The original trademark for London's North West End shopping mall. When opened, in March 1976, it was heralded as "Britain's out-of-town shopping revolution."
Graphic from Hammersmith Properties & Investment Trust
Showing posts with label London's Brent Cross Centre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London's Brent Cross Centre. Show all posts
Due to intense public opposition, Great Britain did not have a US-style, suburban shopping mall until the mid-1970s. BRENT CROSS CENTRE was the nation's first.
Photo from http://www.brentcrosslondon.co.uk / Brent Cross Shopping Centre
In an early 1976 snapshot, we see a nameplate being attached to the up-and-coming John Lewis anchor store. It was to comprise 3 levels and include a balcony Wine Bar, in-store restaurant and Rooftop Garden.
Photo from http://www.johnlewismemorystore.org.uk / Jonathan Blachford
On the opposite end of the dumbell plan mall stood a Fenwick ["Fin-ik"] department store. Also housing 3 levels, it featured a beauty salon and Window of the World restaurant. At the time of its completion, the BRENT CROSS Fenwick was the second-largest store in the chain.
Photo from https://www.fenwick.co.uk / Fenwick, Limited
Graphic from http://www.johnlewis.com / John Lewis & Partners
Newcastle-based Fenwick began business in 1882. Like John Lewis, the BRENT CROSS Fenwick opened along with the mall. In the mid-2020s, there were nine Fenwick stores in Great Britain.
Graphic from http://www.fenwick.co.uk / Fenwick, Limited
London-based Marks & Spencer (a.k.a. "M & S" or "Marks & Sparks") opened a store at BRENT CROSS CENTRE in 1976. The chain had started in Leeds in 1884. In the mid-2020s, there were 1,053 stores in operation in the United Kingdom (904 of these in Great Britain). There were also 434 M & S stores in fourteen nations around the globe.
Graphic from http://www.marksandspencer.com / Marks & Spencer Propriety Limited Company
A vintage view of the Central Court, fountain and water garden. The dome overhead was decorated with coloured glass inserts. It was sealed from the outside, with no windows. In fact, the original mall had little -if any- natural lighting.
Photo from Brent Cross Centre_https://www.vice.com / Vice Media Group
Another vintage view of Central Court. The Marks & Spencer mall entry is seen on the second level.
Photo from Brent Cross Centre_https://www.vice.com / Vice Media Group
Here, we see the first and second level Fenwick mall entrances.
Photo from Brent Cross Centre_https://www.vice.com / Vice Media Group
Photo from Brent Cross Centre_https://www.vice.com / Vice Media Group
Above and below are early 2000s-vintage images of BRENT CROSS CENTRE. Here we see an interior view of the Main Mall.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Billy Hicks"
Our second snapshot shows a wide-angle view of the northwest corner of the mall's exterior. The John Lewis anchor store is seen on the right. In the present day, the high-end '70s Brutalist-design mall has been likened, in appearance, to a nuclear power station.
