Anscombe's & Sons, Harpenden

My great grandfather; Algy Pamphilon bought Anscombe's & Sons in Harpenden, it remained in the family until 1981 before it was sold and the site was redeveloped. The store was a Harpenden institution and its legacy remains only in records and memories. The store was destroyed before I was born however I have often had people tell me their fond memories of the store without them knowing my connection to it. Being able to recall memories of Anscombe’s is often used as a measuring stick for those natives who lovingly still refer to Harpenden as ‘The Village’.

 The stores ‘cash railway’ system is always first to be warmly described. The overhead system of pulleys and wires delivered the customer’s payment in a metal carrier and detachable wooden cup from the cashier to the cash desk on the first floor. The cup would efficiently make the return leg back to the cashier with the customers change and bill of sale. The shop floor must have been quite a chorus as the cups whizzed overhead with a succession of metallic clunks signalling their arrival at the destination. One man told me he remembered watching the system from his pram, I imagine it was a spellbinding sight.

Anscombe’s & Sons established in 1848 when Allen Anscombe began selling groceries and draperies in the front room of his Georgian home on Leyton Road. The business thrived and extended its premises upon its success, becoming established as ‘Allen Anscombe & Sons, Drapers, Hosiers, Haberdashers, Grocery and General Stores’; a department store in the style of those found in London’s West End at the time. In 1926 the store passed into the hands of Managing Director Algy Pamphilon and the Pamphilon family.

Algy was quite the entrepreneur and business man. During the Second World War and a few years subsequent when fabrics were in limited supply, Algy bought whatever Government Surplus materials he could lay his hands on. From pure silk parachutes that were dyed and made into underwear, cushion covers and blouses to Surplus Barrage Balloons cut into large pieces and sold as waterproof car covers or roofing for garden sheds. A true thrifter and opportunist of his time.

His eye for opportunity created much success often drawing custom from miles around. His sale of net curtain material led to perhaps the longest queue seen in Hertfordshire, (arguably bigger than the midnight release of Harry Potter books from WH Smiths). The material was virtually unobtainable at the time (as instead it was used for the war efforts as an anti-shatter device for windows) however he managed to obtain half a shipload.  

As the war years receded, and trading and supplies returned to normal, Anscombe’s resumed to the style of business they became known for pre-war days. By 1963 the premises extended once again with the acquisition of the disused Regent cinema and became the furniture department.

Despite the changes of the public buying habits where self-service shops were becoming more popular on Harpenden’s high street, Anscombe’s retained its old world charm and high standards of personal service. Stepping into the Emporium was described as being like crossing the threshold of time where women wearing feather hats and gentlemen wearing brown derby hats would have been a familiar sight.  

In 1981, managing director Bryan Pamphilon and his brother (my grandfather) Dennis Pamphilon announced the closure of Anscombe’s & Sons. Having withstood the competition from multiple self-service stores for so long and outlived other department stores of its kind by many years the burden of Value Added Tax and the pace of modern living are claimed o be the main reasons for the downturn of trade in the store. ‘People don’t seem to appreciate good service any more’ was the woeful comment of Mr Dennis Pamphilon.

I hope that some of Algy's genes have been passed down to me, particularly his entrepreneurial and opportunist abilities.