Nos. 3 - 4 Wood Street

Stratford has a few department stores, one less with the closure of  BHS, Debenhams is one of them.  

Number 3 was originally built as part of the building stretching from the roundabout.  In 1904 Number 4 was owned by Mrs  A G Mullis and was a boarding house known as Lansdowne Private and Commercial Hotel and Boarding House.  By 1914 it would appear commercial businesses had taken residence and number 3 and 4 were taken over by J C Smith as a department store (main entrance on High Stree though the building now has a Wood Street adress).  This store was eventually taken over by Debenhams.

The full description of events plus a photograph of the Lansdowne Hotel can be found at  Postcards of the Past Stratford-upon-Avon Odds and Sods the photograph is also on the Our Warwickshire web site . I was going to include the photo in my blip but following Blip Central's warning on copyright I have emailed the site owner for permission to use the images and may add them at a later date.

Added 19/01/17: I have been given permission from the owner to use images from the Old Postcards site.  I have added the Lansdowne Hotel plus description in the extras.

Debenhams and I have history insomuch as I worked at their head office in Taunton from 1973 to 1980.  I started as a computer operator and progressed to Programming Team Leader before we left Somerset to live and work in Wales.