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Jackson's of Reading ... Jackson's Corner
Topic Started: 10 Oct 2012, 05:59 AM (2,498 Views)
daib0
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Jackson's of Reading set to close after 137 years trading


BBC News

A department store founded in Reading in 1875 is facing closure because of the cost of maintaining the building and a drop in trade.

Jackson's has been trading for 137 years and still uses pneumatic pipes to transport cash around the building.

Managing director Brian Carter said retail had changed significantly and the store now had to cope with competition from the internet and large centres like the Oracle.

The 60 staff employed by Jackson's will now have to wait to see if the economic situation improves to save it from closure.


A shame, isn't it?!
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daib0
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For youngsters looking in, in the future, here is Jackson's Corner - older members, what year would you place this photo??


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Hayes
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Sad,another establish shop,part of Reading history,going.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/www.readingfc.co.uk/?ref=bookmarks
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daib0
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Almost exactly ... one year later :(


BBC News

Jacksons Corner department store has closed after 138 years

A landmark Reading department store has closed after 138 years in business.

Jacksons of Reading opened on 17 September 1875, but the family-run business said poor sales and costly repairs led to the decision to close.


Managing director Brian Carter, a great grandson of the founder, said the decision was "terribly sad" but a sale had been agreed in the summer.

The store, on King's Road, used a revolutionary system of pneumatic pipes to transport cash around the building.

The store closed at 13:00 GMT.

The founder Edward Jackson, the ninth out of 11 children, bought number 6, High Street, Reading to set up a gentleman's outfitters. When that property was demolished to make way for the town's tram system Jacksons Corner was created, with the shop sign becoming a landmark in the town.

Jacksons department store was a landmark in Reading's town centre and was founded in 1875 by Edward Jackson (underneath, bottom right) -

Posted Image


The business flourished and ladies fashions were introduced in 1903, followed by lingerie, knitwear, footwear, craft and its well-known school wear department. Its sometimes unusual window display items prompted an appreciation page on Facebook, inviting users to snap the quirkier things on show including lawn bowl polishing sleeves and floss bobbins. The store was also known for its display of knitted dolls to mark events, including the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

It remained an independent family-run business up until it closes its doors at 13:00 GMT.

Residents from Reading remember Jacksons fondly. Celia Wilson, 60, said she used to visit the store in the 60s and 70s to get her school outfit with her mum.
"Later I went with my children for their school uniforms. You were always sure of a high standard," she said.

Chloe Tigwell, 29, said:
"I will miss the knitting department and the lovely staff who would help me decipher many a knitting pattern when I got stuck. I'll be sad to see it go."

A local indie band formerly had the name Jacksons Corner and Reading country singer Steve Morano has dedicated a song to the building and used the name as an album title.

Reading Museum is hosting an exhibition on the store's history until 13 April, and a local theatre company recently staged a performance called Jacksons Corner "marking the sad passing of a Reading institution".


Jackson's Corner, virtually unchanged from the early 1900s -

Posted Image


Other residents feel the closure of the store signals a nail in the coffin of the town's retail heritage. Sam Tattersall, 33, said:
"Jacksons Corner is the last major bastion of historic Reading to be found in retail. Another building can now be scored from existence from my old black and white 1905 photograph of the town. What will open in its place? Another chicken fast food establishment or perhaps a 99p store."

Mr Carter confirmed the building has been sold to a new owner but was unsure what the plans for its future might involve. Looking round the store he said:
"It looks desolate and completely lifeless and not at all how it should be. It's not a shop but an empty shell. Unfortunately circumstances have overtaken us, customers have moved on, shopping habits have moved on and we are no longer a viable proposition as we've been for many years. It has become increasingly hard work as time goes on, other problems keep arising and the building is really in a bad state. It needs a lot of money spent on it - that was the deciding factor in the end."

He added that when he locks the door for the final time on Christmas eve it would be a "very strange feeling". "I shall be interested in what happens to the building," he said. "I hope it's looked after and turned into something useful. I don't like to think of it being empty and boarded up. That would upset me."


