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Keddies

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Keddies, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 2025
Keddies
Company typePrivate company
IndustryRetail (department store)
Founded1892 in Southend, Essex, England
FounderGeorge James Keddie
Defunct26 February 1996
FateEntered administration and ceased trading
Headquarters
Southend, Essex
,
England
Area served
United Kingdom (primarily Essex)
Key people
George James Keddie, Arthur Maitland Keddie, David Keddie, Peter Keddie
ProductsDepartment store merchandise, supermarket (Supa-Save)

Keddies was a modest department store chain based in Essex, England, with its principal location situated prominently on Southend High Street. The company achieved nationwide prominence, being featured in The Fashion Handbook, represented on a Matchbox model bus, and recognized as a significant opponent of Retail Price Maintenance. The business ceased operations on 26 February 1996 following administration proceedings.

Early years

George James Keddie, born in 1855 in Hintlesham, Suffolk, trained as a drapery apprentice before launching his own retail shop at 144-146 High Street, Southend in 1892. Gradually, the store expanded by purchasing adjacent properties and transformed into a comprehensive department store offering diverse merchandise. Its pioneering window displays, crafted by Arthur Maitland Keddie, received numerous accolades and industry praise, including a top award from The Review for creativity. Arthur also authored the notable 1912 guide Window Dressing for Beginners. During the First World War, he arranged welfare outings for injured servicemen.

Following George’s passing in 1921, his three sons—Arthur Maitland Fletcher Keddie, Frederick Wallace Keddie, and George Douglas Fletcher Keddie—grew the enterprise by opening additional outlets in Hadleigh, Coggeshall (later sold in 1928), and Leigh-on-Sea. Despite competition from local merchants like J F Dixons and Brightwells, the firm prospered throughout the 1920s. In 1934, the flagship store underwent reconstruction and enlargement featuring an impressive façade inspired by Selfridges on Oxford Street. This location drew customers traveling from East London by train. In 1948, Keddies became a founding participant of the Associated Independent Stores purchasing consortium.

Expansion

During the tenure of David and Peter Keddie, the company diversified by transforming the former Essoldo cinema behind their main branch into Southend’s inaugural supermarket and one of Britain’s earliest discount stores named Supa-Save, which opened in 1960. This 15-aisle supermarket attracted large crowds and played a crucial role in challenging Retail Price Maintenance regulations, which were eventually abolished in 1964 after legal disputes involving Keddies.

In conjunction with Supa-Save’s launch, a substantial £600,000 expansion added 35,000 square feet to the original store, connected by a bridge and tunnel over Leather Lane. This development included Maitland House office block and parking facilities designed by Yorke Rosenberg Mardall architects, distinguished by their modernist white tile design. The project earned a 1963 Civic Trust Award and represented one of the earliest examples of Brutalist architecture applied to retail environments.

Maitland House accommodated KeyMed Medical & Industrial Equipment starting in 1969 and subsequently housed the Access credit card company until 1996. In the late 1960s, Keddies also inaugurated a new store on Queen Street in Colchester.

Supa-Save ceased operations in 1970 due to mounting competition from other supermarkets; its premises were redeveloped into an expanded department store completed in 1971 by Yorke Rosenberg Mardall. Further enlargement took place between 1973 and 1975 on the former National Provincial Bank site, which involved closing Leather Lane to integrate the property fully. This £150,000 project introduced a new banking hall for National Westminster Bank accessible via escalators. Some architectural disagreements occurred with Norwich Union during the 1980s concerning building floors.

The business extended into Romford—acquiring land from Hammerson—and Stratford High Street (previously Boardmans) during the 1970s. However, most branches were shuttered by the late 1980s; Stratford closed in 1984 and Colchester followed in 1996. The Colchester location has since been partially redeveloped as Priory Walk mixed-use complex along with a Curzon cinema.

David Keddie established Essex Radio in 1981 (later rebranded as Essex FM and Heart Essex) and held the position of High Sheriff of Essex in 1986 under his full name Murray David Maitland Keddie.

Modernisation and administration

During the 1980s, the Southend location underwent significant refurbishment and upgrading in anticipation of increased foot traffic following the launch of the Royals Shopping Centre. This development attracted well-known retail chains such as HMV, Tie Rack, Olympus Sports, Dillons the Bookstore, and Cramphorn Garden Centres, which established departments within the store. By 1992, the business announced a profit of £263,813 on revenues amounting to £15,536,602. Despite this positive outlook, financial difficulties soon arose, leading the company into administration. Ultimately, after more than a century of operation, the store ceased trading on 26 February 1996.

Building today

The property was acquired by developers who initially planned to rebuild behind the original 1930s High Street façade. However, extensive damage caused by alterations made in the 1960s rendered this unfeasible. Consequently, a fibreglass reproduction of the façade was created and remains visible on High Street. Since then, a variety of retailers have occupied the premises, including Tesco, JJB Sports, GAP, Clintons, Republic, Superdrug, Sports Direct, USC, and HMV.

The section facing Warrior Square remained unoccupied until the early 2000s when it was redeveloped into a Travelodge hotel alongside a bar, restaurant, and nightclub. Maitland House, previously home to InsureandGo and hosting broadcast transmitters for Heart Essex and BBC Essex, now serves as office space for call centre operator Ventrica. In March 2023, plans were announced to sell the area above the former department store with approved permission to construct 100 residential units in an eleven-storey extension atop Maitland House.

External links

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