The former premises of Montague Burton in Brentwood, Essex are located at 40-42, High Street, CM.14. The location is typical of what the company looked for in new sites, occupying as it does, a prominent corner position on the main thoroughfare.

The firm’s customary emerald pearl granite foundation stones are dated 1939, with those that survive laid by Arnold James Burton, Sir Montague’s youngest son, Austin Stephen Burton, and Lady Montague Burton, his wife, suggesting that Brentwood had been viewed as an important store when work started. As with other premises, it is possible that further stones were laid but these may have been lost in the years since, when the shopfront was altered.

Given the date of 1939, the new premises would have most likely been designed under the direction of Nathaniel Martin, who had been appointed to lead the Burton Architects Department in 1937, taking over from Harry Wilson, under whom he had previously worked. The 1939 Census shows Martin to have been living at 499, Harrogate Road in the affluent Alwoodley suburb of Leeds. Having served as a Captain with the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment (The Sherwood Foresters) during the First World War, Martin was also in receipt of a disability pension.

Construction of the new building was carried out by George Moss & Sons, Ltd., who were appointed as general contractors on both this and several other Burton stores during the late 1930’s, including that of Southgate, N.14. Based in Leigh, Lancashire, now part of Greater Manchester, the family run business was first incorporated in 1920 and still exists today.

Similar to both Palmers Green and Southgate, the Brentwood premises were constructed in red brick and adhere to the typical Burton style of ground floor selling space along with two upper stories and a parapet wall above, which in this instance, survives intact. There are seven bays to the principal High Street elevation, divided by six Empire stone pilasters, which rise from the first floor to the top of the building, Above the first and second floor windows are decorative friezes, both of a strong ‘Art Deco’ design. The lower band, above the first floor windows, is executed in white glazed terracotta and forms a geometric zigzag pattern, whilst the upper band is finished in Empire stone and is of a wave pattern.

Once again, Burton is no longer present on Brentwood High Street today. Their former building now forms part of the broader Bay Tree Shopping Centre, owned by Columbia Threadneedle, with the premises having been divided up into three retail units, which are currently let to Pandora, Heart of Gold Jewellers, and the fashion retailer, New Look. No trace of the original interior survives in any of the stores, all of which have long since lost their 1939 shopfronts.

Across the exterior, the building is in a generally good condition, however the original metal window casements have been replaced by the usual uPVC alternatives, which once again fail to match the simplicity and authenticity of the originals, much to the detriment of the facade. Having previously served as a snooker club, as was typical of Burton premises, the upper floor is now in use by Bloc40. The entrance door to the nightclub offers the only hint of how the original exterior would have looked at street level, with a small section of wrought iron work still visible above the door.

Historical footage of Burton’s premises taken in 1962 shows that there was once a neon light in the centre of the facade at ground level, however this has long since been removed, whilst modern signage for both Bloc40 and New Look has subsequently been placed over the granite facings. T P Bennett have recently worked up plans to improve the viability of the Bay Tree, which suffers from high vacancy rates, however these do not appear to include the former Burton building.

April, 2019.