The Bon Marché Department Store Brixton
1877 - present
The Bon Marché was founded by Mr. James Smith of Tooting, a printer and proprietor of the Sportsman newspaper. Mr. Smith owned a racehorse named Roseberry, which, in 1876, achieved a unique double victory in the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire Stakes at Newmarket. He decided to invest the proceeds in commerce to secure a future for his sons.
He purchased land near Brixton Hill that had been a nursery garden for several years. Between 1876 and 1877, Mr. Smith built the UK's first purpose-built department store, naming it after the original Bon Marché in Paris. The Builder magazine described the structure as follows:
"The 100,000 sq. ft. Bon Marché building is the first steel-framed building in the UK, opening its doors in 1877."
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A report from the time stated:
"The large and handsome new market building is estimated to have cost at least £70,000, excluding the cost of the land. The buildings have been erected and internally arranged on principles similar to some establishments in Paris. When opened, they will form a novelty in market accommodation in the metropolis, encompassing the sale of almost every imaginable article of food, furniture, and dress under one management. The entire staff will reside near the premises in a large block {Toplin House, now The Department Store, at 240-250 Ferndale Road}, which was specially built for employees and has a direct internal connection to the main Bon Marché building via two tunnels under Ferndale Road—one for men and one for women."
Little is known about the store’s earliest trading years. Three years after opening, Mr. Smith entered into a partnership with Mr Saunders, offering an almost Amazon-like mail-order service that guaranteed to open every order and dispatch goods within one hour. However, the project may have been overly ambitious, as by 1892, Mr Smith found himself in the bankruptcy courts with debts of £71,000.
The business was rescued by five businessmen who converted it into a public limited company, Bon Marché Ltd., with a capital of £120,000. Under their leadership, the store thrived for 34 years. In 1901, a new shopfront with an arcade replaced the original 1877 design on Brixton Road. In 1909, the famous Bon Marché arcade was opened on the south side of the railway bridge, providing access through the railway arches into the Bon Marché building. That same year, the entire building was fitted with Grinnell fire sprinklers at a cost of £1,500.
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Ownership Changes and Challenges
The store's success attracted the attention of Mr. Selfridge Jr., who gained control in 1926, making it part of the Selfridge Provincial Stores group. In 1940, the John Lewis Partnership acquired the Bon Marché department store along with other Selfridge Provincial Stores and operated it under the Bon Marché name until June 1975.
In May 1941, the Bon Marché building was struck by a bomb, which gutted a substantial portion of the upper floors and caused water damage from burst sprinkler pipes. Despite this, the store reopened for limited business the following day, though some areas remained closed for an extended period, and the top floor remained unused for ten years.
Between 1955 and 1960, the Bon Marché arcade and railway arches were leased to Marks & Spencer and integrated into their store.
In 1975, the John Lewis Partnership made a strategic decision to cease operations in stores smaller than 200,000 sq. ft., including the Bon Marché building.
- 1977: The freehold was sold to Bullion NV, a Dutch firm.
- 1977-1981: The lower floors were used as a retail indoor market, but fire regulations prohibited the use of the upper floors. Operators included Superama (1977), The Bon (1979), and Brixton Fair (1981).
- 1981-1983: The building was closed.
- 1982: British American Tobacco Industries (BAT) purchased the freehold for £1,000,000 as part of their community affairs program focused on regenerating inner cities.
- 1983-1984: The building was completely refurbished at a cost of £3,100,000 and redeveloped as a retail, office, and studio centre.
- 1984-1986: Sherman & Waterman (Retailers) leased the ground and lower ground floors, launching a 70-unit indoor market retail project. However, after accumulating losses exceeding £1,000,000, they surrendered their lease back to BAT Industries in 1986.
- 1986-1988: BAT Industries managed the retail indoor market but continued to experience losses exceeding £1,000,000. They then approached Lipton Retail Consultancy Company for assistance.
- 1988: Lipton Retail Consultancy Company (LRCC) leased the ground and lower ground floors, transforming the retail space into an open-plan department store. The concession-based model attracted major retailers to Brixton, including Lipton Optical, Top Shop, Top Man, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Panache Lingerie, Champion Sports, Sports Division, and Barratt Shoes. This initiative contributed significantly to the regeneration of Brixton Town Centre.
- 1994: Having achieved its objective of revitalizing Brixton’s retail scene, BAT Industries, with cumulative losses of £5,900,000, decided to sell the Bon Marché building.
- August 1995: LRCC purchased the freehold. The Bon Marché Centre Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of LRCC, structured the space as follows:
- 20% Retail
- 40% Offices
- 40% Workshops
- 1997: LRCC developed three self-contained large shops on Brixton Road and five smaller shops on Ferndale Road.
- 2005-2007: LRCC upgraded the business centre’s ground floor reception area and refurbished the rear part of the second floor, as well as the entire third, fourth, and fifth floors. Air conditioning was installed in offices, and high-speed fibre-optic cabling was provided for all business center tenants. The Bon Marché building’s space was reallocated:
- 52% Retail
- 48% Business Centre (70 offices)
2011-2016: Restoration of Retail Space
Between 2011 and 2016, LRCC partially restored the Bon Marché building to its historic retail use. Key improvements included:
- Redesigning the shopfront and interior
- Installing four escalators and two lifts to service the lower ground, ground, first, and second floors
- Expanding retail space and ancillary facilities
- Attracting major retailers such as TK Maxx, Cattivo restaurant, and Foot Locker
2017-2025: Restoration of The Original Facade
Between 2017 and 2025, LRCC partially restored the Bon Marché building facade on Ferdale Road:
- Reinstating the original embossed signage
- Restoring the plinths and columns surrounding the building entrances
These improvements have been complemented by the sympathetic restorations of the facing buildings by the current tenants, and once again the street enjoys the beauty it exhibited in its Victorian heyday.
John Higgins © 2025
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