In 1821 H W Hammond opened a drapery shop on the old North Bridge in Hull. The business continued to operate at this location until 1861 when the store moved to Osborne Street.[3] In 1889 the business was sold to James Powell and his three sons, whose family continued to operate the business until 1972. The business was incorporated in 1913.[3]
Due to the growth of Hull, a new store was built in 1916 with modern lifts and a large restaurant. This was further improved before the Second World War with the addition on an escalator and a third storey.[3] However the store was destroyed by German bombing in May 1941, but within a week 47 of the store's departments were open again in a temporary location.
The store was not rebuilt until 1952 on Paragon Square to designs by T. P. Bennett,[4] with extensions added in 1954 and 1957. Within a couple of years the business had grown again by opening its own hairdressing salon,[3] and in 1960 added a new warehouse to accommodate their furniture workshops and stock rooms. This itself was extended within four years, while a fourth floor was added to the main store.[3]
In 1969 the business purchased the Carltons department store located in Bridlington, and within a year had demolished and rebuilt the store. The company's independence did not last much longer, as in 1972 House of Fraser purchased the business for £8 million.[3] The stores were then grouped under the Binns brand. The Bridlington store was closed in 1995[5] and the store stood empty for three years until Boyes opened in 1998.[6] The Hull store was re-branded under the House of Fraser name and closed in August 2019 after the Sports Direct takeover of the group.[7]
