PICTURED: REDCOAT HOST NANCY, SEAN GHOUSE HEAD OF UK RETAIL, REDCOAT HOST COMME.
Jermyn Street’s Open Door Series will be honouring the brands and businesses that make our street the home of gentleman’s style, and the pinnacle of British craftsmanship, by spotlighting your favourite brands, and the people behind them, as we get ready to invite you through our doors once more!
Fortnum & Mason is one of the most famous British brands, and has been synonymous with luxury and exceptional quality subsistence for centuries. To this day, it is still the premium destination for all things food and drink, served up as always with a large helping of joy.
Like all great brands, Fortnum & Mason had to start somewhere, and that somewhere was a small stall in St James’s Market in 1707. When the enterprising William Fortnum first moved to London, he rented a room in Hugh Mason’s house, before starting work as footman to Queen Anne. At that time, Queen Anne had a policy that fresh candles must be used each night and William Fortnum saw an opportunity – selling on the spare wax for a tidy personal profit. By 1707, he had made enough money to leave the Queen’s service and, upon convincing his landlord Mr Mason to be his associate, he started business as a grocer, and Fortnum & Mason was born.
Fortnum & Mason’s innovative approach to business allowed them to establish themselves as a go-to for all things food, and they met demand with inventive supply, creating the Scotch Egg in 1738 for travellers who needed easily portable food for long journeys. Fortnum & Mason began to cater for a grander clientele when William Fortnum’s grandson went into service under Queen Charlotte, and this affiliation with the royal household led to a surge in business and the store began to stock speciality items and luxury ready-to-eat meals. The affiliation with royalty did not end with Queen Charlotte, in fact this was only the beginning of a long legacy. Queen Victoria was known to call on Fortnum & Mason to supply food for prestigious court functions and, in 1856, after the Charge of the Light Brigade, when Florence Nightingale captured the heart of the nation, Queen Victoria ordered Fortnum & Mason “to dispatch without delay to Miss Nightingale in Scutari a huge consignment of concentrated beef tea”.
Even though Fortnum & Mason was associated with the highest echelons of society, the business continued to have its feet firmly planted on the ground and when H J Heinz first came to England with five cases of a new product, they jumped at the opportunity to stock his wares, becoming, in 1886, the first store in Britain to sell Heinz Baked Beans. In 1902, they were charged by King Edward VII to “Bring me the finest tea in all of the land”. This began their globe-trotting exploration for the best tea blend, resulting in their ‘Royal Blend’ comprising Indian Assam and Sri Lankan Flowery Pekoe, which remains unchanged to this day. Fortnum & Mason’s iconic hampers also found their origins in adventure. Originally created as travellers baskets and picnics for hunters, they have since ascended Everest (in 1922, carrying 60 tins of quail in foie gras and four dozen bottles of champagne), and supplied the excavation of Tutankhamun. Today they travel near and far, spreading joy to loved ones and supplying discerning foodies with a huge range of luxurious treats.
Fortnum & Mason is not only the heart of Piccaddily but also of British luxury, and their rich history is a testament to this. Visit their department store at 181 Piccadilly to discover endless delights in their food halls, create your own tea with their bespoke blending service, stop by for an ice cream at The Parlour, or take high tea in their Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Shopping at Fortnum’s is an experience never to be forgotten and Jermyn Street would be a lot less joyous without them.