Chiesmans 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 ...

group based in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified 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 ...

. The business was established in 1884 as a general

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

, expanding to become the largest department store in south-east London and operator of a network of branches stretching from

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

to the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

. The group was acquired by

House of Fraser House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

in 1976. The former Lewisham

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

store closed in 1997.

Early history

Chiesman Brothers was started by the brothers Frank and Harry Chiesman in September 1884 in

. They bought Cross Brothers drapery business at 59 High Street, Lewisham, which was known as Paris House, and specialised in the sales of remnants and job lots. The brothers changed the business, selling new lines across a variety of product categories in addition to drapery. The store expanded into neighbouring properties and in 1899, waiting rooms and a tea room were added to the store. Within a few short years the brothers had established Lewisham's leading department store. By 1908 the store encompassed 41-59 High Street. The premises were divided by a road and a tunnel was constructed connecting the two buildings. The furniture department was a particularly successful part of the business and Chiesmans purchased several properties to hold their stock. After the First World War, the brothers' sons Stewart, Russell and Howard joined the firm and in 1921 a new store was constructed. In the same year the company was incorporated as Chiesmans Limited. During the 1930s the store was extended and other properties were purchased, including property on the opposite side of the High Street. By 1939, a new bridge was built spanning Granville Grove linking the two halves of the main store.

Expansion

In 1933, Chiesmans began a period of expansion beyond Lewisham with the purchase of Denniss Paine & Co. of

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. The next acquisition was that of Martins of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in 1949, while a third store was added in 1957 at

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

(previously Bon Marche). In 1957, the business became a Public Limited Company, with most of the shares being retained by the Chiesman family. Over the next two years stores were purchased in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

(Waymarks, 1958), the

(Edward Morris, 1959),

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

(Burnes, 1959), Upton Park (John Lewis, 1959) and Rochester (Leonards, 1959). The Lewisham store was extended again in 1960. Additions included a new fabric hall and self-service restaurant. The Rochester store was closed in 1967, with the company blaming Rochester Council's failure to redevelop the city centre and parking policy.

Takeover

In 1972 Chiesmans was purchased by House of Fraser. The stores were brought under the same management as Barkers and Army & Navy as part of the Southern Division trading group of House of Fraser. The former Chiesmans offices at Lewisham became the head office for the regional group. Further branches were added to the Chiesmans nameplate under House of Fraser's ownership. A number of the former Hide group stores in London and the south-east, which had been acquired in 1975, were initially renamed Chiesmans, including the eponymous

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 ...

store and the J R Roberts branch at

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

. A store was also opened in

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in southeast London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley. It had a population of approximately 15,600 in 2021 and is southeast of Charing Cross. It is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in London ...

Closure

Eventually the Chiesmans stores were renamed Army & Navy. Maintenance costs and changing retail patterns led firstly to the Lewisham store shrinking to half its size and later closing down entirely in 1994. Lewisham Police Station stands on the site of the former Chiesmans flagship store. All of the former Chiesmans stores are now closed.

Legacy

Harry Chiesman served as Mayor of Lewisham in 1920 and laid the foundation stone of Lewisham War Memorial, which was given Grade II listed status on 13 July 2016.

References

Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1884 British companies established in 1884 House of Fraser Shops in London 1884 establishments in England Retail companies disestablished in 1976 British companies disestablished in 1976 1976 disestablishments in England History of the London Borough of Lewisham {{coord missing, London