniture showroom and included an updated version of a Sir Ambrose Heal bench design. In 1986, the concave bay windows that had been installed in 1936, were removed from the Brewer/Maufe parts of the building, which provoked the wrath of the Thirties Society. Parent company Habitat Mothercare merged with
British Home Stores British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, is an online store and formerly a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to exp ...
to create
Storehouse plc Storehouse plc, traded as Storehouse, was a large UK retail business formed by Terence Conran through the merger of various high street chains. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index before ...
in the same year. In 1988, Storehouse opened new Heal's stores in
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, Lakeside,
Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
and
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
. Storehouse however had a chequered existence, making a £114.9 million pre-tax profit in 1987–88, but in the following year this had fallen to just £11.3 million, a 90% drop. Heal's range during the later days of Storehouse ownership was seen as being of a bland personality. In 1989, the furnishing division of Storehouse, which included Heal's and Habitat, lost £10 million, so early in 1990 they closed Heal's stores in Reading, Lakeside, Kingston upon Thames and Croydon at a cost of £3 million.


Management buyout

In 1990, five members of the senior management team at Heal's, led by Colin Pilgrim, purchased the business from Storehouse, each paying £115,000 each to acquire the business, with a further £1 million investment from Natwest Ventures, after Storehouse decided to concentrate on core businesses. In the same year, Heal's lost their Royal Warrant. During 1991, a combined catering contract was signed by Heal's and Storehouse with Catering & Allied Services, a UK first, to manage both organisations restaurants at Tottenham Court Road. By 1995, the company had been turned around with sales increased by 20% over two years and had announced profits of £1.2 million, with the company changing their ranges into more eclectic styles from the bland offerings offered by Storehouse at the end of their ownership. Managing director Colin Pilgrim announced plans to expand with new branches, with the first open on 1 December in
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
, Chelsea, which had been designed by Virgile & Stone. In the same year Heal's won a Wooden Pencil award at the D&AD Awards. In 1996, Heal's made a £1.75 million profit on a turnover of £19.6 million, further evidence of their recovery. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £15 million in 1997, but by the end of the year the company had not announced any further store openings, which Colin Pilgrim had promised in the pre-flotation plan, and had seen the share price fall 27% below its listing. This was rectified in 1998 with the opening of a fourth store, by returning to Kingston Upon Thames where they had previously had a store under Storehouse's ownership. The new store had helped the company record profits of £2.59 million, and Colin Pilgrim announced in 1999 that they were still planning to open stores nationwide. In 2000, Heal's launched their own website, but speculation of a takeover bid was circulating after corporate raiders Brian Myerson and Julian Treger purchased an 18% shareholding in Heal's with financiers stating the share price undervalued the business. The company announced pre-tax profits of £4.3 million on a turnover of £33.7 million for 2000–01, however in June 2001, directors announced they were reviewing their strategic options including a possible sale of the business as the share price wasn't reflective of the company's true value.


