{"id":1294,"date":"2020-03-26T09:11:58","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T09:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=1294"},"modified":"2020-03-24T14:57:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T14:57:37","slug":"beales-archives-of-an-iconic-retailer-saved-for-posterity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2020\/03\/26\/beales-archives-of-an-iconic-retailer-saved-for-posterity\/","title":{"rendered":"Beales \u2013 archives of an iconic retailer saved for posterity!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beales<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>department store<\/span>\u00a0in Bournemouth in Hampshire, now Dorset<\/span>, was founded in 1881 on the Old Christchurch Road<\/span>.\u00a0 Initially know as the \u2018Fancy Fair and Oriental House\u2019<\/span>, the shop grew into one of the landmark buildings and brands in Bournemouth<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Generations of\u00a0<\/span>Beales<\/span>\u00a0headed up the company<\/span>, one of whom, Frank Beale<\/span>\u00a0(d. 2001)<\/span>\u00a0went to train at Macy<\/span>\u2019s in New York and introduced some American approaches to customer service upon his return.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beales<\/span>\u00a0was bombed during the Second World War but was re-built on the same site<\/span>.\u00a0 The shop claimed to be the first in the world<\/span>\u00a0from 1885<\/span>\u00a0to introduce a<\/span>\u00a0live<\/span> Father Christmas on-site at Christmas time.\u00a0 <\/span>Beales<\/span>\u00a0grew steadily<\/span>\u00a0across the UK<\/span>\u00a0such that by the\u00a0<\/span>time of its\u00a0<\/span>entry into administration in\u00a0<\/span>January 2020, it consisted of 23 stores<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>located as far apart as Hexham and Poole<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

DHC was very pleased to be able to\u00a0<\/span>receive<\/span>\u00a0from the administrators KPMG<\/span>\u00a0the archive of\u00a0<\/span>Beales<\/span>\u00a0\u2013 collected from the Bournemouth store on its last day of trading\u00a0<\/span>on 20 March 2020.\u00a0 Whilst not particularly large, the collection contains a fascinating insight into the world of the fast-disappearing department store over a period of nearly 140 years.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Copious\u00a0<\/span>photographs point to a paternalistic regime where staff outings and community events played an important part in the business\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>culture.<\/span>\u00a0 It is clear how central\u00a0<\/span>Beales<\/span>\u00a0was to the commercial\u00a0<\/span>success<\/span>\u00a0of Bournemouth<\/span>\u00a0as well as being a major employer<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0 Early catalogues sit alongside\u00a0<\/span>ledgers and minutes<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>a superb array of ephemera \u2013 as well as rule books clarifying the expected behaviour o<\/span>f employees.\u00a0 Part of the archive is\u00a0<\/span>digital<\/span>\u00a0and this will be\u00a0<\/span>preserved alongside the hard copy records.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In due course\u00a0<\/span>DHC will seek to properly sort and catalogue\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>Beales<\/span>\u00a0archive.\u00a0 We are also in conversation with staff at Bournemouth University about a project involving the collection.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span>preservation of this<\/span>\u00a0wonderful archive reinforces the<\/span>\u00a0point that the records of businesses \u2013 particularly at this time of severe economic peril \u2013 are a fundamentally important part of\u00a0<\/span>our\u00a0<\/span>collective story<\/span>\u00a0and should be cherished as part of our cultural heritage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Beales\u00a0department store\u00a0in Bournemouth in Hampshire, now Dorset, was founded in 1881 on the Old Christchurch Road.\u00a0 Initially know as the \u2018Fancy Fair and Oriental House\u2019, the shop grew into one of the landmark buildings and brands in Bournemouth.\u00a0 Generations of\u00a0Beales\u00a0headed up the company, one of whom, Frank Beale\u00a0(d. 2001)\u00a0went to train at Macy\u2019s in New… Read more Beales \u2013 archives of an iconic retailer saved for posterity!<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[82,137,138],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1299,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1294\/revisions\/1299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}