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Registration number: 52065

Company name: Binns Ltd
Dates in business: 1934-

Earlier name: Company name: H Binns, Son & Co Ltd
Dates in business: 1897-1934

Type of business: department store retailers

Type of company: Limited liability company

• Fawcett Street, Sunderland, England
• Athenaeum Street, Sunderland, England
• High Row, Darlington, England
• Blackwellgate, Darlington, England
• Middlesbrough, England
• West Hartlepool, England
• South Shields, England
• Borough Road, Sunderland, England
• Newcastle upon Tyne, England
• Carlisle, England
• Dumfries, Scotland
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Hull, England
• Grimsby, England

Management of company

In 1897, the chairman of the company was Joseph Binns and the director and general manager was John Simpson. The company employed thirty staff. In 1909, a third director, Neil Cameron, was appointed. Cameron had previously been manager of the household furnishings department. In 1918, a fourth director, Harry Bennett, was appointed. Bennett had previously been manager of the outfitting department.

In March 1922, Joseph Binns died and was succeeded as chairman by John Simpson. In about 1949, Simpson's son, John G. Simpson, replaced his father as chairman.

Company history

H Binns, Son & Co Ltd was incorporated in April 1897, to continue the drapery business of H Binns, Son & Co. It had premises at 38 and 39 Fawcett Street, Sunderland, England.

Expansion was rapid. By 1905, additional shops had been leased at 40 and 42 Fawcett Street and 3 Athenaeum Street, Sunderland and, in 1907, all the showrooms were remodelled. In 1910, new premises were acquired at 36 Fawcett Street, where a new man's shop was opened. This was followed by the acquisition of 35 Fawcett Street in 1912 and 33 Fawcett Street in 1913. In 1914, the company acquired McDonald & Co. In 1915, 34 Fawcett Street was extended and altered and, in 1918, 32 Fawcett Street was acquired to accommodate the household departments. Between 1918 and 1920, premises were acquired at 37 Fawcett Street and a number of the existing showrooms were extended. By 1921, the store was trading on both sides of Fawcett Street, supplying goods of all sorts except for perishable goods. It also had lounges, a tearoom, a post office, telephone rooms and a hairdressing salon. The company also had extensive cabinetmaking and upholstery workrooms and undertook removals.

In August 1922, the company acquired Arthur Sanders Ltd, a drapers, of High Row, Darlington, England. Adjoining premises were quickly acquired in High Row and Blackwellgate and the store, trading under the Binns name, was extended and refurbished. In October 1923, the company also acquired Thomas Jones, of Middlesbrough. Again the store was extended and remodelled and began to trade under the Binns name. In January 1925, the Darlington store was destroyed by fire but temporary premises were quickly found and rebuilding began the following year.

Expansion continued with the acquisition, in April 1926, of Gray Peverell & Co Ltd, a clothing and furnishing store in West Hartlepool, England. The store was later renamed and remodelled. This was followed, in July 1927, by the acquisition of Fowler & Brock Ltd, of South Shields, England, together with adjoining property. Later the same year, the company also acquired a substantial site in Borough Road, Sunderland for the erection of a new building, which was opened in 1928. In May 1929, James Coxon & Co Ltd, of Newcastle upon Tyne, was acquired. By the late 1920s the Binns name was well known all over north England and the company was securing furnishing contracts as far afield as Edinburgh and Southampton.

The improvement and extension of all the stores and the acquisition of local warehouse properties continued. In November 1933, Robinson Brothers Ltd, of Carlisle and Dumfries, was acquired and, in May 1934, Robert Maule & Son Ltd, of Edinburgh was acquired. In September 1934, the company changed its name to Binns Ltd.

At the outbreak of war in 1939, several of the company's stores were requisitioned and air-raid shelters were built in the basements. In March 1941, the Dumfries store was destroyed by fire. A few weeks later, most of the Fawcett Street premises in Sunderland were also destroyed, by a heavy bombing raid. In March 1942, the company was dealt another blow when the Middlesbrough store was destroyed by fire. Three months later, a second fire followed destroying all the stock in the Middlesbrough store. Rebuilding of the Sunderland store did not begin until November 1949. The new store, specialising in women's wear with a hairdressing salon and restaurant, opened in March 1953.

In April 1953, Binns Ltd was taken over by House of Fraser Ltd.

In 1954, planning permission was received to build a new store in Middlesbrough. The new building opened in March 1957. Meanwhile, in Sunderland, reconstruction began of the corner of Borough Street and Fawcett Street and the new store, incorporating floors devoted to carpets and furniture as well as china, glass, fabric and electronic equipment departments and a food hall, was completed in October 1962. The fashion building on the other side of Fawcett Street was refurbished at the same time.

In 1972, the Sunderland store received a massive facelift and traded successfully for the next fifteen years. However, by the late 1980s, the store's customer base had diminished , and, in April 1989, the furniture building was vacated and unprofitable departments, such as the food hall, were closed down. Meanwhile many of the company's other stores were trading strongly and, between 1984 and 1986, those at Hull, Darlington and Grimsby were totally refurbished.

Access points: Department stores - Drapers - Retail trade