Pret a Manger, Cornmarket Street, Oxford - geograph

Zacharias and Co. (colloquially known as "Zac's") was a

waterproof clothing Waterproof fabrics are fabrics that are, inherently, or have been treated to become, resistant to penetration by water and wetting. The term "waterproof" refers to conformance to a governing specification and specific conditions of a laboratory ...

manufacturing firm and retailer based at 26–27

Cornmarket Street Cornmarket Street (colloquially referred to as Cornmarket or historically The Corn) is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north to south between Magdalen Street and Carfax Tower. To the east is the G ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Abraham Zacharias was a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary gre ...

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewellery, jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stonesetting, stone sett ...

, and

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

clockmaker A clockmaker is an artisan who makes and/or repairs clocks. Since almost all clocks are now factory-made, most modern clockmakers only repair clocks. Modern clockmakers may be employed by jewellers, antique shops, and places devoted strictly to ...

at 2 Cornmarket and 95

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym ...

in Oxford. He bought 27 Cornmarket and operated a china and glass warehouse here. Later, by 1880, Abraham Zacharias' son Joel Zacharias was in charge of the business. He married Rebecca Fankenstein from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

on 16 August 1882. By 1884, Joel Zacharias was selling waterproof clothing on the Oxford site. He also ran a branch in Manchester. In the late 1880s, Joel Zacharias expanded the business into 26 Cornmarket next door to the south. The two shops have been combined into a single premises one since this time. By around 1896 Joel Zacharias stopped selling china and glass to concentrate on the waterproof clothing business for which Zacharias and Co. became well-known. Joel Zacharias died in 1905 and the business was taken over by Henry Osborn King of

Wolvercote Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England. It is about northwest of the city centre, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow and adjoins the River Thames. History The Domes ...

. Henry King's son Cecil King later inherited the business. The original name Zacharias was retained until the business finally closed in 1983. The slogan "Zac's for Macs" was used by the business. The site of 26–27 Cornmarket Street subsequently housed a

Laura Ashley Laura Ashley (née Mountney; 7 September 1925 – 17 September 1985) was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She originally made furnishing materials in the 1950s, expanding the business into clothing design and manufacture in the 1960s ...

shop. The building dates from the 15th century. It was completely dismantled and reconstructed closer to its original form. The building is owned by

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

. The site now houses a

Pret a Manger Pret A Manger (''prêt à manger'' is French for ''ready to eat'') is an international sandwich shop franchise chain based in the United Kingdom, popularly referred to as Pret, founded in 1983. As of December 2022, Pret had 434 shops in the UK ...

sandwich shop.

References

1983 disestablishments in England British companies disestablished in 1983 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1983 Retail companies disestablished in 1983 Shops in Oxford Defunct manufacturing companies of England Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Clothing retailers of England Clothing manufacturers Outdoor retailers History of Oxford Jesus College, Oxford {{UK-company-stub