Photo from www.hammerson.com / The Hammerson Group
Opened, as the Brent Park Road station, in 1923, the terminal sits .5 mile southeast of BRENT CROSS CENTRE. It was renamed Brent Cross soon after the completion of the mall. It is one of 272 stops on "The Tube" (a.k.a. London Underground subway), which currently spans 250 route miles. Although the station and shopping centre are relatively close to one another, we are told it is no easy task to walk from one to the other.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Sunil060902"
BRENT CROSS CENTRE TENANTS 2010:
FENWICK (with Carluccio's Italian restaurant, Harry Morgan restaurant, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Restaurant On 3 and Shaketastic snack bar) / JOHN LEWIS (with The Place To Eat restaurant, ) / MARKS & SPENCER (with Bureau de change ) / WH SMITH (with Bureau de change and Costa restaurant) / WAITROSE supermarket / Abbey National Bank / Accessorize / Aldo footwear / Amika cosmetics (kiosk) / Apple Store / Auntie Anne's Pretzels / Austin Reed apparel / Baby Gap children's wear / Banana Republic apparel / Base apparel / Base children's wear / BB's Coffee & Muffins (kiosk) / Ben Mirkin eyewear / Blacks Outdoor Leisure supply / Boots chemist (pharmacy) / Boots Opticians / Calvin Klein Underwear / Cecil Gee men's wear / Claire's Accessories 1 (Lower Mall) / Claire's Accessories 2 (Upper Mall) / Clarks footwear / Clinton Cards / Costa cafe (kiosk) / Currys.digital home computers and accessories / Dr & Herbs Chinese remedies / Dune footwear / Early Learning Centre / Ernest Jones jewellers and watchmakers / Feet First (Russell & Bromley Kids) children's wear / Fraser Hart jewellers / French Connection apparel / Fun Learning / Galton Flowers (kiosk) Game video game paraphernalia / Games Workshop / Gap Kids children's wear / Goldsmiths jewellers / H. Samuel jewellers / H & M apparel / H & M Kids children's wear / Halifax Building Society bank / HMV music and video / Hobbs ladies' wear / Holland & Barrett vitamins and supplements / Hollister Company apparel / Hugo Boss men's wear / Jane Norman ladies' wear / JD Sports / Jigsaw ladies' wear / Kanteen / Karen Millen ladies' wear / Karma Kitchen / Kate Kuba footwear / Kew ladies' wear / KooKai ladies' wear / L'Occitane en Provence cosmetics (kiosk) / Lacoste sportswear / La Senza ladies' wear / Leslie Davis jewellers / Levi's / Lipsy ladies' wear / L.K. Bennett ladies' wear / Magnolia Silver jewellers (kiosk) / Massimo Dutti apparel / McDonald's hamburgers / Millie's Cookies / Miss Selfridge ladies' wear / Molton Brown vitamins and supplements / Monsoon Kids children's wear / Monsoon ladies' wear / Mr. Crepe French cuisine / Mothercare children's wear / New Look ladies' wear / Nike sporting goods / O2 mobile phones and accessories / Oasis ladies' wear / Office footwear / Paperchase stationers / Phones 4U mobile phones and accessories / Polarn O. Pyret children's wear / Pravins jewellers / Regis Hairstylists / Reiss ladies' wear / Rigby & Peller ladies' wear / River Island apparel / Russell & Bromley footwear / Sea Spa Skincare cosmetics (kiosk) / Shopmobility mobile phones and accessories (outparcel) / Sony Centre home electronics / Starbucks coffee (kiosk) / Suits You men's wear / Sunglass Hut (kiosk) / Swarovski crystal / The Body Shop cosmetics / The Bread Shop 1 (kiosk) / The Bread Shop 2 / The BT Store (kiosk) / The Carphone Warehouse mobile phones and accessories / The Gap apparel / The Houmous Bar / The Nut Hut (kiosk) / The Pen Shop writing instruments (kiosk) / The White Company children's wear / The White Company housewares / Thonton's candies / Tie Rack / Timberland apparel / Timpson Shoe Repairs / TKTS discount theatre tickets desk / T.M. Lewin apparel / T-Mobile mobile phones and accessories / Toko jewellers (kiosk) / Tommy Hilfiger apparel / Toni&Guy cosmetics / Topman-Topshop apparel / Topsy Turvey World indoor soft play area (outparcel) / Vision Express Opticians / Wallis ladies' wear / Yo! Sushi Japanese cuisine/ Yog snack bar (kiosk) / Zara apparel
CAFE COURT:
Bagel Street Deli / Burger King hamburgers / Caffé Alba / Nando's / Pizza Hut / Spreads Cafe Deli / Tootsie's hamburgers / Wagamama Japanese cuisine
The dedication of WESTFIELD LONDON, in October 2008, spelled trouble for the 32-year-old BRENT CROSS CENTRE. The new Westfield property was less than 5 miles away and -with 1,614,600 lettable square feet- was nearly twice the size of the older shopping precinct.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Panhard"
In September 2011, an even larger Westfield property started trading to the public. WESTFIELD STRATFORD CITY, less than 10 miles distant, encompassed an astounding 1,883,900 lettable square feet.
