Former David Greig shop at 65 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London

Summary

A late-C19 shop front and ground floor interior, fitted out for the David Greig chain of grocery stores. The upper storeys are not included in the listing.

Description

A late-C19 shop front and ground floor interior, fitted out for the David Greig chain of grocery stores. The upper storeys are not included in the listing.

MATERIALS: granite front with mahogany frame, plate glass, and iron fittings. Decorative tiled interior with marble work-tops.

PLAN: the shop front faces west on to Lordship Lane, and forms the ground floor of a three-storey property. It is largely open plan and at the rear there is a payment booth, with an opening either side to a late-C20 kitchen area and toilets.

EXTERIOR: the symmetrical shop is double-fronted, with a recessed entrance to the centre. The stall-risers of the front elevation are finished in pink granite, and surmounted by buff coloured chamfered granite. To each side of the entrance there is a large one-over-one pane sash window with a curved transom. Above the fenestration, the fascia has a thistle motif at each end (the motif of David Greig shops), either side of a restaurant sign. The entrance has a tiled black and white floor with an inset rectangle displaying the words ‘David Greig’. The entrance to the shop front has painted mahogany pilasters framing the plate-glass side-windows. The painted hardwood front door has two solid panels below, with plate glass above either side of a horizontal transom. To the top of the door architrave, there is a gablet with a twin thistle motif in relief. Outside of the door there is a late-C20 metal screen and railings, neither of which contribute to the special interest.

INTERIOR: there are display areas at the base of each front window, which are delineated by light-grey marble slabs. The main shop has marble shelves at waist and head height, which run the length of the walls. The walls throughout are clad in cream glazed ceramic tiles, interspersed with thistle detailing, and a deep frieze of green thistle motifs running around the top. The floor of the main shop area is formed of timber boards, and the ceiling is plain. The north wall has a circular metal gas light mounting. At the rear of the shop the wall is again panelled in glazed ceramic tiles, but here they are deep-brown, and interspersed with inset mirrors. In the centre, there is a payment booth which is surmounted by a tiled round arch with projecting keystone, and a counter section below. The booth has some C19 timber fittings, and above there is a David Greig shop-sign with the letters picked out in gold leaf, behind brown painted glass. To the both sides of the booth there is an open archway with a brass architrave. Behind the booth there is a late-C20 kitchen and toilet area which do not contribute to the special interest.

History

David Greig opened his first shop in 1870 at 54-58 Atlantic Road, Brixton. The Greig grocery chain was a rival to Sainsbury's, who opened their first grocery shop in Holborn, one year earlier. The entrepreneurs were initially friends, but rivalry developed between the two families, because of disagreements over the selection of sites. The format of the store was designed to bring together the majority of staple requirements into one single place, therefore saving time for customers in the burgeoning metropolis. The stores were finished in glazed ceramic tiles with thistle motifs (the motif of David Greig shops), which were made by H&R Johnson of Stoke-on-Trent. By the late 1960s there were more than 220 Greig shops across the south of the country. However, the company was sold in 1972 after crippling death duties were incurred when several of the men in the family died in quick succession. David Greig was a notable philanthropist, leaving trusts for the benefit of Hornsey and the community, including the Greig City Academy School.

The former David Greig shop at 65 Lordship Lane, is situated on the ground floor of a building which dates from the later-C19. The first larger-scale Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1875 shows a run of terraced buildings along Lordship Lane, facing west on to open fields. By 1896, the OS map records the fields as built over, and the rear of the shop is now shown as extended. The granite stall risers and tile design at 65 Lordship Lane, suggest that the shop originates from the late C19. The external shop sign has been relocated inside, and the serving counter has been removed. The ground floor is in use (2017) as a restaurant, with the shop floor acting as a dining room, and the area behind the former payment booth fitted out as a kitchen and toilets. The upper floors were not inspected and do not form part of the listing.

Reasons for Listing

65 Lordship Lane, a former shop front and ground floor interior fitted out for the David Greig chain in the late C19, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* For the unusual survival of a shop dating from the late C19 that retains a good-quality original frontage and interior, and where the plan-form of the former food business remains clearly legible;

* For the decorative scheme where the rich, glazed tiling of the shop was specifically designed for the David Greig shops.

Historic interest:
* Once common on the high street, examples of late-C19 chain-stores are becoming increasingly rare.

External Links

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