Now owned by Waterstone's, this business was the inspiration for the famous BBC comedy "Are You Being Served?".
The architect of this multiple-floor Modernism building was Joseph Emberton, and Simpson's was the first shop in Britain to have an uninterrupted curved-glass frontage. This new style was made possible by arc-welding a wide-span steel frame, rather than earlier techniques which involved using bulky bolted joints. The interior was designed with rooms conforming to domestic proportions arranged around an open staircase.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_You_Being_Served
I worked behind the scenes in Mens suits, doing clerical work for alterations. Once I was asked to pack a suit for a waiting customer and did not know how, so packed it in the box jumbled up anyhow. He must have been surprised when he got it home! There were lots of departments in Simpsons - an Ex Servicement's Club,a Travel Agency, a Stag Bar selling ornaments, a cigerette counter, where I showed Richard Wattis a cigarette case. I remember that it was a nightmare to open up in the morning with a massive bunch of keys all opening different cupboards.I used to panic! Most of the time I worked as a restaurent cashier,initially before the make over by David Hicks. There was the Clover Room and the Madison Bar and lots of Celebrities came there too eg Sid James, Dick Emery, David Jacobs. In the Barbers shop, where I was sometimes sent as relief cashier, I took money from James Callaghan, befor he became PM. In 1966 the Winter of Discontent was a decade away. Does any one else remember working at or shopping at Simpsons ? It would be nice to leave a comment below