Acquisition by Wittington Investments

On 16 August 2001, the
Weston family The Weston family is a prominent family of businesspeople that was founded in Canada and eventually developed global business interests, primarily in the food and retail sectors. The family operations began with the purchase of a bakery in 1884 b ...
owned
Wittington Investments Wittington Investments Limited is the name of two privately owned holding companies, one based in Britain, the other in Canada. Both companies are controlled by the Weston family. Through these holding companies, the Weston family control some o ...
acquired Heal's plc, reverting it to a private company with a bid of 272p per share, which was a 33% uplift on Heal's share price at the time of the sale and valuing the company at £33 million. The first expansion under the new owners came in 2003 when a new store was opened in New Cathedral Street,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, while a further store was added at Redbrick Mills in Batley,
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
in 2005. During 2004, Heal's launched the Heal's Discovers Programme, which helps emerging designers to showcase their creativity, whilst experiencing first-hand the process of creating great design for the home. In 2007 a new store was opened with a return to Brighton, but the company announced losses of £3.5 million for 2006–07, its fourth consecutive year of losses, but an improvement on the previous years £4.5 million loss. Wittington Investments sold 20% of the store to the company's management team in part of an incentive scheme to improve the company performance. In 2010 it was announced that the Manchester store would be closing due to poor sales. In 2014, the business relaunched Heal's own fabric collection. The company however was losing money, with a loss of £10.7 million for 2014–15, though sales had grown by 9%. As part of a strategic management review, the King's Road, Chelsea and Guildford stores were closed down, though a new concept digital store opened in
Westbourne Grove Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of West London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in the ...
. The company opened a new store in the Mailbox Birmingham during 2017, and although its main store at Tottenham Court Road was downsized by renting concession space, the company's losses had fallen to £3.9 million for 2016-17 and sales had risen by 4%. The following year Heal's opened a new store at
Westfield London Westfield London is a large shopping centre in White City, west London, England, developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn, on a brownfield site formerly the home of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition. The site is bounded by the ...
and a clearance outlet in Cobham, but closed the Westbourne Grove store without much fanfare. The company in 2020 reported a loss in 2019-2020 for £2.5 million, but a year later, even though the stores were closed because of the pandemic, sales had increased by 28% and they had made a profit of £2.1 million. In 2021, the Birmingham store closed after the landlords at the Mailbox decided to redevelop the ground floor into office space, but a new concession space was opened inside Fenwick's Newcastle upon Tyne store, and a new outlet store was opened in Walton-on-Thames, which replaced the former Cobham store. It was reported that the Weston family had been looking for a buyer for Heal's, but after a failed management buyout and with profits returning, the Weston family decided to keep the business. During 2022, Heal's extended their concession stores by opening units within Fenwick's Canterbury and York stores, and returned to the King's Road for a third time with a new outlet store replacing the Walton-on-Thames store. The company had to close its Brighton store after the landlord would not renew its lease, and announced that there had been a drop off in sales and profits, with the company earning £1.4 million in pre-tax profits. A further reduction in profits was reported in 2022–23, dropping to £800,000, though sales remained similar and Wittington Investments reporting that the profit margin had been hit by inflation on both goods and wages. During 2023 the new look Tottenham Court Road store opened after a major refurbishment of the site by joint owners
KKR KKR may refer to: * KKR & Co., a global investment firm *Kolkata Knight Riders, an Indian Premier League franchise * Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant (), first nuclear power plant in the former East Germany * Kalkara, Malta, postal code KKR *Kir-Bala ...
and General Projects, which saw the company now move back into the 1962 extension lost to Habitat back in the 80s. The new look store operates on the ground floor and the basement, with a new feature staircase added to link the two, designed by Matthew Hilton. However the King's Road outlet was closed.


Heal & Son commissioned work and Heal's Contracts

Under Ambrose's management, Heal & Son were commissioned to produce furniture for a variety of companies and individuals. These included: *Bedroom furniture for the Standard Hotel, Norrkoping in 1899. *Council chamber furniture for
Reigate Town Hall Reigate Town Hall is a municipal building in Castlefield Road, Reigate, Surrey, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Reigate and Banstead, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The buildi ...
in 1901. *Boardroom furniture for Vickers Maxim in 1911. *Tables for
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
’s home,
Chartwell Chartwell is a English country house, country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years, it was the home of Sir Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his ...
in 1924. *Tables for
St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
in 1930. After World War II, Heal's Contracts moved into proving commissioned designs, furnishings and building work to a variety of customers. Their work included: *Council chamber for the TUC. *Boardroom and directors offices at Castrol House. *Executive suite at the Vickers building. *Council chamber at Ebbw Vale Urban District *Ceylon Tea Centre, Birmingham *Ballroom for
Warwickshire County Cricket Club Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...
. *Interiors and furniture for
Halifax Building Society Halifax (previously known as Halifax Building Society and colloquially known as The Halifax) is a British banking brand operating as a trading division of Bank of Scotland, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. It is named ...
*Furniture for the council chamber of the Institution of Gas Engineers. *Interiors on board the ship's SS Northern Star, RMS Empress of Canada,
SS Canberra SS ''Canberra'' was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17 million. The ship was named on 17 March 19 ...
, MV Kungsholm and the
Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner. Built for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel, operating sin ...
.


