Walter Cobb was a department store located in

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South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. It opened in 1860 and closed in 1981.

History

The Walter Cobb store was founded by Walter Cobb, who was born in

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in 1835, and learnt his trade as a draper in

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. In 1860, Cobb opened the store in Lawrie Place, a newly built parade, as a ladies outfitters, with his wife and their shop assistants living above the store. By 1862 the business was described as General Drapery Establishment, selling

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s, dresses, mantles, family

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wear and having a millinery department. Cobb was an astute business and marketing man. He advertised his store as having the latest fashions from Paris and London. Over the next 30 years, he purchased shops either side of his property, expanding the Walter Cobb store into each unit with new departments. The business by 1898 occupied 297-301 Kirdale, 270-272 Kirkdale, a furniture depository in Silverdale and an estate agents and funeral parlour at 1-3 Railway Approach. By 1900, the Walter Cobb store ran the length of Lawrie Place except for the butcher store on the corner. The store was declared to be the equal of

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 ...

, Harvey Nichols and Marshall & Snelgrove in a '' Times'' article of the time. In 1900, the butcher store finally sold out and Walter Cobb built the grand corner entrance to his store which finally opened in 1902 with its grand dome pediment. Walter was also a costume maker for the 1911 Festival of empire at the Crystal Palace. The Walter Cobb store continued to operate, past Cobb's death in 1922 up and to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During the London bombings of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, three quarters of the Walter Cobb store was demolished; however the business continued to operate in a condensed form. The business was however grown by the purchase of

Penge Penge () is a suburb of South East Greater London, London, England, now in the London Borough of Bromley, west of Bromley, north east of Croydon and south east of Charing Cross. Etymology The name ''Penge'' is first attested in charter of ...

department store Bryce Grant. The Walter Cobb store was rebuilt slowly, with the building not being completed until 1960. During this time the business continued to open new departments including selling hardware. The 1970s saw the Walter Cobb store decline. The store closed in 1981.

References

{{Authority control Cobb Walter Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1860 Shops in London