Although still now a shop, for both architectural and historical significance Compton House is included, home to Marks and Spencer. Joseph Sharples describes it as majestic and of international significance because it was one of the earliest (if not the first) purpose-built department store, finished five years before Le Bon Marché the department store in Paris. Bon Marche later opened their own Church Street store.
Compton House was originally built in 1865 and the two corner towers originally had very tall square plan roofs (as tall as the fifth story again) which were neither mansard nor spired but something odd in between. This gave the building something of the look of a French chateau. There is much carved decoration which Pevsner attributes to 'Messrs Williams'. This includes a figure of commerce above a broken pediment that once surmounted a single central entrance and Neptune, holding an intact trident, together with a triton, flanking Liverpool's Coat Of Arms at the mid point of the roof line. The Arms Of Dominion supported by a lion and a unicorn amid rich modelling adorn the Basnett Street corner. This is the coat of arms of the United Kingdom and the reigning monarch which usually incorporates the motto 'Dieu Et Mon Droit' - 'God And My Right'. Although worn and obscured the motto here is clearly not that of the monarch.
Two American brothers, William and JR Jeffrey had come to Liverpool in 1832 and worked for James Morrish at 27 Church Street. Two years later the two went into partnership as Jeffrey & Morrish Silk Mercers and Drapers. They expanded in 1836 taking in 26 Church Street and by 1845 the birth of a daughter was announced 'to Mr Jeffrey of Compton House at 11 Lodge Lane'. Business had continued to expand as they then occupied No's 43,45,and 47 Church St ( the properties numbering had been changed ), No's. 3,5 and 7, Basnett Street, and also No's 26 and 28 Leigh Street. Compton House had become not only the pride of Liverpool but even London had no comparable business. In 1865 Jeffrey was now residing at Woolton Hall but that year a fire, started in suspicious circumstances, destroyed the shop premises. He financed a new building, which opened in 1867 but tragedy struck again when his brother and business partner William died the following year. JR Jeffrey was left to fight a commercial battle alone but the battle was a losing one. The receipts of the new shop never met the outgoings and in March 1871, the shutters were closed after Jeffrey had passed away aged 61.
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| The photograph shows its later reincarnation as Compton Hotel, with William Russell as proprietor. On the ground floor, the shops are Lilly Addinsell (hatter and hosier), JR Cramer & Co., William Hay & Co. and, on the right hand side, Watts & Co., drapers. |
In 1872 the mortgagees had decided to divide Compton House into sections and in 1875, after 18 months of extensive work, William Russell of the Russell Hotel, Houghton Street opened the Russell Compton Hotel containing 130 rooms. By 1887 Watts & Co had taken over half of the old building con-current with its new neighbour, The Compton Hotel. Such was the success of the new hotel it would soon become known as one of Liverpool's finest, expanding to 200 rooms. Entering the front entrance off Church Street guests would see a grand staircase facing with marbled columns, Brussels carpeting, and mahogany gracing the interior. There was a billiard room with four superb tables, a restaurant with an entrance off Tarleton Street, showrooms for the use of commercial travellers, and private sitting rooms with pianos. The first floor would have a smoking room, and a ladies drawing room furnished with maroon coloured Utrecht velvet. The bedrooms, furnished in mahogany or walnut, were 'partly arranged' on the American principle so that several can be used, with an adjoining sitting room, ensuite, or they may be individually occupied and entirely shut off from each other. Accomodating American guests arriving in Liverpool via Trans-Atlantic steamers was a main focus of the hotel and this is reflected by the inclusion on the Tarleton Street corner of a large eagle which was a beacon for such travellers seeking the company of fellow Americans.
Acrimonious disputes had begun in 1885 with Watts & Co as their ever increasing share of the premises put pressure on space and also the blocking of light from shared lightwells. The grand new Adelphi Hotel, built in 1914, and the economic difficulties following the war put pressure on the business and it was no surprise that preparations for the acquisition of Compton Hotel were pending, and by 1926 the hotel would in fact close. Auctions took place in 1928 and in that year M&S first appeared on Church Street, relocating from Lime Street. W.H.Watts & Co also announced the decision to close their Compton House store on the 24th of June1928 with Blackler's taking much of their stock. Marks and Spencer, inhabiting the whole block, extended the store in the 1970s.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2021/12/remembering-liverpool-structures.html
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