Heal's Fabrics

Heal's Fabrics rose to prominence in the 1950s and 60s under the leadership of Tom Worthington. Worthington and his assistant Jenni Allen would pick around 80 designs from around 12,000 submissions, with Worthington using his contacts in the art world to attract the best young talent. The company worked with over 80 designers alone during the 1960s, with Lucienne Day and Barbara Brown amongst the most prolific. When Allen left Heal's, Evelyn Redgrave, who had designed patterns for Heal's, including ''Cascade'' and ''Stipple'', became Worthington's assistant and would go on and become a director at the firm until she left in 1977 to set up her own textile company. In 1968, Worthington reflected on Heal's style, ''"It may take a year or longer for a really advanced design to start selling itself. And sometimes an avant-garde design - although not selling itself - can gain so much publicity it will help create a market for similar designs"''. In her book ''Twentieth Century Pattern Design : Textile & Wallpaper Pioneers'', Lesley Jackson states, Heal's Fabrics are represented in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum;
Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...
;
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...
,
Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...
and the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
. Heal's Fabrics collection returned in 2014, with designs by a mixture of emerging and established designers, including the return of Zandra Rhodes with a new take on her 1963 pattern Top Brass.


Selected prints


The Mansard Gallery

The gallery, on the fourth floor at Tottenham Court Road, was opened in 1917 with a display entitled, ''Poster Pictures'', an exhibition curated by Ambrose's friend,
Frank Pick Frank Pick Royal Institute of British Architects, Hon. RIBA (23 November 1878 â€“ 7 November 1941) was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway (UK), North Eastern Ra ...
, as Ambrose wanted to promote the work of commercial artists. One of the artists selected,
Edward McKnight Kauffer Edward McKnight Kauffer (14 December 1890 – 22 October 1954) was an American artist and graphic designer who lived for much of his life in the United Kingdom. He worked mainly in poster art, but was also active as a painter, book illustrator ...
, would produce a poster later in the year for The London Group's exhibition at the Gallery. The London Group would go onto hold a number of exhibitions at the Mansard Gallery during the 20s. At one exhibition in 1922, the London Group showed their sense of humour, when the information in the catalogue for the portrait of Harriet Cohen, by Savo Popovitch was priced at £150, including frame, but without frame would cost eightpence. The gallery was run by Prudence Maufe, the wife of architect Edward Maufe and one of Ambrose's lovers. The most influential exhibition was the ''Exhibition of French Art 1914-1919''. The exhibition held in 1919 had been organised by brothers
Osbert Sitwell Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and l ...
and
Sacheverell Sitwell Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell, 6th Baronet, (; 15 November 1897 – 1 October 1988) was an English writer, particularly on baroque architecture, and an art and music critic. Sitwell produced some 50 volumes of poetry and some 50 works o ...
and art dealer
Léopold Zborowski Léopold Zborowski (1889–1932) was a Polish poet, writer and art dealer. Biography He was born in Zaleszczyki, in what was then Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria of Austria-Hungary (now a part of Ukraine), to a Jewish family. Zborowski and h ...
. The exhibition was the first display of works in Britain by
Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
,
Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...
and
Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...
, and included paintings by
André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. In 2025, all of Derain’s work entered the public domain in the United States. Life and career Early ...
,
Othon Friesz Achille-Émile Othon Friesz (6 February 1879 – 10 January 1949), who later called himself Othon Friesz, a native of Le Havre, was a French artist of the Fauvist movement. Biography Othon Friesz was born in Le Havre, the son of a long line of ...
,
Maurice de Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (; 4 April 1876 - 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were ...
,
Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...
,
Léopold Survage Léopold Frédéric Léopoldowitsch Survage (; 31 July 1879 – 31 October 1968) was a Russian-French painter of Finnish origin. Trained in Moscow, he identified with the Russian avant-garde before moving to Paris, where he shared a studio with A ...
, Louis Marcoussis and
André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes, and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was bor ...
amongst others. In his article ''Modern French Art at the Mansard Gallery'' in The Athenaeum, art critic
Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 â€“ 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...
wrote ''"what an extraordinary variety of presentments, what innumerable different visions, one can enjoy in this gallery!"'', though a critic in
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
labelled the exhibition ''"ghastly"''. A year later
Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''Blast (British magazine), Blast'', the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His ...
curated the ''Group X'' show, an attempt to revive the Vorticist movement, and include work by
Jessica Dismorr Jessica Stewart Dismorr (3 March 1885 – 29 August 1939) was an English painter and illustrator. Dismorr participated in almost all of the avant-garde groups active in London between 1912 and 1937 and was one of the few English painters of the ...
, Frank Dibson,
Frederick Etchells Frederick Etchells (14 September 1886 – 16 August 1973) was an England, English artist and architect. Biography Etchells was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. His early education was at the London School of Kensington, now known as The Royal ...
,
Charles Ginner Charles Isaac Ginner (4 March 1878 – 6 January 1952) was a British painter of landscape and urban subjects. Born in the south of France at Cannes, of British parents, in 1910 he settled in London, where he was an associate of Spencer Gore ...
,
Cuthbert Hamilton Cuthbert Hamilton (1885–1959) was a British artist associated with the Vorticist movement and later with Group X. He was one of the pioneers of abstract art in Britain. Cuthbert Hamilton went to the Slade School of Art and was a contemporar ...
,
Edward McKnight Kauffer Edward McKnight Kauffer (14 December 1890 – 22 October 1954) was an American artist and graphic designer who lived for much of his life in the United Kingdom. He worked mainly in poster art, but was also active as a painter, book illustrator ...
, William Roberts, John Turnbull and
Edward Wadsworth Edward Alexander Wadsworth (19 October 1889 – 21 June 1949) was an English artist initially associated with the Vorticism movement. In the First World War he was part of a team involved in the transfer of dazzle camouflage designs to ships fo ...
. The
Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group was a group of associated British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the early 20th century. Among the people involved in the group were Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster, Vanessa Bell, a ...
were regular visitors as the Mansard Gallery quickly established itself as one of the meeting places for London's, if not Britain's, avant garde scene. The Friday Group regularly put on shows at the Gallery, hosting their final exhibition in 1922, and it was the location where
Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...
first meet
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
. In 1939,
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 â€“ 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
expressed his distaste of Heal's modernist exhibitions in his story ''Work Suspended''. Other exhibits at the Gallery included
Claud Lovat Fraser Claud Lovat Fraser (15 May 1890 London – 18 June 1921, Dymchurch) was an English artist, designer and author. Early life Claud Lovat Fraser was christened Lovat Claud; as a young man he reversed those names for euphony's sake but he was alw ...
, ''Fifteen Cornish Artists'' in 1951, Markey Robinson, Kathleen Caddick,
Ben Enwonwu Odinigwe Benedict Chukwukadibia Enwonwu MBE (14 July 1917 – 5 February 1994), better known as Ben Enwonwu, was a Nigerian painter and sculptor. Arguably the most influential African artist of the 20th century, his pioneering career opened th ...
and the Junior Art Workers Guild. The female artist Mary Fedden hosted her first exhibition at the gallery in 1947, and returned with a major exhibition in 1967. In the 60s, the Australian Alannah Coleman was appointed director of the Gallery and exhibitions were held by artists including Ron Russell and Bill Newcombe. The Mansard Gallery was also used by Heal's to promote their products by utilising the exhibitionary complex, ''to sell by not selling'' or ''advertise by not advertising''. These included the ''Modern Tendencies'' series, ''A Country Home Exhibition'' and ''Contemporary Furniture from Seven Architects''. In 1960, to celebrate Heal's 150th anniversary, the Mansard Gallery held the ''Designers of The Future Exhibition'', where young designers from seven countries designed furniture, which was the made and sold by Heal's. The Mansard Gallery closed in 1983 with the redevelopment of the building by Terence Conran, but under Wittington Investments ownership, Heal's planned a new Mansard Gallery on the first floor at Tottenham Court Road, which has been designed by David Barrington. The first exhibition by artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman entitled ''Neon Drama and Pearl Drops'' opened on the 15 February 2022.


