| Admin History | The firm’s origins lie with the small shop of Henry Fox, clothier, woollen draper and tailor, hatter, hosier and general outfitter, at 6 High Street, Reading. This business was established 1848 according to D/EX2670/3/1/1. Edward Jackson, born in Sherfield on Loddon, Hampshire, purchased this business in 1875, which is the date the firm always regarded as its foundation. He traded under the name as E. Jackson or Edward Jackson. In 1904 Edward took his sons Edward Russell Jackson and Robert Henry Jackson into partnership, and they began trading as E. Jackson & Sons Ltd. This name was still in use in 1961 and possibly later. The business became a private limited company in December 1919.
Edward Jackson was a JP. He was elected to Reading Borough Council in 1900, and served as mayor of Reading, 1905-1907, and was elected as an Alderman in 1920. He was married twice, first to a Miss Humphrey, with whom he had seven children. After her death in 1889, in 1891 he married Elizabeth Collier, sister of E P Collier, a prominent Reading town councillor. He was active in King’s Road Baptist Church, where he was the treasurer and senior deacon; and was the first Baptist mayor of Reading. He died in October 1928 and was buried at Reading Cemetery following a funeral at King’s Road Church.
By 1950 the firm was run by the founder’s sons Russell (chairman) and Robert, grandson Edward M Jackson, and a great nephew, John Howard Jackson (who worked for the firm for over 50 years until he died in 1985). Russell’s son Edward Jackson junior joined the business in 1940 aged 20, and succeeded his father as chairman in c.1961. On the latter’s death in 1993 his widow Daphne became chairman. His nephew Brian Carter, a member of the fourth generation of the family, became the managing director. From the 1980s the firm made a virtue of its reputation as very traditional, and in some ways old fashioned, compared to its rivals.
The firm was also known as Jacksons, The Family Store. They possibly introduced this name or logo following the extension of 1954, and it continued to be used to the end.
Buildings adjoining the original shop were acquired piecemeal, and the main premises at the corner of Broad Street [in the section known as the High Street], Kings Road and Market Place were rebuilt as a single store in 1885. Clothing and drapery departments were housed here. The boot and shoe department in the main building was demolished in c.1903-4. By 1925, when a new frontage was erected to celebrate the firm’s 50th anniversary, the site was known as Jackson’s Corner, a name still used in the 21st century. There was a significant extension in 1936, when showrooms, stockrooms and warehouses were erected at the rear of the premises. An even larger extension was built in 1954 in King’s Road to house drapery, linen, furniture, bedding, footwear and ladies’ clothes. The older parts of the building were now devoted to men’s clothing and tailoring and children’s clothing, including school uniforms. In 1960 the firm purchased 3 Kings Road, a former public house which infilled the space between the 1954 extension and the front of the main building. It was used to create a new main entrance in Kings Road, and the internal layout of the store was rearranged. The pneumatic tubes used to take orders were installed in 1960. Large lingerie and knitting departments opened in c.1980 following the takeover of the goodwill of two independent shops. The shopfront was refurbished in c.1992.
Hardware, china, glass, stationery and fancy goods were sold at premises in 19 Kings Road, Reading until 1898. They moved in that year to purpose built premises opposite the main store, on the corner of Kings Road with Duke Street, and known as Jackson’s Household Stores or Duke Street Stores. These premises closed at a date between 1925 and 1928.
From 1899 onwards branches were opened in outlying parts of Reading, and later further afield. Most of the branches only stocked men’s and boys’ clothing.
List of branches
8 Abbey Square, Reading: wholesale department, selling hardware, china, glass, stationery, etc, to other shops. It was established in 1921, and closed c.1972-1973. According to Kelly’s 1939 directory, the wholesale department was at Bank Court, High Street, Reading, and hardware and stationery were sold at Abbey Square.
8 High Street: housed the boot and shoe department from 1885. Rebuilt in 1902. Closed c.1954-1956.
215 London Road, Reading: opened in 1899, stocking men’s and boys’ clothing. Closed c.1960-1962.
21/23 Oxford Road: opened in 1904 for men’s and boy’s clothing. A new shopfront was fitted in 1960 but it closed c.1966-1967.
High Street, Bracknell: opened 1902 for men’s and boys’ hats. Closed c.1962-1969.
11 Prospect Street, Caversham: branch for men’s and boys’ clothing, opened 1912. In 1978 the branch took over a knitting and makeup shop nearby. It was the last subsidiary branch of Jacksons to survive, and appears to have closed c.1992-1993.
26 Market Street, Maidenhead: opened [c.1925-1935], closed [c.1936-1939].
High Street, Goring, Oxfordshire: supplied men’s, women’s and boys’ clothing, boots and shoes, drapery and household goods; branch opened 1916. By 1950 it mainly sold drapery and women’s clothing. Closed c.1980.
22 Duke Street, Henley, Oxfordshire [fl. c.1950-1980]; appears to have closed in the 1980s.
217 Banbury Road, Oxford: fl. c.1969; closed c.1978-1980.
112 London Road, Camberley, Surrey: fl. 1950; closed c.1969-1971.
The firm maintained its own garage and fleet of motor vans for deliveries at Thorn Lane, Reading, adjoining the Jackson’s Corner premises, from 1924. Goods were also delivered to customers on account.
In 1890 Edward Jackson introduced a profit-sharing scheme for staff. The firm was famous for its supply of uniforms for local schools, an area which expanded from the 1940s onwards, and also sold ready made and tailored clothing for men, women and children. Outfits for motoring were available by 1910. A haberdashery department was introduced in c.1903.
The store closed on Christmas Eve 2013. The building was sold to a property developer, but planning permission for conversion into a mixture of flats and retail/restaurant use was contingent on retaining the famous Jacksons sign. |