Chapter Sixteen - The Rutland Road Store, Bedford

Summary

In 1906, Peacocks opened a furniture repository located off Midland Road, Bedford, just to the rear of the corner premises then occupied by Cooper's Seed Merchants and still known by many local people as ‘Cooper's Corner’. The premises had previously been occupied as a workshop by George Harrison, a builder.

The building had two floors and contained a simple goods lift. The premises were useful as they enabled the firm to store furniture and household effects for clients going abroad. Perhaps more importantly, the firm could accommodate large quantities of furniture or other goods destined for sale until space was available at the Lime Street sale rooms or at Horne Lane.

During the Second World War, the premises were requisitioned and used for government storage purposes. After de-requisitioning, their usefulness diminished as fewer clients required long-term storage.

In 1955 the building was eventually sold to the Melbreck Furnishing Company who owned the adjoining shop premises at 119a Midland Road.