Heal's at Exhibitions

Heal's have been a regular displayer of their wares at exhibitions organised nationally and internationally. Heal's displayed an eider-down quilt with embroidered satin covering at the 1851
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
, which was followed by Louis XVI style bedroom designed by J. Braune at the
1862 International Exhibition The International Exhibition of 1862, officially the London International Exhibition of Industry and Art, also known as the Great London Exposition, was a world's fair held from 1 May to 1 November 1862 in South Kensington, London, England. Th ...
. Heal's won a silver medal for Sir Ambrose Heal's bedroom display at the
1900 Paris Exposition The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...
, with Heal's returning to Paris in
1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...
and
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
. They also attended Glasgow in 1901,
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
in 1913 and
Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
in 1906. The company started displaying at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society from 1899 until 1938, and were a regular attendee at the Ideal Home Exhibition. After the war, Heal's commissioned designs were chosen to be displayed at the 1946 Britain Can Make It exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the 1951 Festival of Britain. Heal's is a regular contributor at
London Design Festival London Design Festival is a citywide cultural event that takes place over nine days every September across London. It was founded by John Sorrell and Ben Evans in 2003 and will stage its 23rd edition from 13 to 21 September 2025. In an article ...
, and in 2023 hosted ''An Exhibition Of Two Halves'', where it hosted an exhibit of 70 chairs of the last 70 years, and an exhibition of third-year students work from
Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...
’s Furniture & Product Design course.


Dodie Smith and the Heal's cat

Dodie Smith Dorothy Gladys "Dodie" Smith (3 May 1896 – 24 November 1990) was an English novelist and playwright. She is best known for writing '' I Capture the Castle'' (1948) and the children's novel '' The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (1956). Other work ...
, the celebrated author, famous for works such as ''
The Hundred and One Dalmatians ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' is a 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith about the kidnapping of a family of Dalmatian puppies. It was originally serialized in ''Woman's Day'' as ''The Great Dog Robbery'', and details the adventures of t ...
'', joined Heal's in 1923 to run their toy department after her acting career failed. She would go on to have an affair with Ambrose, and was reportedly not of the temperament required for the job, with reports that on one occasion she flung one of the shop assistants across the china department. Another incident was the sale of the Heal's bronze cat, that sits at the top of the spiral staircase. The bronze sculpture was made by Chassagne, the French sculptor, and had been bought in 1925 by Ambrose. The cat was sold by Smith for £40 to a Heal's customer, but Ambrose wrote to the customer retracting the sale, with a card saying ''Heal's mascot. Not for sale'' placed next to the sculpture. In 2016, to celebrate 100 years of Cecil Brewer's spiral staircase, Heal's commissioned ten designers ( Orla Kiely, Ikuko Iwamoto, Donna Wilson, Louise Lockhart, Rachel Cave, Mia Sarosi, Cressida Bell, Sunny Todd, Squint and Zoe Bradley) to produce a modern interpretation of the famous cat. Unlike the real one, this was sold at auction to raise money for
Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS F ...
.


References


External links

* {{coord, 51.5212, N, 0.1344, W, source:wikidata, display=title British companies established in 1810 Department store buildings in the United Kingdom Department stores of the United Kingdom Companies based in the London Borough of Camden Shops in London Tottenham Court Road Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Furniture manufacturers Furniture retailers of the United Kingdom Furniture companies of the United Kingdom Textiles British royal warrant holders Arts and Crafts movement