www.hamleys.com
The
Story of Hamleys
When William Hamley first
opened a toyshop in London, Westminster Bridge had just opened to traffic
– horses and carts. Even gaslights would not illuminate the city’s
streets for another half a century. The year was 1760.
But William Hamley, a
Cornishman from Bodmin, was not put off.
 He filled his cramped
Holborn shop with every toy he could find; rag dolls and tin soldiers,
hoops and wooden horses, because he wanted the finest toyshop in the
world. He even called it the ‘Noah’s Ark’.
So when Henry Charles
Harrod opened a small grocer’s in Knightsbridge in 1849, Hamleys was
already a vastly successful ‘Joy Emporium’. To celebrate, in 1881,
William Hamley’s grandsons opened a new branch in Regent, not far from
Piccadilly Circus. Hamleys was there 11 years before Eros.
By the end of Queen
Victoria’s reign, croquet sets, cricket bats and ‘footballs for playing on
the sands’, jostled with marionettes, magic lanterns and model sailing
boats on the shop’s packed shelves.
So great had the shop’s
reputation now become that Jean Jacques and Sons asked if they could
launch their new ‘Gossima’ exclusively through Hamleys.
The public immediately took
to the game, which they christened ‘ping pong’ after the noise made by the
bouncing of its hollow white celluloid ball. Not until 1921 did it
officially become Table Tennis.
 In the same year, Hamleys
reopened on six floors. Now toy theatres, Punch and Judy puppets, pedal
cars and miniature railway trains helped to fill what was ‘the largest toy
shop in the world’.
Ironically, this desire to
provide the world’s best selection of toys and games finally threatened to
close Hamleys altogether. Its fleet of horse drawn delivery vans were
still at work each day when the economic depression across Europe forced
the shop into liquidation in 1931.
Hamleys was saved by a man
who had ridden on the delivery vans as a boy, Walter Lines (chairman of
theTri-Ang company), who bought it and rebuilt its reputation.
In 1938 he was rewarded
with the Royal Warrant from Queen Mary. Her granddaughters, the young
Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose, both had Hamleys toys in their
nursery.
Even being bombed five times in the blitz did not stop Hamleys. The staff
wearing tin hats served at the front door, rushing in to collect the toys,
and hand them over at the door. After the War it was business as usual;
the Festival of Britain in 1951 brought a Grand Doll’s Salon as well as a
vast model railway to hypnotise children of any age.
The new Queen Elizabeth II
had not forgotten her own childhood companions. Both Prince Charles and
Princess Anne received toys from Hamleys and, in 1955, her Majesty
honoured Walter Lines with his second Royal Warrant as a ‘Toys and Sports
Merchant’.
Hamleys became as much a
London attraction as Buckingham Palace or The British Museum. Nowhere was
the magic of childhood so precisely captured. And as toys changed, so did
Hamleys; in 1981 it moved to 188-196 Regent Street, still the biggest
toyshop in the world.
In May 1994, Hamleys
obtained a listing on the London Stock Exchange and now trades as a public
limited company.
A little man in a red coat
and a tall black hat appears on Hamleys famous shopping bag. With him the
tradition that William Hamley established long before Nelson had a column
goes from strength to strength. The story of Hamleys, the finest toyshop
in the world, will never end.
Hamleys Today
With 7
floors packed with amazing toys and games, Hamleys are the experts in fun.
For a
virtual tour of the store – visit
www.hamleys.com
Ground
floor: meet the Hamleys demonstrators and teddies galore
1st
floor: Whatever your game, you’ll find it here
2nd floor: A talking tree and toys for tots
3rd floor: Dress up, Play House or visit Barbie –
heaven for girls
4th floor: Trains, boats, planes & cars – toys for
boys of all ages
5th floor: Action heroes await you here
Basement: A world of Lego, the latest consoles
and games as well as a visit to Sega Park
to complete
your tour
Hamleys Hot Tips For Educational Toys
Alphabet Desk -
teaches phonetics, letter names and words
Ruffles Alphabet Garden
- 5 modes of play to teach, alphabet, phonics, simple spelling ,
objects
My Little Talking Computer
- 16 activities, including English, Maths, Music and Games
and
colours
All New Letter Fun Laptop
- Language Development, problem solving, discovery & exploration,
teaches phonics, words, numbers and music.
PC software:
Maths, reading and Science Triple Pack £14.99
I Love Maths £9.99
I Love Spelling £9.99
I Love Science £9.99
Hamleys is considered a tourist attraction in its own right and is full of
magic and fun. A regular programme of in-store events can be seen on
www.hamleys.com.
A
visit to the store’s Christmas lights and windows is a must.
School
Leavers and
Graduates
If you
are interested in a retail career at Hamleys, we offer a range of
positions from part time, full time and seasonal opportunities. If you
feel that you can contribute to the magic of Hamleys please email your
current CV to:
Amy
Stirzaker
Hamleys
2 Foubert Place
London
W1F 7PA
www.hamleys.com
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