Browns was a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

established in 1780 by Susannah Brown. The store traded from its site on Chester's Eastgate Street from 1791 until 2021. Once regarded as the "

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

of the North", the building interior contains many ornate features such as glass-domed roofs and elaborate plasterwork surrounding small chandeliers in the main entrance area. Some of the glass roof on the second floor has been concealed as it has been covered by the construction of the third-floor extension which contained the main café and Kalmora Spa. The oldest part of the store is housed in the Grade I listed Crypt Chambers, designed by T. M. Penson incorporating Georgian, Tudor and Gothic facades. Construction was completed in 1858. The building incorporates part of the Chester Rows. On the front of the tower at Row level is a blank scroll, on the east face is a recessed panel containing the initials W. B. (for William Brown), on the west face the initials are C. B. (for Charles Brown) and on the rear face is a scroll inscribed ''AD 1858: Crypt Chambers''. The Gothic facade frontage is built over a medieval

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and Vault (architecture), vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area whi ...

dating from the twelfth century. The undercroft most recently contained 'The Tea Press' tea room. Another extension to the building was completed in 1965 to link Browns to the nearby Grosvenor Shopping Centre. A new three-story extension was built in 2002 on the site formerly occupied by the offices of the '' Chester Chronicle''. It was acquired by

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...

in 1976. Browns was the only store in the group to retain its own trading name alongside the standard 'Debenhams' branding. Debenhams entered liquidation in early 2021 and all remaining stores closed during May that year. The building was owned by

British Land The British Land Company Public Limited Company is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust when REITs were introduced in the UK in January 2007. It ...

. It was bought by Martin Property Group in 2022, along with the neighbouring Grosvenor Shopping Centre.

References

{{Coord, 53.19034, -2.89080, display=title, region:GB_scale:2000 Debenhams Department stores of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1780 1976 mergers and acquisitions Shops in Chester 1780 establishments in England British companies established in 1780 2021 disestablishments in the United Kingdom