Bonds of Norwich

Bonds of Norwich was a department store based in All Saints, Norwich.

Early History

Bonds of Norwich was started in February 1879 by Robert Bond when he took over Woodlands drapery shop at the end of Ber Street.^[1] Robert was the son of a farmer, but first started working as a grocer in London, before learning the drapery trade with his brother James in Chelmsford.^[2] Bonds in Chelmsford would become a department store in its own right and was bought by Debenhams prior to the Second World War.

The drapery business was very competitive with nearly 90 businesses in Norwich alone. To get noticed Robert Bond advertised on the front of the Norwich Mercury newspaper a Grand Sale, selling the stock of the previous owners at heavily discounted prices.^[1] In 1881, Robert and his wife Mary were living above the premises with five of their staff, including a millinery assistant who helped Mary Bond set up Department No 1. The business expanded buying up two of the adjacent properties, and by 1903 Robert's two sons William and Ernest joined the business. The company name was changed to R H Bond & Sons.^[1] The third son James Owen Bond became an architect - his firm The Owen Bond Partnership exists today and designed the 1938 store extension.

20th Century

In 1924, Robert Bond died. He was succeeded as Chairman by William. The store was rebuilt with frontages on Ber Street and All Saints Green, with an arcade running in between in 1914. In the 1930s the store expanded by buying the Thatched Cinema on All Saints Green and using it as a restaurant and offices.^[1]

In 1938 23-25 All Saints Green became available, and a new extension was added. However the buildings were damaged during the war with the Thatched Cinema being burned down. The store continued by using empty properties in Norwich.^[1]

After the war, Robert Owen Bond, working in his fathers Owen Bond practice designed the new store which was completed in 1951. The business grew after the war, buying Green in Haymarket and Cluttens in East Dereham. The company redeveloped the store during the late 1970s adding a further 14,00 square foot of selling space.

However, in 1979 it was announced that the business was in trouble. The Chief Executive Nicholas Hinde left the business, taking the East Dereham store. The troubles were highlighted in 1982, when the John Lewis Partnership bought the business for a fee said to be £1 million,^[1] with the company reputedly losing money since 1978.

The store stayed as Bonds until 2001, when the store was re-branded as John Lewis Norwich.

References