George Pratt (1827 to 1890)
If you’ve ever looked up as you walk along Streatham High Road you might have noticed a small plaque that says G.P & F.P. above Regens Gym. This plaque is a reference to the Pratt family, headed up by George Pratt, who was significant in the development of the Streatham retail scene in the 19th century. You might even remember Pratt's department store as part of the John Lewis Group.
So where did it all begin….. According to the 1871 Census, it is recorded that George Pratt was born in East Meon a small village in Hampshire, and records show he was baptised in the Parish Church on the 8th July 1827. He was one of four children born to Jane and Joseph, recorded as a Servant.
Before the 1900s, there was no national system of education, so very few children received any schooling. Where schools existed it was either because of local benefactors or people who saw it as a means of making a living. It is not known if George received any formal education or schooling. In 1840 he made his way to London and at the age of 13 started a five-year apprenticeship at the drapers shop of William Reynolds, at 5, Old Bedford Row, Streatham.
Old Bedford Row is now part of Streatham High Road and was situated between Gleneldon and Stanthorpe Roads. It was the main shopping centre for Streatham and this row of mainly 17th and 18th century properties faced the road opposite Streatham Green.
By the 1840s apprenticeships were nearly always a private arrangement with relatives or a personal recommendation. In theory an apprentice did not need to be paid a wage as the training provided was in return for labour, and like domestic servants, shop workers often lived on the premises. However, by this time, regular salaries/wages, at least in the last two or three years of the apprenticeship, became more widespread. With the growth of the population at the end of the 18th century and the greater demand for goods, opportunities for work became more widely available and the use of formal apprenticeships, except in some skilled trades, ended.
How did George get from a sleepy village in Hampshire to an apprenticeship in London? This might be explained by the fact that his uncle, Henry Pratt, moved to Streatham in 1835 and lived at 1, Bedford Terrace and later at Pendennis Road Streatham. No doubt both he and his wife were frequent visitors to the Reynolds drapers shop.
By the time George arrived in Streatham, the population was around 6,000. It was still very much countryside, but contained many grand houses for wealthy businessmen away from the squalor of London.
In 1841 the census records George aged 14, as a draper, living (and working) at 5, Bedford Row in Streatham. However, ten years later the 1851 census records George still living and working at 5, Bedford Row, but the sign has changed to read “G Pratt, Linen Draper” with George having brought the business from Reynolds when he retired.
On 9th August 1855 George married Mary (nee Thorpe) in the parish church of St Leonard’s Streatham. Mary was the only child of John and Caroline Thorpe of 10 Bulstrode Street, London. In 1838 aged 6, she was sent to live with relatives in Streatham, having lost both her parents. Before she married, she was the governess to the daughters of Jane Hill, wife of James Hill, a tobacco manufacturer of the “Rookery”, Streatham. A year later in 1856, George and Mary’s first child, a daughter Marianne was born on 6th July. This was followed by Henry on 15th February 1858 and Charles on 29th June 1859. George Pratt, the third son who was named after his father was born on 5th March 1861. All the children were baptised in St Leonard’s Church, Streatham.
In 1861 at auction, George acquired his first plot of land on Streatham High Road. This would become the site of “Eldon House”. It is claimed that while looking through the deeds of the site, George saw that the land had once been owned by the Late Lord Eldon, hence the name of the new building and later the naming of Gleneldon Road. The name Eldon House would remain right up until the Pratts store closed in 1990. More children followed with Herbert born 6th October 1863, Ellen born 17th February 1865 and Percy born 30th July 1866.
With the coming of the railway and the building of Streatham Hill station in 1856, the population expanded from 6,000 in 1840 to over 20,000 by 1881. This, and the proximity to London meant that gentrification followed - it was a fashionable rural location for wealthy merchants and the aspiring middle classes. In 1867 George Pratt built the first section of a new store at 210 Streatham High Road (Eldon House). The river Wandle ran under the store, marked by two pumps positioned in the basement. Also, that year saw the arrival of another daughter Alice Sarah born on 9th July, who sadly died 11 months later on 12th June 1869. A year later in 1870 a son Eldon was born on 15th April.
In the late 1870’s Streatham’s new shopping centre began to take shape, as the road between Streatham station and St Leonard’s Church was redeveloped. George continued to buy or rent further sections of the High Road to expand his retail empire. He extended Eldon House, from 210 to 224 Streatham High Road, and it became the largest shop in Streatham. The family continued to grow with Ethel Agnes born on 17th November 1872 and Stanley on 26th October 1874.
An advert appeared in the South London Press on 21st June 1879 announcing the sale by auction by the Solicitors Messrs Winter and Co of Bedford Row. This was on behalf of the Trustees of the late Robert Russell, of the Bedford Park Estate and would take place on 30th July. The properties extended from the top of the hill opposite St Leonard’s Church to Streatham station, comprising approximately 60 acres, and included Bedford old house, Bedford House, Bedford Terrace, Bedford Row, and the old shops where much of the trade of Streatham village was done. It contained 22 acres which the Duke of Bedford had purchased in 1785 to create a park.
George brought Bedford House and the extensive grounds and rented the house to Sir William Grantham, MP for Croydon. The entrance to the house was moved to what is now Gleneldon Road, to allow shops to be built on the high street frontage. After Sir William moved out, George stripped much of the house and used it as a furniture depository. George developed the grounds and parkland of Bedford Park for housing, this area became known as the Bedford Park Estate. Stanthorpe Road was laid out by George (senior) and named after his 11th child, Stanley, and the maiden name of his wife Mary Thorpe. This development made George one of the largest property owners in Streatham. 1885 George (senior) now in his 50’s decided to divide up his business. The drapery side of the business at Eldon House was put under the management of his sons Charles and Henry, trading as “Pratt Brothers”.
Around 1889 George purchased “Northerndene” on Streatham Common North, a large Victorian house. Local historians have suggested that the building dates from 1873 and was extended in 1878. Mary continued to live there until her death in 1915. The house is still there today.
Also in that year on 31st August, George (junior) married Florence Dickenson and moved into his own new premises at 121 Streatham High Road, having been given the men’s tailoring side of the business from his father. Known as Camden House, it was built on the front garden of Bedford House and it's believed that George (senior) built and gave these premises to his son as a wedding present. Today on the first floor can still be seen the initials G.P. and F.P. A second date plaque in the gable confirms the date AD.1889. This business was headed by George (junior) into the 1950’s when he was in his 90s. This was the last store owed by the Pratt family. In 1954, 2 years after George died, the shop was sold.
George Pratt senior, head of the family and the retail dynasty that shaped Streatham died on 14 March 1890 aged 63 at his home “Northendene”, Streatham Common North. He is buried at St Leonard's Parish Church, Streatham.
Freda Graham
