Nasons Department Store, Canterbury - March 2024
Nasons Department Store in Canterbury was a prominent family-run business with deep roots in the city's retail history. The store's origins trace back to 1929 when Frederick Norman Nason, known as Fred, began selling linen from his mother's home in Monastery Street. Born in 1910, Fred was the youngest of four children and attended Simon Langton Grammar School before venturing into retail. He initially worked for F.W. Martin in St George’s Street but soon established his own business.
Fred's entrepreneurial journey was interrupted by World War II, during which he served with the 2nd Dragoon Guards in the Eighth Army in North Africa. After the war, he resumed his business activities, leading to significant growth in the post-war years. By the 1950s, Nasons had expanded to include several shops in Canterbury and secured major furnishing contracts with large London hotels.
In 1962, Nasons relocated to 46-47 High Street, a move that involved incorporating several older buildings into the new premises. This thoughtful integration earned the store a Civic Trust award in 1963. One notable structure included was the Forester’s Hall, built in 1880, which had served various community functions, including public meetings, dances, and boxing matches. The hall's distinctive architectural features, such as its large curved ceiling edges and external stone windows, were preserved within the store's design.
Despite its longstanding presence, Nasons faced challenges in the evolving retail landscape. Citing "brutal trading conditions," the store closed its doors in September 2018, marking the end of an era for Canterbury's retail scene.
Following its closure, plans emerged to redevelop the site. In 2019, the Setha Group proposed a £30 million transformation of the former Nasons location into Biggleston Yard, a development featuring a retail arcade, cafes, a market hall, a public square, and 66 flats. The project aimed to revitalize the area and pay homage to its industrial past, notably the mid-19th century foundry operated by H.M. Biggleston & Sons.
However, the redevelopment faced significant hurdles. Environmental concerns regarding water pollution at the nearby Stodmarsh Nature Reserve led to delays, as Natural England required mitigating measures for wastewater management. A proposed solution involved on-site sewage treatment with waste removal by tankers, leading to planning approval in November 2022.
Despite these approvals, financial challenges arose. In April 2024, Setha Canterbury Ltd, the company behind the redevelopment, entered receivership after defaulting on a loan, casting doubt on the project's future. As of June 2024, efforts to refinance and proceed with the development were ongoing, but the site's fate remained uncertain.
Nasons has left a large legacy as probably the best shop to every exist in Canterbury, possible even the whole of kent as it literally had everything. I myself have fond memories from when it was open, I miss it dearly and hate to see it in this state. In my opinion it's not long before a mysterious fire breaks out and it gets turned into badly built expensive houses or overpriced university flats.
Appologies for how long this took to get out, there is a lot of scum in Canterbury who ruin historic abandoned buildings and this was left wide open and was getting trashed by the day so I wanted to wait until it was properly sealed up before I posted this, also sorry for the state of some of the photos, there was little to no natural light in certain parts which my camera did not particularly agree with, and there was also kids running around so I wanted to be in and out quickly.
Now time for the photos.
Main Mezzanine :
Old Television :
Main Entrance :
Old Radiator :
Some Old Leaflets For Clothes :
Top Floor :
Storage Room On Top Floor :
One Of The Many Staircases :
Main Shop Floor Showing Toy Town On The Left :
Another Of The Many Storage Rooms :
One Of The Many Rooftop Entrances :
Clothes Floor :
Old Brickwork Showing Where The Buildings Were Joined Up :
Clothes Floor Entrance :
Another Shop Floor :
Another Shop Floor :
The Old Restaurant :
Now time for the Forester's Hall photos which is probably one of the best parts.
Top Of Forester’s Hall Which Was Used As Part Of The Clothes Store And It's Tills :
Bottom Of Foresters Hall That Was Used As Part Of The Furniture Section And It's Tills :
Foresters Hall Before It Was Turned Into Nasons :
Foresters Hall In Use With Nasons :
Nasons Department Store in Canterbury was a prominent family-run business with deep roots in the city's retail history. The store's origins trace back to 1929 when Frederick Norman Nason, known as Fred, began selling linen from his mother's home in Monastery Street. Born in 1910, Fred was the youngest of four children and attended Simon Langton Grammar School before venturing into retail. He initially worked for F.W. Martin in St George’s Street but soon established his own business.
Fred's entrepreneurial journey was interrupted by World War II, during which he served with the 2nd Dragoon Guards in the Eighth Army in North Africa. After the war, he resumed his business activities, leading to significant growth in the post-war years. By the 1950s, Nasons had expanded to include several shops in Canterbury and secured major furnishing contracts with large London hotels.
In 1962, Nasons relocated to 46-47 High Street, a move that involved incorporating several older buildings into the new premises. This thoughtful integration earned the store a Civic Trust award in 1963. One notable structure included was the Forester’s Hall, built in 1880, which had served various community functions, including public meetings, dances, and boxing matches. The hall's distinctive architectural features, such as its large curved ceiling edges and external stone windows, were preserved within the store's design.
Despite its longstanding presence, Nasons faced challenges in the evolving retail landscape. Citing "brutal trading conditions," the store closed its doors in September 2018, marking the end of an era for Canterbury's retail scene.
Following its closure, plans emerged to redevelop the site. In 2019, the Setha Group proposed a £30 million transformation of the former Nasons location into Biggleston Yard, a development featuring a retail arcade, cafes, a market hall, a public square, and 66 flats. The project aimed to revitalize the area and pay homage to its industrial past, notably the mid-19th century foundry operated by H.M. Biggleston & Sons.
However, the redevelopment faced significant hurdles. Environmental concerns regarding water pollution at the nearby Stodmarsh Nature Reserve led to delays, as Natural England required mitigating measures for wastewater management. A proposed solution involved on-site sewage treatment with waste removal by tankers, leading to planning approval in November 2022.
Despite these approvals, financial challenges arose. In April 2024, Setha Canterbury Ltd, the company behind the redevelopment, entered receivership after defaulting on a loan, casting doubt on the project's future. As of June 2024, efforts to refinance and proceed with the development were ongoing, but the site's fate remained uncertain.
Nasons has left a large legacy as probably the best shop to every exist in Canterbury, possible even the whole of kent as it literally had everything. I myself have fond memories from when it was open, I miss it dearly and hate to see it in this state. In my opinion it's not long before a mysterious fire breaks out and it gets turned into badly built expensive houses or overpriced university flats.
Appologies for how long this took to get out, there is a lot of scum in Canterbury who ruin historic abandoned buildings and this was left wide open and was getting trashed by the day so I wanted to wait until it was properly sealed up before I posted this, also sorry for the state of some of the photos, there was little to no natural light in certain parts which my camera did not particularly agree with, and there was also kids running around so I wanted to be in and out quickly.
Now time for the photos.
Main Mezzanine :
Old Television :
Main Entrance :
Old Radiator :
Some Old Leaflets For Clothes :
Top Floor :
Storage Room On Top Floor :
One Of The Many Staircases :
Main Shop Floor Showing Toy Town On The Left :
Another Of The Many Storage Rooms :
One Of The Many Rooftop Entrances :
Clothes Floor :
Old Brickwork Showing Where The Buildings Were Joined Up :
Clothes Floor Entrance :
Another Shop Floor :
Another Shop Floor :
The Old Restaurant :
Now time for the Forester's Hall photos which is probably one of the best parts.
Top Of Forester’s Hall Which Was Used As Part Of The Clothes Store And It's Tills :
Bottom Of Foresters Hall That Was Used As Part Of The Furniture Section And It's Tills :
Foresters Hall Before It Was Turned Into Nasons :
Foresters Hall In Use With Nasons :
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