Photo from Wikipedia / Harry Lawford
In order to remain competitive with the Westfield Corporation's two London shopping precincts, the owners of BRENT CROSS CENTRE envisaged a massive redevelopment. Here we see a view from the Living Bridge, a pedestrian-only entry into a new South Wing.
Drawing from http://www.hammerson.com / The Hammerson Group
High Street North, a canopied mall concourse, is seen in this rendering. The prospective 1.4 billion pound renovation plan for BRENT CROSS CENTRE called for 150 new stores, fifty restaurants, a state-of-the-art cinema and luxury hotel.
Drawing from http://www.hammerson.com / The Hammerson Group
The ambitious redevelopment would require that River Brent be diverted, allowing for construction of the 800,000 square foot South Wing (in medium gray). A new Marks & Spencer store would be built, along with three new multi-storey car parks.
The new and improved BRENT CROSS CENTRE would encompass approximately 1,700,000 lettable square feet and contain around 260 stores and seventy-five restaurants. The 1.4 billion pound mall revitalization project was put on indefinite hold in July 2018.
Drawing from http://www.brentcrosslondon.co.uk / Brent Cross Shopping Centre
A refurbished and expanded BRENT CROSS CENTRE was a component of the proposed Brent Cross Cricklewood project. This 5 billion pound endeavor was to redevelop 250 mall-adjacent acres. New residential, educational, medical, office and shopping facilities were proposed, along with two public parks.
Drawing from www.brentcrosscricklewood.com / Brent Cross Cricklewood Programme
BRENT CROSS CENTRE
North Circular Road and Hendon Way
London (Borough of Barnet), United Kingdom
Development of Great Britain's first regional-class, suburban shopping mall was underway as early as 1963, but it would be nearly 20 years before the first such centre would begin trading to the public.
In the meantime, two inner city shopping malls had been dedicated. BULL RING CENTRE, in central Birmingham, opened its doors in May 1964. ELEPHANT & CASTLE CENTRE, in the London's Borough of Southwark ["Suh-thirk"], began business in March 1965.
Early proposals for an "out of town" shopping precinct, to be built in the northwestern outskirts of London, were met with a tremendous amount of opposition. It was thought that such a facility would take business away from "high street" (centre city) merchants. Moreover, potential traffic issues were cited as a reason for the rejection of development plans.
Nonetheless, by April 1970, approval had been granted for the construction of a north London out-of-town mall. Two major British department stores, John Lewis and Fenwick ["fin-ik"], had signed on as anchors. The new complex, to be known as BRENT CROSS CENTRE, would be designed by London's Bernard Engels & Partners firm and be developed by the London-based Hammerson Properties Investment Trust, with financing provided by Edinburgh-based Standard Life Investments.
A 52-acre plot was acquired. This was located 5 miles northwest of the London urban core, at the junction of the Hendon Way and North Circular Road thoroughfares. The Hendon Greyhound Stadium had stood at the site since 1935. It was demolished in 1970. Johnsons of Hendon, a photographic supply factory, had also occupied a portion of the land parcel.
A (15,200 square foot) Waitrose supermarket became the first operational BRENT CROSS tenant, on February 3, 1976. A mall-wide dedication was held on March 2nd, officiated by the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). The 799,900 square foot, 2-level complex was anchored by a 3-level (211,300 square foot) John Lewis and 3-level (173,600 square foot) Fenwick.
Among its seventy-five shops were WH Smith, Peter Lord Shoes, Ravel Shoes, Harry Fenton, Lord John, Spectra TV Rentals, Lilley & Spinner, Dixons, Mothercare, Russell & Bromley, Boots chemist, Benetton, C & A Modes and Intersport. A 3-level (76,800 square foot), London-based Marks & Spencer was a charter junior anchor.
