Jeremiah Rotherham & Co
In what appears to have been an altruistic gesture, the founder of the business, Jeremiah Rotherham (1806–1878), created a partnership with four of his long term employees.
During World War II the main store was hit by bombs during the London blitz; the company was able carry on trading by transferring to an adjacent building.
The transcript of the trail provides insights into the size of his business operation and to the fact that another brother, Joseph (1810–1849), was working with him.
[5] By 1834 Jeremiah Rotherham had moved to a linen draper shop run by James Burrough (1764–1844),[6] at 84 Shoreditch High Street.
Edward Hubbard Boardman (1826–1912), became major beneficiaries of Rotherham's will, inheriting his share of the business interests when he died in 1878.
Dummett (1843–1907), also from Devon, began his career at Rotherham's in the dispatch department, eventually becoming the correspondence clerk and warehouse manager.
He died childless and left the biggest part of his estate to his niece Marian (Boardman) Stammers (1824–1903) and nephew Rev.
The name Anlaby was later used by the company for a line of hosiery and for its 27–39 Boundary Street building, which has now been converted to a block of flats.
[17] There is no mention in the prospectus of Rotherham's niece and nephew being involved in the sale of the store, so it appears that their interest in the business had been sold to the partners.
Similar stock market flotation of privately owned department stores at this time included Harrods in 1889, William Whiteley (Universal Provider) in 1899 and D. H. Evans & Co in 1894.
[21] The four partners, Snowden, Dummett, Gotelee and Ellis, became wealthy from the sale of their business, but chose to remain as directors of the newly formed company.
The most remarkable of them for long service was probably the chairman, Frederick Snowden, who retired on health grounds in 1926, having worked at the Rotherham store for 71 years.
He had been with Jeremiah Rotherham for about 64 years and regularly attended the AGMs up until his death, only missing the last meeting due to doctor's orders.
[24] He had just one child, a daughter, Elizabeth Harriet Ellis (1872–1923), who married City broker Frank Ernest Doré (1867–1926).
[25] When Jeremiah Rotherham died in 1878 he left his share of the business in equal measures to his niece, Marian (Boardman) Stammers, and nephew Rev.
After the death of Rotherham, the Rev Boardman, who was vicar of Grazeley, near Reading, resigned the living and moved to a large house called Glen Andred in Groombridge, East Sussex.
He paid £7,200 for the house, which had formerly been the home of artist Edward William Cooke, and lived there with his wife in partial retirement until his death in 1912.
Frederic Halliley Stammers (1833-1902) who was the incumbent minister at All Saints', Clapton in Hackney, an area of London where Jeremiah Rotherham had lived up until his death in 1878.
[31] In May 1941 the main store in Shoreditch High Street was destroyed by enemy bombing during World War II.
[36] He had worked in the textile industry for several years and during this time, he and his family had acquired controlling interest in several weaving companies belonging to Haighton Holdings.
In 1951 he and his sister, Flora Yentob, sold these businesses to Aurochs Investment Company, although Khazam remained on as managing director.
[37] By 1968 the Khazam family firm of Anglo-African Finance owned 49.5% of Jeremiah Rotherham, and they agreed to a takeover by rival company Spencer, Turner and Boldero.
[39] Further rationalisation took place within the group of businesses run by the Khazam-Yentob family over the following years and evolved into Dewhurst Dent Limited.
