D H Evans

{{Infobox building | name = D H Evans | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = House of Fraser (11002036905).jpg | image_size = | image_alt =  | image_caption = The D H Evans store in 2013, then known as House of Fraser | pushpin_map = Greater London | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = D H Evans | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = | alternate_names = | etymology = | status = | cancelled = | topped_out = | building_type = | architectural_style = | classification = | location = [[London]] | address = 320 Oxford Street | location_city =  | location_country = | coordinates = {{Coord|51|30|55.07|N|0|8|46.91|W|scale:1563_region:GB|display=title,inline}} | altitude = | current_tenants = | namesake = | groundbreaking_date = | construction_start_date = | construction_stop_date = | est_completion = | topped_out_date = | completion_date = 1893 | opened_date = | inauguration_date = | relocated_date = | renovation_date = | closing_date = | demolished_date = | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | landlord = | affiliation = | height = | architectural = | tip = | antenna_spire = | roof = | top_floor = | observatory = | diameter = | circumference = | weight = | other_dimensions = | structural_system = | material = | size = | floor_count = | floor_area = | elevator_count = | grounds_area = | architect = | architecture_firm = | developer = | engineer = | structural_engineer = | services_engineer = | civil_engineer = | other_designers = | quantity_surveyor = | main_contractor = | awards = | designations = | known_for = | ren_architect = | ren_firm = | ren_engineer = | ren_str_engineer = | ren_serv_engineer = | ren_civ_engineer = | ren_oth_designers = | ren_qty_surveyor = | ren_contractor = | ren_awards = | number_of_rooms = | parking = | website =  | embed = | embedded = | references = | footnotes = }} '''D H Evans''' was a department store located in [[Oxford Street]], [[London]], England, which later became part of [[House of Fraser]]. The store was rebranded as House of Fraser in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/survey-of-london/2016/03/26/shopping-in-style-d-h-evans-in-1937/|title=Shopping in style – D. H. Evans in 1937 By Survey of London, on 26 March 2016 ucl.ac.uk|accessdate=31 October 2016}}</ref>

==History== D H Evans was opened in 1879 by Dan Harries Evans at 320 Oxford Street. Evans was a Welshman who had trained as draper and had moved to London in 1878.<ref name=DHE>{{cite web|url=https://www.housefraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c1474|title=D H Evans|publisher=House of Fraser archive|accessdate=2016-10-31}}</ref> This store quickly grew and by 1885 he had taken on three of the adjoining stores.

In 1893, the store moved into further new premises at 290-294 Oxford Street and became a [[limited liability company]].<ref name=DHE/> The new company was listed as having capital of £202,000.<ref name=DHE/> The store was grown again with the purchase of 296-306 Oxford Street in 1895 and 308 in 1898. In 1897, Dan Evans resigned as Managing Director but stayed on the board, and was replaced by Harrods manager Ernest Webb on the advice of [[Harrods]] and D H Evans director Richard Burbridge.

The business continued to expand by purchasing the business of neighbors James Goodman and Arthur Saunders, and in 1906, announced the rebuilding of the collection of buildings on the west side of [[Old Cavendish Street]]. In 1915, Dan Evans retired from the board and was replaced by Ernest Webb's son William Wallace Webb.<ref name=DHE/>

By 1928, however, DH Evans realized they could not expand without further investment, and due to the relationship with Harrods agreed a merger with Harrods being the senior partner, with William Burbridge becoming the chairman. Burbridge realized that the business could not continue to operate from two buildings, and so, in 1935, land bounded by Oxford Street, Old Cavendish Street, Henrietta Street and Chapel Place was acquired and demolished for a new store.<ref name=DHE/> The architect chosen was Louis Blanc and the new store fully opened in 1937 after being built in two phases.<ref name=DHE37>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/survey-of-london/2016/03/26/shopping-in-style-d-h-evans-in-1937/|title=Shopping in style – D. H. Evans in 1937|work=Survey of London|date=2016-03-26|publisher=University College London|accessdate=2016-10-31}}</ref> The former East block of the store was sold to John Spedan Lewis, of the [[John Lewis Partnership]] for £848,500.

[[File:Stanley Green by Sean Hickin, Oxford Street, London, 1974 (2).jpg|thumb|upright|Campaigner [[Stanley Green (Protein Man)|Stanley Green]] outside D H Evans in 1974]] After the war, D H Evans purchased the Devon business of [[J F Rockhey]], and D H Evans was run as a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrods. In 1954, Harrods was purchased by [[House of Fraser]], and D H Evans become a trading arm within the Harrods group. A second D H Evans store was added in Wood Green, London in 1980, and the Oxford Street store was refurbished twice between 1982 and 1985.<ref name=DHE/>

In 2001, the store was rebranded under the House of Fraser name.<ref name=DHE37/> The store closed permanently in January 2022.

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans D H}} [[Category:House of Fraser]] [[Category:Harrods]] [[Category:Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Shops in London]] [[Category:Luxury brands]] [[Category:1879 establishments in England]] [[Category:Retail companies established in 1879]] [[Category:British companies established in 1879]] [[Category:British companies disestablished in 2001]]