Site History

Site History

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The site has a long history of commercial and retail use.

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The broader area around the site developed from the early 18th century, with construction of St Philip’s Church commencing in 1709.

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The business that later became Rackhams began in 1851, when William Winter Riddell and Henry Wilkinson opened a retail drapery shop on Bull Street, with a wholesale branch established on Temple Row in 1863.

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The store expanded progressively through the late 19th and early 20th centuries but suffered a direct hit during an air raid in 1940, destroying approximately one-third of the premises.

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Construction of the current Rackhams building commenced in 1957 as part of the post-war redevelopment of the urban block, with the new store opening in phases in the 1960s. The building has undergone internal alterations and refurbishments across subsequent decades up until the 2000s.

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Following the acquisition of House of Fraser by Sports Direct in 2018, the store continued trading until closing permanently in June 2026.

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43 Temple Row was constructed in 1980 to designs by James A. Roberts Associates and has remained largely unchanged since that time.