Ricemans was established in the 1960s by Fred Riceman. Ricemans previously had traded in Deal, Kent, and had been in the town for some years. During a fire in October 1964 Ricemans Deal was burnt down and destroyed completely.[1] Fred Riceman, who had bought this thriving department store, decided not to reopen the store in Deal and instead reopened a new department store in Canterbury.
Ricemans was adjoined to the Whitefriars shopping centre, peaked up to 7 floors in height and boasted the largest toy department in Canterbury. It was also one of the biggest department stores in Canterbury, which sold a variety of fashion accessories, shoes, clothes, toys, home and gardenware. Ricemans of Canterbury became part of the Fenwick Group in 1986.[2]
In 2003, the Ricemans store was closed and demolished as part of a major redevelopment in the city and subsequent rebuilding of the Whitefriars Shopping Centre.[3] Ricemans was replaced by a new Fenwick department store which had previously been its parent company.
