Fortnum & Mason
Encyclopedia
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
, situated in central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, with two other branches in Japan. Its headquarters is located at 181 Piccadilly
Piccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, where it was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason. It is privately owned by Wittington Investments
Wittington Investments
Wittington Investments Limited is an unquoted British investment company. It is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, which is one of the UK's largest grant-making trusts, and 20.8% owned by members of the Weston family....
Ltd.
Fortnum and Mason is recognised internationally for its high quality goods and as an iconic British symbol. It has held many Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant of Appointment (United Kingdom)
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
s over the past 150 years.
Founded as a grocery store, Fortnum's reputation was built on supplying quality food, and saw rapid growth throughout the Victorian era. Though Fortnum's developed into a department store, it continues to focus on stocking a variety of exotic, speciality and also 'basic' provisions. It is also the location of a celebrated tea shop.
History
In 1761, William Fortnum's grandson Charles went into the service of Queen Charlotte and the Royal Court affiliation led to an increase in business.In 1738 Fortnum & Mason claimed to have invented the Scotch Egg, a hard boiled egg encased in sausage meat and breadcrumbs. The store began to stock speciality items, namely ready-to-eat luxury meals such as fresh poultryPoultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
or game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
served in aspic jelly
Aspic
Aspic is a dish in which ingredients are set into a gelatin made from a meat stock or consommé. Non-savory dishes, often made with commercial gelatin mixes without stock or consommé, are usually called gelatin salads....
.
During the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the emporium supplied dried fruit
Dried fruit
Dried fruit is fruit where the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized...
, spices and other preserves to the British officers
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and during the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
it was frequently called upon to provide food for prestigious Court functions. Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
even sent shipments of Fortnum and Mason's concentrated beef tea to Florence Nightingale's
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
hospitals during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
.
Charles Drury Edward Fortnum F.S.A. (1820–1899), of the family, was a distinguished art collector and a Trustee of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, to which he donated his collection of Islamic ceramics.
In 1851 Fortnum & Mason first created the Scotch egg
Scotch egg
A Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs or rolled oats, and deep-fried...
and in 1886, after having bought the entire stock of five cases of a new product made by H.J. Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
, became the first store in Britain to stock tins of baked beans
Baked beans
Baked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...
.
In April 1951, the store was acquired by Canadian businessman W. Garfield Weston
W. Garfield Weston
Willard Garfield Weston, OC, , Canadian businessman and philanthropist, led George Weston Limited and its various subsidiaries and associated companies, including Associated British Foods, for half a century and established one of the world's largest food processing and distribution concerns...
, who became its chairman following a boardroom coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. In 1964, he commissioned a four-ton clock to be installed above the main entrance of the store as a tribute to its founders. Every hour, 4 feet (1.2 m) models of William Fortnum and Hugh Mason emerge and bow to each other, with chimes and 18th century-style
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
music playing in the background. Since Garfield Weston's death in 1978, the store has been run by his granddaughters, Jana Khayat
Jana Khayat
Jana Khayat serves on the board of the department store Fortnum & Mason.The third child of Garry Weston, billionaire chairman of Associated British Foods, Jana graduated from Oxford University with a history degree before joining the Fortnum & Mason management team...
and Kate Weston Hobhouse and the Managing Director is Beverley Aspinall.
The store underwent a £24 million refurbishment in 2007.
In November 2010 animal rights group PETA UK began a campaign against Fortnum & Mason’s sale of foie gras citing the cruelty in the production process. The group regularly holds demonstrations involving celebrities, activists and volunteers outside the store. A PETA UK staff member changed her name in September 2011 to StopFortnumAndMasonFoieGrasCruelty.com in an effort to push the campaign through to completion. Celebrities supporting the campaign include Sir Roger Moore, Owain Yeoman
Owain Yeoman
Owain Yeoman is a Welsh actor. His credits include The Nine, Kitchen Confidential and the HBO series, Generation Kill. He currently appears as Agent Wayne Rigsby in The Mentalist.-Biography:...
