Bentall Centre, Kingston upon Thames
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| Location | Kingston upon Thames,London,England |
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| Coordinates | 51°24′43″N0°18′17″W/ 51.412°N 0.3046°W |
| Opening date | 2 November 1992 |
| Owner | Meyer Bergman |
| No. of stores and services | 75 |
| No. ofanchor tenants | 1 (Bentalls) |
| Total retail floor area | 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m2) |
| No. of floors | 4 |
| Parking | 1,900 spaces |
| Website | www |
TheBentall Centreis a large shopping centre inKingston upon Thames,Greater London, England, which opened in 1992.[1]It has been built in the retail space ofBentallsdepartment store, first established on the site in 1867. Bentalls, now part of theFenwickgroup, retains a large premium department store in the development. The centre is located adjacent toJohn Lewis Kingston,as well as the historic market town centre. There are 75 stores within the centre.[2]
History and development
[edit]In 1987, construction began on creating a new Bentalls department store and shopping centre. This new development was to include a five level department store and a four level adjoining shopping centre including over 100 retail units.[3]A pedestrian bridge across theKingston Relief Roadallowed access to and from the multi-storey car parks to the shopping centre.
The development took five years to complete and was built in two phases, allowing the existing department store to trade throughout the development period on a reduced footprint. The first phase, the 'new' department store opened in July 1990. The completed shopping centre was opened in November 1992 by Edward Bentall (descendant of Frank Bentall) and Nick Price fromNorwich Unionwith a floor area of 600,000 sq ft (55,742 m2).[4]
In 2012, it was reported that the centre is owned by the London-based Dutch privately held real estate investment companyMeyer Bergman.[5]
Current operations
[edit]Stores
[edit]Major stores in the centre includeBentalls,Apple,Zara,H&M,Waterstones,EE,VodafoneandWHSmith.[6]
Unique features
[edit]The shopping centre's atrium ceiling is higher than the nave ofWestminster Abbeyor the dome ofSt Paul's Cathedral.[7]The original department store's 1935 façade designed byMaurice Webbwas retained.
Another significant feature of the centre is anescalatorwhich travels from the ground to the second floor. It is the largest single truss escalator in the world with only a top and bottom support.[7]
When opened, a statue of Leonard Bentall byWilliam Reid Dickwas placed on the top floor looking down across the whole centre. However, whenFenwickbought the department store in 2001,[8]they moved it to a secondary location as they believed it affected the sight lines into the store.
On opening, the Bentall Centre was the first shopping centre in the UK to adopt a "no smoking"policy throughout.[7]
Gallery
[edit]-
The interior of The Bentall Centre -
The atrium ceiling at The Bentall Centre -
view
References
[edit]- ^"The Centre".Bentall Centre | Kingston.Retrieved10 April2023.
- ^"Stores".Bentall Centre | Kingston.Retrieved10 April2023.
- ^"The New Bentall Centre".Flickr.Bentalls.1987.Archivedfrom the original on 12 August 2021.Retrieved12 August2021.
- ^Peacock, Grenville (30 July 1993)."Obituary: Rowan Bentall".The Independent.Retrieved26 April2014.
- ^"The giant company that has invested billions across Europe".thetelegraphandargus.19 October 2012.Retrieved15 October2015.
- ^"Stores".Bentall Centre | Kingston.Retrieved12 August2021.
- ^abc"We all go shopping in the Bentall Centre but do we actually know anything about it?".Your Local Guardian.
- ^"Fenwick Bentalls Kingston Department Store".Retrieved3 July2014.
External links
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