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Fact
1
The Hanningtons store was housed in a number of buildings
fronting North Street, East Street and The Lanes.
Fact
2
Dorothy Hannington was the last family member to own
the store. She died in the early Sixties.
Fact
3
The store originally opened as a draper and received
a royal warrant from Queen Victoria in 1914.
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St.
George’s, in Hassocks Road in the village, was a grand house belonging
to the Hannington family.
C.S.
Hannington bought St. George’s in 1847 and lived there until he
died in 1881.
C.S.
was the son of the man who founded Hanningtons department store
in Brighton in 1808.
These
days, the house has been converted into luxury flats, following
the many years it spent as a council-run home for older people.
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| CS
Hannington, who lived at St. George's, was the son of the founder
of Hannington's department store |
Charles
Henry Hannington, youngest son of C.S. Hannington, said the following
of his home:
"The
great dining room was large enough for Mess dinners when the officers
of my father’s brigade of volunteer artillery dined with
their hon. Colonel."
"The
band, under Bandmaster Lanfried, who, as a trumpeter, had sounded
the charge of the light brigade at Balaklava, used to play at dinner."
There
were at least nine staff for the house, including a coachman, and
a separate laundry in what is now known as Laundry Cottages.
Charles
Henry, in his memoirs, described the house thus: "The old house
was a veritable museum of beautiful pictures, rare furniture, choice
china, bronzes and sculpture, wonderful carpets and old silk damask
hangings; the rooms fragrant with masses of hot house flowers."
The
house was opulent – containing treasures from across the globe,
and had: "gardens to enchant a child."
Every
country in Europe had contributed to the furnishing. On the left
of the entrance hall was the music room with a full sized Church
organ in mahogany case with gilded pipes; and at the other end was
a fernery with two fountains and a vast variety of ferns collected
by James Hannington, who was a noted botanist.
Another
door led into the Louis XVI drawing room and then across a wide
passage into the library with its huge oak book cases and rows of
ancient tomes and splendid specimens of the bookbinder’s art.
Store
founder C.S. Hannington was a keen yachtsman, and Charles Henry
tells of special trains being formed at Hassocks station to take
family and staff to Lymington to join their yacht.
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More
about Hanningtons Department Store (Established in 1808)
Extract
from Gorringes sale catalogue of the residual contents and
remaining stock in trade of Hanningtons, North Street Brighton,
East Sussex Tuesday 10th July 2001
"Hanningtons
as one of the oldest department stores in the country, has
had a rich retail history.
When
Brighton had approximately 10,000 inhabitants, and was frequented
by the Prince Regent, Mr Smith Hannington opened his shop
in North Street, "a shop with a room behind" which grew in
1896 to twelve sets of premises fitted with new frontage.
It
was regarded as "the very finest example of shop architecture
in town.
With
its Royal Warrant, Hanningtons was dressmaker to Queen Victoria’s
Court at the Pavilion and there was accommodation in the upper
floors for nearly 100 needlewomen, making up mantles and costumes.
In
the 1900’s, the young rich bought their trousseaux at Hanningtons
and had their corsets hand made.
Later still, Ivor Novello had his velvet suits bespoke in
the store and Sir Lawrence Olivier was a regular in Menswear.
The
Chairman of Hanningtons, Mr Dereck Hunniset said "There is
inevitably a touch of sadness of closing after such a long
period, but we at Hanningtons intend to bow out, as we have
always carried on for such a long time, with our flags flying
and with dignity and panache".
The
Store finally closed its doors to business on 30th June 2001".
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Learn
more about St George's House and Hanningtons department store and
see photos of how they looked in Victorian times.
The
display is at Hurstpierpoint library, Trinity Road, from the 4th
to 30th November 2002, during library opening hours.
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