Kennards of Croydon: The Store that Entertained to Sell: A History of a Debenhams Store

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I had done some concert party work in the army, so when I was de-mobbed I joined a local concert party also a semi-professional dance band, which I attended when needed. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. As an added attraction, a pair of lion cubs were put on display for a limited time and, although too young to harm the public, I did notice at one stage the door of the large cage was kept shut with a garden broom.

No problems - but bear in mind we'll have to end up in the Croham - we'll need to be selective in any event !Change country: -Select- Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Islands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Cook Islands Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Republic Gambia Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Namibia Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Niue Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Republic of Croatia Republic of the Congo Reunion Romania Saint Helena Saint Kitts-Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Virgin Islands (U. Sadly for the young children of Croydon, the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 forced the zoo to close and the animals were found safe lodgings elsewhere. Australian actor Barney Worth at the Kennards Christmas Show in Wimbledon, where he was playing the part of Santa Claus in November 1941. But the really incredible thing about Kennards were the amazing stunts, animal acts and performances that were put on to entice the crowds. Good old Kennards of Croydon 1960s, with their unique and much missed approach to the retail experience.

Read more about the condition Very Good: A book that has been read and does not look new, but is in excellent condition. Animals and Kennards always seemed to go hand in hand, a brightly coloured toucan was kept in a large case, with a bright yellow beak, an infa-red heater kept it warm in winter. Bowden, Brompton, Woodville, Torrensville, Enfield, Croydon, Regency Park, Ferryden Park, Croydon Park, Croydon Park South, Devon Park, Dudley Park, Renown Park, Ridleyton, West Croydon, Allenby Gardens, Beverley, Kilkenny, Angle Park, Woodville Park, Woodville South, Woodville West, Athol Park, Mansfield Park, Woodville Gardens, Woodville North, Gillman, Ottoway, Pennington, Rosewater, Rosewater East, Wingfield, Cheltenham, Hendon, Queenstown, Royal Park, Albert Park, Alberton, Birkenhead, Ethelton, Glanville, Port Adelaide, West Lakes, Gilberton, Medindie, Medindie Gardens, Vale Park, Fitzroy, Ovingham, Prospect East, Prospect West, Thorngate, Nailsworth, Sefton Park, Blair Athol, Kilburn, Northfield, Hampstead Gardens, Manningham, Para Vista, Valley View, Cavan, Dry Creek, Gepps Cross, Mawson Lakes, Pooraka, The Levels, Ingle Farm, Walkley Heights, Parafield, Salisbury South, Cheltenham. A photograph shows the chetah sitting nonchalantly on a dining table while a waitress shows it a menu, probably hoping it will chose something to eat from the sweet trolley rather than one of the diners!We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. And, yes, the famous Kennards Arcade which ran from the North End down to Drummond Road sold a wide variety of exotic things, including animals and donkey rides were a highlight. Right so enough about the history of Kennards … The Menagerie had the following collection Originally hosted some monkeys, a camel, a peacock, some birds and other small animals. There were quite a few ladies who were rather easy on the eyes, with gyrating hips on the dance floor. You might be interested to know just before xmas they along with the main company Pinnacle Records all based in Orpington went into administration.

It would be worth many hundreds of pounds now - it was a Homer and they rarely did anything else than fish so it even has a rarity value. In 1928, Kennards was bought by the Drapery Trust around the time that Debenhams had acquired Drapery Trust. Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Romania, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Virgin Islands (U. All this has been a passing of time for me, a life-time with Kennards from a child, to teenager, to adult and now senior citizen.

Not a regular as such, but would always pop in there when out either during the day or of an evening. I'd go in there to play games like Galaxian, Scrambler, Moon Cresta, Missile Command, Defender, Frogger, Asteroids, Space Invaders part 2 and then cross over the road to T-Shirts Galore to play the original Space Invaders, I held the all time hi-score for that machine and could make 10p last about a couple of hours! This attracted many children with their parents, so they decided to expand the zoo further with more exotic animals.

As a 17 year old in 1986 I got my first full time job there, as a Warehouse skivvy, packing boxes of records and CD's. This attracted loads of children with their parents, so they decided to expand the zoo further with more exotic animals. Did anyone else visit the Bier Keller, which was in a basement below Marks and Spencer, entrance on the high street?One place that I always wanted to visit in Kennards was the ball room, a large room which was a restaurant by day and an entertainment venue at night. In the mid-1930s a cheetah was on display in the restaurant where it, together with no doubt some slightly nervous diners, were serenaded by Ida Santerelli and her female band. It used to sell toys - we used to have a laugh "demonstrating" radio-controlled cars by aiming them at old biddies. Croydonisation is a pejorative term meaning the throwing up of large numbers of tall buildings in an area with little if any regard for their aesthetics or their effect on their immediate environment.