History

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In 1830, a Mr Smith founded the now famous firm of James Smith and Sons (Umbrellas) at Foubert’s Place, just off Regent Street in London’s West End. The umbrellas were made in a small workshop in the back of the shop and then sold to customers at the front.

The shop was so narrow that to open an umbrella you had to go outside. From this shop umbrellas were sold to many dignitaries such as Gladstone, Lord Curzon and Bonar Law. When the shop in Saville Place was knocked down to make way for a new road another shop was opened in Burlington Street, near Piccadilly Circus.

The shop at 53 New Oxford Street is largely unaltered and is a perfect example of Victorian shop front design. It remains as one of the landmarks of Central London and is commonly referred to as ‘The Umbrella Shop’ by black cab drivers and locals alike.