A department store in Holborn which traded 1878 - 1972.
Founded by Albert Walter Gamage, who soon bought out his partner, Frank Spain. Began in a rented watch repair shop and grow to take up most of the block between Leather Lane and Hatten Garden. One of the properties it took over was the Black Bull Inn. This shows the little businesses on the block before Gamages engulfed them, and then, , you can see Gamages development beginning to grow. By it looks as if there are two hold-out businesses (including the Old Bell) which Gamages are surrounding. This status is captured in the rather charming showing the street frontages.
The business was taken over in 1970 and the Holborn site closed in March 1972. has a c.1972 photo showing the empty site.
There were three attempts to operate from other sites. Firstly a was built and opened in 1930 but it failed and closed after only 8 months. The gives the subsequent history of that building: C&A UK HQ until 2001, then Allders until 2005 when Primark took the site and redeveloped it.
Secondly in 1968 a second store was opened in the Liberty Shopping Centre in Romford, Essex, but this was sold off to British Home Stores in 1971. And lastly, after closing the Holborn shop Gamages briefly reopened at the old Waring & Gillows building in Oxford Street but this closed in 1972.
Gamages took over the Cheapside business Benetfink in 1907.
This c.1960s photo is also from Warsaw 1948 and shows that although Gamages integrated the whole of their shop front at ground floor level, above that level the fronts of the two hold-out buildings were never integrated above that level.
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