Gamages
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (department store) |
| Founded | 1878 |
| Founder | Albert Walter Gamage |
| Defunct | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Holborn, London , England, United Kingdom |
| Products | Toys, hardware, photography equipment, camping gear, pet supplies, sporting goods, fashion items, furniture, carpeting, supermarket goods |
Gamages was a department store located in Holborn, London, operating from 1878 until 1972. It gained particular recognition for its extensive toy and hardware sections.
History
Established in 1878 initially as a rented watch repair outlet, Gamages quickly evolved into a well-known London landmark. The business was founded by Albert Walter Gamage, who soon acquired full ownership from his partner Frank Spain. Over time, the store expanded to cover most of the block at 118–126 Holborn, close to Holborn Circus on the City of London’s perimeter. Gamages also ran a thriving mail-order service.
The store featured a broad selection of toys, with a notable highlight being a large model railway display that included both day and night lighting effects, drawing large crowds during the Christmas season. Its ground-floor hardware section specialized in motor parts and car seat covers. Additional departments encompassed photography equipment, camping gear, pet supplies, sporting goods (including shotguns), fashion items, furniture, carpeting, and eventually a small supermarket.
In 1928, Gamages secured a lease for 489–497 Oxford Street from the Duke of Westminster and commissioned architects C. S. and E. M. Joseph, with contributions from Sir Edwin Lutyens, to design a new store with integrated residential spaces. To finance this expansion, a new entity named Gamages (West End) Limited issued 500,000 shares valued at £1 each. Although the Oxford Street store opened in 1930, it closed within eight months due to financial difficulties and was sold at auction. The premises offered 210,000 square feet of operational space and had a 318-foot frontage on Oxford Street; however, bids were less than half the construction cost. The building was ultimately purchased by C&A.
During the First World War, Gamages contributed to the war effort by producing the Leach trench catapult.
Throughout its existence, Gamages remained financially successful. In 1968, it launched a second branch in the Liberty Shopping Centre located in Romford, Essex. This outlet shut down shortly after the company was acquired by Jeffrey Sterling's Sterling Guarantee Trust in 1970; the Romford property was subsequently sold to British Home Stores in 1971. The original Holborn store ceased operations in March 1972 and has since left no visible remnants. Gamages briefly resumed trading from the former Waring & Gillows building on Oxford Street but closed permanently later that same year.
In popular culture
In Norman Collins' novel London Belongs to Me, the character Connie visits Gamages to purchase a cage for her canary named Duke.
In the BBC sitcom Porridge, specifically the episode 'Heartbreak Hotel', Fletcher refers to his daughter’s mother holding a stable position within Gamages’ hardware department.
A Daily Express advertisement for Gamages promoting discounted furniture sales appears in the LWT drama Poirot episode 'The Yellow Iris'.
In Granada TV’s The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes episode 'The Cardboard Box', Mrs Hudson suggests purchasing Dr Watson’s Christmas present at Gamages; subsequently, Holmes arrives carrying a parcel bearing the Gamages label containing a poncho.
David Jason mentions in The Twelve Dels of Christmas that the "Captain Fantastic" segment from the 1968 Christmas edition of Do Not Adjust Your Set was filmed at Gamages, featuring scenes shot on the store’s rooftop decorated for the holiday season.