As stated, BRENT CROSS CENTRE was Britain's first out-of-town, United States-style shopping mall...and the nation's largest retail hub. It was also noteworthy for its extended shopping hours. Whereas standard "high street" shops closed by 5 pm, those in BRENT CROSS would operate until 8 pm, Monday thru Friday, and until 6 pm on Saturday. Sunday sales were first sanctioned in 1994.
Other mall-type centres were built on the periphery of Greater London. These included WOOD GREEN SHOPPING CITY (1981) {4.9 miles northeast, in the Borough of Haringey}, LAKESIDE CENTRE (1990) {22.5 miles southeast, in the Borough of Thurrock} and THE GALLERIA, HATFIELD (1991) {12.6 miles north, in the Borough of Welwyn Hatfield}.
BRENT CROSS CENTRE was given a major upgrade and expansion between 1994 and 1996. The 40 million pound project, envisaged by Manchester's Building Design Partnership, added 98,000 square feet of retail space, ten stores and services, a 5-bay Cafe Court and new multi-storey car park (replacing a structure added to the mall in 1985).
On the mall's interior, glass domes, lighting, fountains, escalators and a "glazed scenic lift" (elevator) were installed. US-based Talbots opened their first UK store. BRENT CROSS CENTRE now encompassed 897,700 lettable square feet and 115 shops and services.
A second expansion was proposed in 2003 but met a tidal wave of opposition. The proposal was subsequently dropped. A greatly revised plan, which was less automobile-centric, garnered initial approval in June 2010. Known as Brent Cross Cricklewood, the 4.5 billion pound endeavor would renovate and expand BRENT CROSS CENTER, adding over 800,000 lettable square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.
250 acres directly south of the mall would be redeveloped as a town centre, with a second commercial district, parks, office blocks, residential units, community centre, public library and NHS (National Health Service) facility.
It was plausible that the development could have been serviced by a new transit corridor; the North & West London Light Railway. Consisting of four routes and thirty-four station stops, the prospective transit line was modeled on the existing Docklands Light Railway in London.
The BRENT CROSS CENTRE revitalization was designed by the CallisonRTKL and Chapman Taylor firms. The fully-realized, mixed-use facility was to encompass up to 1.7 million lettable square feet and contain 345 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues. Construction was to begin in 2018. However, in July, the BRENT CROSS and Cricklewood projects were indefinitely shelved.
North Circular Road and Hendon Way
London (Borough of Barnet), United Kingdom
Development of Great Britain's first regional-class, suburban shopping mall was underway as early as 1963, but it would be nearly 20 years before the first such centre would begin trading to the public.
In the meantime, two inner city shopping malls had been dedicated. BULL RING CENTRE, in central Birmingham, opened its doors in May 1964. ELEPHANT & CASTLE CENTRE, in the London's Borough of Southwark ["Suh-thirk"], began business in March 1965.
Early proposals for an "out of town" shopping precinct, to be built in the northwestern outskirts of London, were met with a tremendous amount of opposition. It was thought that such a facility would take business away from "high street" (centre city) merchants. Moreover, potential traffic issues were cited as a reason for the rejection of development plans.
Nonetheless, by April 1970, approval had been granted for the construction of a north London out-of-town mall. Two major British department stores, John Lewis and Fenwick ["fin-ik"], had signed on as anchors. The new complex, to be known as BRENT CROSS CENTRE, would be designed by London's Bernard Engels & Partners firm and be developed by the London-based Hammerson Properties Investment Trust, with financing provided by Edinburgh-based Standard Life Investments.
A 52-acre plot was acquired. This was located 5 miles northwest of the London urban core, at the junction of the Hendon Way and North Circular Road thoroughfares. The Hendon Greyhound Stadium had stood at the site since 1935. It was demolished in 1970. Johnsons of Hendon, a photographic supply factory, had also occupied a portion of the land parcel.
A (15,200 square foot) Waitrose supermarket became the first operational BRENT CROSS tenant, on February 3, 1976. A mall-wide dedication was held on March 2nd, officiated by the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III). The 799,900 square foot, 2-level complex was anchored by a 3-level (211,300 square foot) John Lewis and 3-level (173,600 square foot) Fenwick.
