The building
The Historic Environment Record entry covers the whole of Voisin's King Street buildings: A notable department store, with early 19th century origins, that retains an elegant exterior and defines the streetscape character of this section of King Street.
Francis Voisin founded Voisin and Company as a haberdashery shop at 26 King Street on 15 April 1837. Acquisition of neighbouring properties continued throughout the 19th century. Major refurbishment works were undertaken in 1933.
Principal frontage to King Street, three-storey, six-bay. Front, south elevation: series of pitched slate roofs set back behind decorative parapet. Walls rendered. Heavy, moulded cornice with foliate brackets and dentil course to underside. Bays defined by full height Corinthian pilasters. Second floor windows on west bay have moulded architraves with bracketed sills. First floor windows have eared, moulded architraves with console brackets over.
There is the curved staircase with cast iron balusters in the eastern section - No 24.
Occupants
This was the last of the King Street properties acquired by Voisin's in the 19th century as their department store spread, although 70 years later they would acquire No 32 and the confectionery and bakery business, Gaudin's.
The first record of the property is in a 1934 trade directory, which shows drapers Guiton and company trading there, but strangely also a coal merchant, P Perchard. At first sight it is unclear how two such different businesses could share the same premises, but the 1841 census confirms this arrangement and suggests that the main business was run by merchant Philip Perchard (60), who lived on the premises with his wife Jane (40) and a servant. Draper Thomas Guiton (45) is shown living at the back of the premises.
Accountant Francis Guiton was living at No 30 at the time of the 1851 census. Francis was the son of draper Francois Guiton.
The Guiton and Perchard families were linked. Francois Guiton (1794- ), the draper, married Catherine Perchard (1800-1875), the daughter of merchant Philippe and Catherine Noel
Chronology
- 1834 - Guiton and company, drapers; Philippe Perchard, coal merchant
- 1841 - Philippe Perchard, merchant; Thomas Guiton, draper
- 1851 - Francis Guiton, accountant
- 1860 - Acquired by Voisin's
