Episode 34: London’s Old Shops - Food and Drink
Did you know there are shops in London that are over 300 years old? Join Hazel as she shares her favourite old shops for food and drink.
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Show Notes
One of my favourite London wonders is its living history. There are so many beautiful old buildings have been preserved and are still in use today, sometimes for the same purpose they were originally built for.
It’s quite a novelty browsing in these olde shops which have changed little since they were first built, sometimes hundreds of years ago. We are so lucky in London that there are still quite a selection of these shops still open awaiting for our custom today. Several famous London shops haven’t survived and I will cover those off in another podcast but with Christmas round the corner and shopping being a major part of that I thought I’d share with you my favourite old shops of London.
Which part of London is best for old shops? When I think of old-fashioned shop front the area of St James stands out as well as the City. But Mayfair and Holborn offer a few too.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
It was founded in 1698 as an upscale grocers by a business woman known as ‘Widow Bourne’. She and her daughters ran the St James' establishment which supplied the area's fashionable coffee houses and was passed down through the family. Amazingly, with it having traded for over 300 years it is a still ran by the eighth generation.
3 St. James’s Street, London SW1A 1EG / 63 Pall Mall, St. James's, London SW1Y 5HZ
Open Monday to Friday 10am – 9pm, 10am – 5pm on Saturday and closed on Sundays.
Virtual Wine Tastings: https://www.bbr.com/events-and-experiences
By Appointment to:
HM The Queen
Wine & Spirit Merchants
HRH The Prince of Wales
Wine and Spirit Merchants
Fortnum & Mason
We see this fabulous shop on our Christmas Lights tour. Fortnum & Mason is an essential London destination for all in search of extraordinary food. Its headquarters are located at 181 Piccadilly, not far from Berry Bros. & Rudd. They also have two royal warrants.
181 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1A 1ER
Opening times: Monday – Saturday 9am - 9pm / Sunday 11.30am* - 6pm
(*11.30am - 12 noon is browsing only on Sundays)
https://www.fortnumandmason.com/piccadilly
By Appointment to:
HM The Queen
Grocers & Provision Merchants
HRH The Prince of Wales
Tea Merchants and Grocers
Other Episodes
046 Beer, The Bard & Historic Buildings of Bankside
045 Drawing London's Buildings
042 John Julius Angerstein: The Man Behind the National Gallery
041 London's Medieval Friaries
040 Charles Dickens in Greenwich
038 The Black Death: London's First Plague
037 Bridgerton & Regency London
034 London's Old Shops - Food & Drink
031 Abandoned London Underground Stations
030 Quirky Street Names - Little Britain
029 The Harp maker of Fitzrovia
024 The Walbrook in Roman London
021 London Area Names - Animal Edition
020 The Great Fire of London - How It Began
017 The Proms & The Royal Albert Hall
016 Women in 1920s London (From Cowgirl to Congress)
014 Postcards From London's Past
013 London Statues: Medical Women
012 The Old Operating Theatre Museum
011 London's Coffeehouses and Commerce
009 Music Halls and Cabaret - from yesterday to today
008 The Monument to the Great Fire of London
006 Hockley in the Hole Clerkenwell
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