The Brandons – the local family who had 5 shops
Visitors to Chesham Broadway cannot fail to notice the large three storey building between the Oxfam shop and the Tavern café. Today, it is divided into three separate shops (Simply the Best, Summerlings Carpets and Ask Beauty & Hair Salon) with offices above, but what is its history?
Built in 1923, this building was for 57 years the home of Brandons & Sons (Chesham) Ltd, a department store selling furniture, household goods, soft furnishings and running not only an upholstering service but also house removals.
Brandons of Chesham opens in 1896
Brandons originally opened in Chesham in 1896 and the business was started by five brothers from Tring whose father (John Brandon) had been running a similar business there since 1866.
By the time the business closed down in 1980, there were five shops based in Tring, Chesham, Berkhamsted, Amersham and Hemel Hempstead.
Oldest son George Brandon mostly stayed in Tring, taking over the shop there from his father, whilst it was the next two brothers – Albert and Herbert – who came to Chesham.
The Chesham shop opened in 1896 in the premises occupied today by the Oxfam shop and at this time, there was a row of small cottages next door (to the right as you look at the buildings).
The brothers quickly discovered that they needed more space, and as time went by, opened additional showrooms across the Broadway at the cinema (the Palace, later the Astoria, today the home of Savers supermarket); to be followed by another showroom where the empty Oasis Partnership shop currently stands.
It was 1923 when Brandons bought the row of cottages next door to No 84 (Nos 86-90) and demolished them, replacing the dwellings with the building we see there today. Over the years, the Brandon brothers opened similar stores in Berkhamsted (run by Frederick), Amersham and Hemel Hempstead.
When the brothers all decided to retire in 1936, Ray Harborne took over the running of the business. When Ray died in 1971, his son Leslie sold the entire enterprise in 1977. The new owners closed everything down in 1980.
Herbert Brandon
Herbert lived in Tring at his parents’ home and never married. Outside of work, however, he was a prolific writer. He wrote short stories and poetry for magazines and annuals and the words for literally dozens of songs, anthems and hymns which were very popular at the time. In fact, his songs are still available today from companies specialising in sheet music.
Albert Brandon
Albert married Emily Charlotte McMahon Foyle from London in 1901 and they lived in Khartoum (now Eskdale) Avenue.
Emily was a suffragette and started the Chesham branch of the Women’s Social & Political Union, but in view of what then transpired, it appears that Albert may not have shared his wife’s beliefs.
Emily took part in rallies and demonstrations and in 1911 she was imprisoned for breaking through a police cordon. It wasn’t long after this when the house in Eskdale Avenue was sold, and Albert moved into the flat over the shop at 84 Broadway on his own. But what of Emily?
Emily Brandon
No trace can be found of Emily until 1939, when press reports reveal that she had been living in Woodford Bridge, Essex and running a gift shop and tearooms.
She had been imprisoned as a result of breaking an injunction not to contact Albert in any way. She had been found guilty of writing defamatory letters both to him and his solicitor. She was again imprisoned for the same offence in 1940 and taken into police custody once more in 1944. But on this occasion, instead of being charged as before, she was examined by a psychiatrist and found herself locked away in the Brentwood Asylum.
She spent three years there before escaping through an unlocked first floor window (in 1947 at the age of nearly 70) and found herself with a fight on her hands to prove her sanity.
She was able to do so but discovered that whilst she had been incarcerated, Essex County Council had possessed all her money and property. We last hear that Emily was once more in trouble with the law for shouting at Winston Churchill demanding to know when she would get her money and business back.
The other brothers
George, Frederick and Frank all married but only Frank had any children – the other two marriages were childless. Frank was also the only one of the brothers who saw active service in the 1st World War when he served in the Airship Division of the Royal Navy.