Among its seventy-five shops were WH Smith, Peter Lord Shoes, Ravel Shoes, Harry Fenton, Lord John, Spectra TV Rentals, Lilley & Spinner, Dixons, Mothercare, Russell & Bromley, Boots chemist, Benetton, C & A Modes and Intersport. A 3-level (76,800 square foot), London-based Marks & Spencer was a charter junior anchor.
As stated, BRENT CROSS CENTRE was Britain's first out-of-town, United States-style shopping mall...and the nation's largest retail hub. It was also noteworthy for its extended shopping hours. Whereas standard "high street" shops closed by 5 pm, those in BRENT CROSS would operate until 8 pm, Monday thru Friday, and until 6 pm on Saturday. Sunday sales were first sanctioned in 1994.
Other mall-type centres were built on the periphery of Greater London. These included WOOD GREEN SHOPPING CITY (1981) {4.9 miles northeast, in the Borough of Haringey}, LAKESIDE CENTRE (1990) {22.5 miles southeast, in the Borough of Thurrock} and THE GALLERIA, HATFIELD (1991) {12.6 miles north, in the Borough of Welwyn Hatfield}.
BRENT CROSS CENTRE was given a major upgrade and expansion between 1994 and 1996. The 40 million pound project, envisaged by Manchester's Building Design Partnership, added 98,000 square feet of retail space, ten stores and services, a 5-bay Cafe Court and new multi-storey car park (replacing a structure added to the mall in 1985).
On the mall's interior, glass domes, lighting, fountains, escalators and a "glazed scenic lift" (elevator) were installed. US-based Talbots opened their first UK store. BRENT CROSS CENTRE now encompassed 897,700 lettable square feet and 115 shops and services.
A second expansion was proposed in 2003 but met a tidal wave of opposition. The proposal was subsequently dropped. A greatly revised plan, which was less automobile-centric, garnered initial approval in June 2010. Known as Brent Cross Cricklewood, the 4.5 billion pound endeavor would renovate and expand BRENT CROSS CENTER, adding over 800,000 lettable square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues.
250 acres directly south of the mall would be redeveloped as a town centre, with a second commercial district, parks, office blocks, residential units, community centre, public library and NHS (National Health Service) facility.
It was plausible that the development could have been serviced by a new transit corridor; the North & West London Light Railway. Consisting of four routes and thirty-four station stops, the prospective transit line was modeled on the existing Docklands Light Railway in London.
The BRENT CROSS CENTRE revitalization was designed by the CallisonRTKL and Chapman Taylor firms. The fully-realized, mixed-use facility was to encompass up to 1.7 million lettable square feet and contain 345 stores, restaurants and entertainment venues. Construction was to begin in 2018. However, in July, the BRENT CROSS and Cricklewood projects were indefinitely shelved.
Sources:
https://www.brentcross.co.uk/shop
https://www.brentcross.co.uk/shop
https://www.brentcross.co.uk/shop (Website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://completelyretail.co.uk
http://retailproperty.cushwake.com
https://completelyretail.co.uk
http://retailproperty.cushwake.com
https://www.standard.co.uk (The London Evening Standard)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.johnlewis.com
https://londonist.com
http://www.pastscape.org.uk
http://www.waitrosememorystore.org.uk
http://www.brentcrosscricklewood.com
http://www.chrismrogers.net
https://fashionunited.uk
"Brent Cross" article on Wikipedia
"The Brent Cross Shopping Centre - Characteristics & Early Effects" / I. Shepherd & P. Newby
"Shopping, Place and Identity" / Peter Jackson, Daniel Miller, Michael Rowlands http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.johnlewis.com
https://londonist.com
http://www.pastscape.org.uk
http://www.waitrosememorystore.org.uk
http://www.brentcrosscricklewood.com
http://www.chrismrogers.net
https://fashionunited.uk
"Brent Cross" article on Wikipedia
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