Derry & Toms
Encyclopedia
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
department store.
The company dates back to the 1860s, when Joseph Toms, a store proprietor joined forces with his brother-in-law, Charles Derry. In 1920 John Barker & Co acquired Derry & Toms.
In 1932, the store moved to large seven story building on Kensington High Street
Kensington High Street
Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, west London. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, the building was designed in an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style popular at the time by Bernard George and featured metalwork by Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert is an American physicist, biochemist, molecular biology pioneer, and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Gilbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1932...
, the store's building is most famous for its Kensington Roof Gardens
Kensington Roof Gardens
The Roof Gardens is a roof garden covering 6,000 m² on top of the former Derry and Toms building on Kensington High Street, in central London, in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, which still remains today. The main restaurant was on the fifth floor and was called "The Rainbow Room". It became a venue for thousands of "Dinner & Dances" (banquets) for both private firms and government departments from the 1950s until the entire store changed hands.
The company closed in the early 1970s, when it was bought by Biba
Biba
Biba was an iconic and popular London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s. It was started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon.-Early years:...
, which remained there for only a few years. The location is now a Marks and Spencers.