, Tamara Ecclestone
Tamara Ecclestone
Tamara Ecclestone is an English-Croatian socialite, television personality and model.-Early life:Tamara Ecclestone was born in Milan. Ecclestone is the elder daughter of Croatian former Armani model Slavica Ecclestone and middle daughter of "Formula 1 Supremo" Bernie Ecclestone...
, Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
and Twiggy
Twiggy
Lesley Lawson née Hornby known as Twiggy is an English model, actress, and singer. In the early-1960s she became a prominent British teenage model of swinging sixties London with others such as Penelope Tree....
.
On 26 March 2011 Fortnum & Mason was targeted by UK Uncut
UK Uncut
UK Uncut is a United Kingdom-based protest group established in October 2010 to protest against tax avoidance in the UK and to raise awareness about cuts to public services. Various sources have described the group as left-wing in its political orientation...
during anti-cuts protests
2011 anti-cuts protest in London
The 2011 anti-cuts protest in London, also known as the March for the Alternative, was a demonstration held in central London on 26 March 2011...
over the tax avoidance policies
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
of Associated British Foods, which, like Fortnum & Mason, is owned by Wittington Investments
Wittington Investments
Wittington Investments Limited is an unquoted British investment company. It is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, which is one of the UK's largest grant-making trusts, and 20.8% owned by members of the Weston family....
. This took the form of a mass sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
. As of 27 March some protesters were still reportedly behind bars.
Hampers
Fortnum & Mason is famed for its loose-leaf tea and its world-renowned luxury picnic hampers, which the store first distributed to Victorian High SocietyUpper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
for events such as the Henley Regatta and Ascot Races
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
. These hampers — which contain luxury items such as Stilton cheese, champagne, Quails eggs
Quail eggs
Quail eggs are considered a delicacy in many countries, including western Europe and North America. In Japanese cuisine, they are sometimes used raw or cooked as tamago in sushi and often found in bento lunches....
and smoked salmon
Smoked salmon
Smoked salmon is a preparation of salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured and then hot or cold smoked. Due to its moderately high price, smoked salmon is considered a delicacy.-Presentation:...
— remain popular today, especially at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time and can cost (as of 2008) anything from £35 up to £25,000.
Competition
Main competitors of Fortnum & Mason on the worldwide gourmet and luxury food products scene include HarrodsHarrods
Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
and Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols, founded in 1813, is an upmarket department store chain. Its original store is in London. Founded in 1813 as a linen shop, it sells many international brands of clothing for women and men, fashion accessories, beauty products, wine and food...
in London, Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate
Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate
Bettys and Taylors of Harrogate is an Anglo-Swiss family company located in North and West Yorkshire, England. Bettys Café Tea Rooms are traditional tea rooms serving traditional meals with influences both from Switzerland and Yorkshire. Taylors is a family tea and coffee merchant company which...
in the north of England, and Mariage Frères
Mariage Frères
Mariage Frères is a French tea company, based in :Paris. It was founded on 1 June 1854 by brothers Henri and Edouard Mariage.-References:*...
, Dammann Frères, Kusmi Tea
Kusmi Tea
Kusmi Tea is a brand of tea with headquarters in Paris, France. The company, which produces Russian-style teas and tea blends, was established by Pavel Michailovitch Kousmichoff in 1867 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Upon the onset of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Kousmichoff company...
, Hédiard, and Fauchon
Fauchon
Fauchon is a French gourmet food company that was founded in 1886 by Auguste Fauchon. The company is based in Paris, France and operates retail outlets. Fauchon currently produces tea, chocolate, biscuits and sweets among other products.- History :...
in Paris.
Gallery
File:Fortnum Mason 2448.JPG|The famous clock on the façade of the main building
image:Fortnum and mason windowiii.jpg|Fortnum & Mason
image:Fortnum and mason windowii.jpg|Fortnum & Mason