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In 1860 Edwin Jones opened his first store in Southampton, a small haberdashery, in East Street which he ran with his two sisters. He soon moved to larger premises at 31-32 East Street and began extending his store by buying up adjoining premises. The extended property (image 1) became known as Manchester House. In about 1880 he bought a row of cottages facing Hoglands Park, demolished them and extended his premises, now known as Queen's Buildings (iamge 2), over this site. The expanded area allowed him to add further departments including a food hall and a large furniture section. The store was now one of the finest of its kind in the south of England. The store continued to prosper in the 20th century and became part of the Debenhams group in 1928. The original store building was destroyed during the Blitz and replaced with an entirely new building in 1959 (image 3).

1. Edwin Jones Store, Manchester House

Engraving from an Edwin Jones & Co. blotter of 1933, commemorating 75 years of the store.

2. Edwin Jones Store, Queens Buildings

Engraving from an Edwin Jones & Co. blotter of 1933, commemorating 75 years of the store.

3. Edwin Jones Store

Photograph, 1960

see also

• Jones, Edwin

Further reading:
‘Edwin Jones: The Man and his Business’, by T. Witt, in Essays on the History of Southampton, p1-65. (HS/h)
Commemorative Blotter, by Edwin Jones & Co. (HS/pn)
‘Cashing-up in the 1920s’, by Kathleen Butt, in Hampshire, Vol. 36, No. 3, January 1996, p46. (H/h)

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