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My Reading FC History Site The Biscuitmen
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Jacksons Corner contents to be sold at auction


Items from a Reading department store that closed after 138 years, including hat stretchers and a pneumatic cash transfer system, are to be sold at auction.

The family-owned Jacksons store on King's Road, closed on Christmas Eve.

In total Stroud Auction Ltd is selling off 483 lots.

Prices range from £5 to up to £600 for the Lamson pneumatic cash transfer system, comprising a cash desk, nine stations and a blower. The auctioneers say it is the last commercially working system in the UK and hope it will be donated to a museum.
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Get Reading


Restaurants plan for Jacksons Corner in Reading to be considered next month

Plans for the redevelopment could go in front of the council's planning committee on Wednesday, October 12

Three restaurants could fill the ground floor of the old Jacksons department store in Reading town centre if planning bosses approve the latest proposals.

Developers SG Capital has put forward plans to Reading Borough Council to redevelop Jacksons, which closed in 2014 after 138 years in the town centre. The plan, which also includes 34 apartments, could go before councillors next month.

The developers propose creating space for three restaurants, converting the upper floors to 18 flats, demolishing stores at the rear to build a six storey block containing 16 flats and creating a central courtyard. However, it has no plans to remove or alter the Jacksons Corner sign.

The plans detail a 'good mix' of one, two and three bedroom flats including affordable homes and increase the number of apartments compared to previously approved application by another developer.

A Reading Borough Council spokesman has confirmed the proposals could be considered by the planning committee on Wednesday, October 12. In March 2015 Captia Hall gained planning permission to demolish the rear warehouse and replace it with 11 flats, build 18 upper floor homes and convert the ground floor and basement into three shops. But SG Capital bought the run down building for £4.5 million in April 2016 and drew up a new planning application, which it submitted in May.

The planning statement describes the new plans as "a suitable, residential-led development".

Voluntary groups, such as Reading Bicycle Kitchen, used the building after the department store closed, but it is now empty.


How does this sound to you?!


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Get Reading

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/business/jacksons-corner-building-reading-sold-12791923


Jacksons Corner building in Reading sold for second time in a year

Ankor Property Group will carry out a redevelopment of the iconic building

Reading’s famous Jacksons building has changed hands for the second time, this time for £6.5 million. The former department store in King’s Road, where there is permission for a mixed-use scheme for flats and three restaurant units, has been snapped up by the London-based Ankor Property Group.

The purchase from SG Capita, which bought it for £4.5 million in April 2016, means the developer will push ahead with the scheme in the old shop, which closed in 2013 after 138 years in Reading. Once complete it will contain 33 new flats, 18 above the restaurants and 15 in a new five storey-block. The restaurant units have been let, with pizza chain Franco Manca, burger chain Byron and London Thai restaurant chain Busaba Eathai all signed up.

In giving the permission in December, Reading Borough Council insisted the building’s unique frontage and sign were maintained. The company says the interior of the building will be refurbished to a high standard and the new block will be in a courtyard area. Construction is due to start early next month and it is hoped the restaurants will open in October. The apartments will take a year to 18 months to build.

Nori Touati, managing director of Ankor Property Group, said: “We are looking forward to bringing the Jacksons department store back to life with three lively restaurant brands and a sympathetic conversion of the Victorian building for new homes. It’s a great location, positioned close to both the railway station and The Oracle shopping centre, and one that will be further enhanced by the new Crossrail service in a few years. Delivering the retail element will provide a natural extension to the high street and complement other commercial schemes in the area.”

The cash behind the project comes from Cogress UK and Octupus Property, which has funded the company’s student accommodation in Ealing and Greenwich in London.

Mr Touati added: “We’re looking to grow our development portfolio in the residential sector and anticipate a very bright and optimistic year ahead with a number of pipeline sites lined up for early release.”
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daib0
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above link has a great interview!
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