Once a fine example of ‘Art Deco’ architecture on the British high street, the former Burton menswear store at 18-24, Chase Side in London’s Southgate, N.14., now stands as a shadow of its former self, having lost all trace of its original shopfront, with the former selling space now home to a branch of Barclays Bank, along with a photography studio: ‘Photography by Adam’.

All that remains at street level are the four foundation stones, all in the same emerald pearl granite that Burton used across the new store base. These were laid in 1938 by his three children: Stanley Howard Burton (1914-1991), Raymond Montague Burton (1917-2011), and Arnold James Burton (1917-2013), along with Austin Stephen Burton (b.1929).

The general contractors for the new building were the Leigh, Lancashire-based firm of George Moss & Sons, Ltd., who were actively involved with Burton on several other sites during the period including the new store in Brentwood, Essex. Whilst Southgate occupies a narrower site than Brentwood, it’s design is near-identical, other than the friezes above the windows, which in this instance are an ‘Art Deco’ geometric repeating pattern.

The upper floors of the North London building have been converted to residential use, and are now known as ‘Opal Court’. As has happened at both the former Palmers Green and Brentwood premises, however, the original metal window frames have been lost and replaced by the usual uPVC alternatives, which only ever serve to detract from the original design language, as is the case here.

Another unique and notable loss to the Southgate store is the parapet wall, which was a trademark of Nathaniel Martin, who took over the running of the Burton Architects Department From Harry Wilson. The original parapet, from which would have once hung a large “Let Montague Burton Dress You” sign, supplied by Franco Signs of Oxford Street, W.1., has been removed from the top of the building with the roof now awkwardly capped just above the second floor, negating the effect of the four vertical pilasters.

Ironically, a recent planning application in 2016 had sought to reinstate the parapet wall, so as to ultimately hide a third floor extension to the building. Whilst the London Borough of Enfield Council approved the initial application, they subsequently refused permission for the extension, meaning that no work has progressed to date. Prior to the loss of the parapet, the store would have otherwise looked similar to nearby Palmers Green.

April, 2019