Two former Burton’s branches

Above: 312-314 North End Rd, Fulham, London SW6.

From Wikipedia:

“Beginning in 1923, Burton began to acquire freehold sites in order to build its own custom designed stores. Prominent town centre corner sites were preferred and the shops often moved a few doors along the same street in order to acquire the corner site. Leeds-based architect Harry Wilson was hired at this time and developed the Burton “house style” building design. In 1931 Burton took over Wilson’s practice to make it the in-house architecture department. Wilson was replaced as chief architect by Nathaniel Martin in 1937.

This Burton in-house architecture was Art Deco in style. Individual stores vary from the more restrained red-brick with neoclassical scroll headed columns to fully-fledged Art Deco with glazed white faience tile, geometric patterns and stylised elephant heads.

Fulham branch (facing Haldane Road)

However, there are also many standard elements such as a wide polished black granite band above the shop windows for signage, metal vent grates bearing the company logo, billiard halls on the upper levels, window lights showing the locations of other Burton stores, and mosaic tiles – sometimes including the company logo – in the doorways.

At ground level, foundation stones were often placed by Montague Burton’s four children, Barbara,

Fulham branch

Stanley, Arnold and Raymond. Each store might have one or several foundation stones, each bearing one name and the year. For example: “This stone laid by Raymond Montague Burton 1937”.

Fulham branch

The children were quite young when these stones were laid. Stanley Howard was born in 1914 and laid a stone for the Nottingham Beastmarket Hill store in 1924. At least six stores bear stones laid by Montague’s wife “Lady Burton”, and a number in the mid to late 1930s were laid by Austin Stephen Burton who may have been a grandchild.

Whilst some of these Burton buildings have been destroyed over the years, many are still standing and some of them still have active snooker clubs upstairs. Some were still occupied by Burton stores at the time of Arcadia’s closure in 2020 (often a combined Burton and Dorothy Perkins store) but many others had changed use. McDonald’s first three restaurants in the UK were opened in former Burton stores in 1974 and 1975 as the company was selling property at that time.”

“336-340 Chiswick High Road, Chiswick: The Burton store was probably built in the early or mid 20th century. The store appears to have occupied nos. 338-340 only, as shown in this photograph by the marks of the ‘Burton’ sign on the left of the dark stone fascia.” (Historic England)