A towering Portland limestone building dominating Deansgate - Kendals, in its prime, was more than just your average department store.
Believed to be the oldest department store in the country, the Grade II listed Art Deco building can trace its roots back to the 1830s - and with that comes generations of memories.
Despite operating as a House of Fraser in more recent times, Kendals remains the name mostly used by Mancunians for the department store, which has also been known as Kendal Milne, Kendal, Milne & Co, Kendal, Milne & Faulkner, Harrods or Watts in its lifetime.
It's a store which holds special memories for generations of shoppers, who recall festive trips to visit Santa's Grotto, cut-price New Year sales and extravagant window displays with the very latest in designer fashions.
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Earlier this year, the Manchester Evening News reported how the landmark Kendals building will be transformed into a ‘high end’ office development after the city’s planning committee gave their approval.
Owners, the banking giant Investec, at the time said retail is no longer a viable use for the building in the long term.
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It is expected that building will instead be renovated to provide modern open plan offices over seven floors, as well as a central atrium and a rooftop extension.
As Christmas is fast approaching, we asked Manchester Evening News readers for their favourite memories of Kendals.
Gaynor Morgan said: "Remember when I was 18 my friend and I went and had our makeup and hair done for a special occasion, it was an experience."
Rachel Travis wrote: "Years ago it was the only place you could buy jelly belly beans."
Joanne Tiplady posted: "Visiting the toy department with my Grandma who worked in the offices there. Magical place. X."
Steve Gartside said: "Seeing Father Christmas there in the 70s!!"
Christine Hawkins posted: "The lovely man in the car park who used to park your car for you and then retrieve it on your departure. What an amazing foresighted valet service this was!!."
Mark Bray-Cotton commented: "Toy department in the 70s loved it as a kid at Xmas."
Bob Parker wrote: "The toy department and looking through the catalogue. There was always a lovely Christmas atmosphere wherever you went in the store."
Becs Holden said: "Going every Saturday with my Nana, she could never afford to buy anything but she would drench her coat in expensive perfume with the samples."
Alison Hilton said: "The beautifully decorated tunnel linking Kendals with the store across the road. The smell of the perfume department hit you the second you walked in."
Joy Moore commented: "The piano playing, beautiful decorations and my son so excited x."
William Rhys Thomas posted: "If planned right you could get a lot of Christmas stuff sorted in one visit. Department stores definitely made Christmas shopping easier. I miss that."
Laura Lydiate-Painter said: "Helping the visual merchandising team put up all the Christmas decorations."
Judith Mutter wrote: "Going to see Santa on the top floor and my Nanna buying my winter coat which was camel with a matching hat."
Kendals’ history dates back to 1796 when John Watts, a Didsbury farmer, opened a small drapery in the Deansgate area.
It catered for the elegantly dressed women of the era and proved so successful that by 1830 the store, now called the Bazaar, had expanded into purpose-built premises across the road.
The concept flourished and on Boxing Day 1835 it was sold to three young managers – Thomas Kendal, James Milne and Adam Faulkner. When Faulkner died in 1862, it became Kendal Milne & Co.
Two parts of the store, later occupied separately by House of Fraser and Waterstones, were also linked by an underground tunnel which closed for good in 1981 with the sale to Waterstones.
It is no longer possible to walk from one side to the other, but the subway still exists.
Expansion continued to include a hairdressers, library, travel and estate agencies, a glass and china department, haberdashery, milliners and a furrier.
The store was bought by Harrods in 1919 and took on the famous Harrods name in the 1920s.
But its name was quickly changed back to Kendals after protests from staff and customers.
In the years that followed Kendals survived the huge fire of 1939, and World War II.
by the 1950s, Stockport tennis ace Fred Perry held demonstrations in the sports department and the Queen’s dressmaker, Sir Hardy Amies, had opened a boutique.
House of Fraser has been in financial difficulty in recent years, with several stores closing down across the UK.
In October 2018, it was announced that the Manchester store would close in late January 2019, before it was saved from closure.
New terms were agreed with the landlord enabling the former Kendals store to continue trading.
Now, it is expected that the future of the building will see 50,000 sq ft of ground floor space will also be given over to an independent retailer, which could spell the end for current occupiers House of Fraser, and the end of Greater Manchester's love affair with Kendals, the name still visible on the iconic building's facade.
What are your favourite memories of Kendals in Manchester? Let us know in the comments section below.
