Description

TQ 2579 NE KENSINGTON HIGH STREET W8
(South side)
Nos.99-121 (Odd)
249/31/18 Marks and Spencers, British Home
Stores and The Roof Garden

16-JAN-1981 (Formerly listed as:
KENSINGTON HIGH STREET W8
(South side)

Nos.99-121 (Odd)
DERRY AND TOMS AND
BRITISH HOME STORES)

II*

Former departmental store and garden roof, currently subdivided stores, offices and roof garden. 1933, architect Bernard George with floor layouts made by CA Wheeler of Chicago and roof garden opened in 1938 under the overall supervision of Bernard Jones. Art Deco style. Steel-framed building faced on the front and sides with Portland stone, with bronze glazing bars and shopfront, the rear of brick in Flemish bond with Portland stone dressings. Symmetrical facade of seven storeys and basement 9 bays wide, 2:5:2, divided by staircase bays. Seventh floor set back with six flagpoles. Fluted pilasters rising between windows from first to fourth storeys. Entablature above, with top storey in frieze, with sculptured metopes between the reliefs of productive labour, and openwork metal grilles over windows with figures representing signs of the zodiac by Walter Gilbert. Openwork grilles to staircase have stone panels with floral design and initials DT (for Derry and Toms). Windows are casements with small bronze panes and have Art Deco bronze panels between floors. Splayed balconettes above first floor, which also have carved stone floral motif panels. Bronze trimmed canopies to two entrances beneath staircase bays. Shopfronts mainly late C20 but some but some original bronze panels survive. Elevation to Derry Street of 6:4 bays in similar style divided by a staircase bay. Interior retains original decor of fifth floor Rainbow Room, originally restaurant, with oval glazed ceiling dome and columns. Roof garden has one storey sun pavilion with some extension and refenestration of late C20. Spanish Garden has concrete twisted columned pergola, two storey facade of Spanish Style house with pantile roof and metal balconies, panelled door, concrete octagonal fountain base and flowerbed edging with tiles. Tudor garden has c1938 four-centred stone arches, brick walls and concrete sculptured panels. The Woodland Garden includes a stone bridge of three round-headed arches with keystone and a Japanese wooden bridge of one arch. Derry and Toms was one of the first London stores to be planned on the American horizontal system, whereby each floor was made as open as possible, safety against fire ensured by keeping floors wholly separate without well holes or central staircases. Originally a further floor had been planned but this was not possible a s fire engine ladders of the time could only reach six floors. A roof garden was built instead. Although Selfridges and Barkers already had roof gardens, the Derry and Toms roof garden was planned to out do all others. It was the largest roof garden in the world when built and is still the largest roof garden in Europe.

("A garden in the Sky", DW Peel 1960.
"Derry and Toms Roof Garden" Stephen Scrivens 1976.
"Survey of London" pp 93-97.
BOE London 3: North West p502)

Listing NGR: TQ2562279527

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17552408

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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