James Colmer

James Colmer was a small group of English department stores based in the West Country with its flagship store located on Union Street, Bath, Somerset.

History

James Butler Colmer was born in Devon in c.1831 and went on to learn the drapery trade in London before establishing his own business in Bath.{{cite web|url=http://martleweb.co.uk/gumbleton/people/P0007.html|title=Gumbleton Family History|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}} He married Frances Charlotte Jarvis in 1853 and they had five children. Frances died in 1862. James went on to marry Lydia Gumbleton, his neighbour, the following year and together they had a further seven children. They moved from Hampstead to the west country where James took over a struggling drapery and furnishing business based on Union Street in Bath.{{cite web|url=http://virtualmuseumofbath.com/tag/owen/|title=Wasn't it Grand! The Virtual Museum of Bath|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}}

James Colmer, established in 1870, became a successful business. The initial trade of drapery and furnishings was soon expanded into additional premises for the sale of fancy goods, turnery and toys. Colmer's store became one of the most significant in Bath alongside the leading competitors of Jolly & Son and Evans & Owen.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-510831-6-11-union-street-|title=British Listed Buildings website|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}} James Butler Colmer died in 1897. His son James Henry Colmer took over the business, becoming managing director.{{cite web|url=http://martleweb.co.uk/gumbleton/people/P0007a.html|title=Gumbleton Family History|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}}

In 1914 a new shop front was added which united the Union Street premises for the first time. In 1920 James Henry Colmer became Mayor of Bath.{{cite web|url=http://mayorofbath.co.uk/files/myrlist-cityofbath_june1011.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030185657/http://www.mayorofbath.co.uk/files/myrlist-cityofbath_june1011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 October 2014|title=Mayors of Bath Since 1230|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}} The store was completely refurbished and further extended during the 1930s. During the Second World War the store received only shrapnel damage.{{cite web|url=http://virtualmuseumofbath.com/tag/owen/|title=Wasn't it Grand! The Virtual Museum of Bath|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}}

After the war the business grew with the purchase of existing department stores in Bristol (formerly W Morgan),{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5uIKHTqtx4UC&q=%22james+colmer+ltd%22|title=Stores bonus scheme for staff|journal=Leathergoods|date=1955|volume=77|page=66}} Weston-Super-Mare (formerly B T Butter), Taunton (formerly Clements & Brown) and West Penwith (formerly Morgans){{cite web|url=http://west-penwith.org.uk/blog/wp-content/images/Gloucester-Road1.pdf|title=Businesses on Gloucester Road - West Penrith Website|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}} while the Bath store was extended again with the addition of two new selling floors. In 1954, the business leased land at Bath Recreation Ground to build a pavilion for use as a tennis club,{{cite web|url=http://www.bathrec.co.uk/about/history/|title=History - Bathrec.com|accessdate=18 Nov 2014|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031936/http://www.bathrec.co.uk/about/history/|url-status=dead}} however later that year the company sold the freehold to the Bath store for £310,000 on a leaseback scheme, so they could return capital back to shareholders and fight off a threat of a take-over.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0aPGAAAAMAAJ&q=%22james+colmer+ltd%22|title=James Colmer Ltd|magazine=Agenda. Co-operative Management Magazine|date=1957|volume=5-6|page=66}} The company reported profits of £31,982 in 1955.{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5uIKHTqtx4UC&q=%22james+colmer+ltd%22|title=Stores bonus scheme for staff|journal=Leathergoods|date=1955|volume=77|page=96}} The company opened a supermarket in Union Street, Bath.{{cite web|url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/500814421082784183/|title=New Wines and Spirits department|website=Pinterest|access-date=28 February 2024}}

In 1973 the business was purchased by the Liverpool-based Owen Owen department store group,{{cite news|url=https://www.bathecho.co.uk/news/community/special-reunion-afternoon-ex-employees-owen-owen-store-66121/|title=Special reunion afternoon for ex-employees of Owen Owen store|newspaper=Bath Echo|date=16 March 2016}} after a battle with fellow department store group Hide & Co, through its parent company English Calico.{{cite periodical|title=English Calico|periodical=Beermans Financial Year Book of Europe|date=1974|page=C-94}}{{cite periodical|title=Steady Progress at Owen Owen|periodical=Investor Chronicle|date=1974|volume=28|page=301}} The James Colmer name was replaced with that of the parent company. The Union Street building was listed at Grade II in 1975.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-510831-6-11-union-street-|title=British Listed Buildings website|accessdate=18 Nov 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/302304193751870718/|title=Owen & Owen, Union Street, c1980s|website=Pinterest|access-date=14 February 2024}}

References

Colmer James

Category:Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom

Category:Retail companies established in 1870

Category:1870 establishments in England