I didn't know that about Kingston

I am fascinated by local history and sometime ago bought The Kingston Book to learn more about the area I live in.  I noticed that there is not a lot of this sort of info on kingstonpeople so have taken it upon myself to add some of the snippets I enjoyed from the book.  It would be great if others could contribute their fascinating facts as well...

The first tidbit is below...as Kingston is considered a fantastic shopping destination, I thought this was a good place to start.  Hope you enjoy it!

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'In 1867, Frank Bentall took on a struggling little drapery shop in Clarence Street.  Within a year he had increased weekly takings almost 200% and began a gradual expansion that, under the leadership of his son, Leonard, made Bentalls the largest privately-owned store in Europe until it went public in 1946.

Leonard, who pioneered car parking, restaurants, escalators and other previously unknown department store facilities, is often referred to as "the man who made Kingston".  He died in 1942 and his life-sized bronze likeness, stand near one of the store's entrances as a memorial to his enterprise.

His two sons, Gerald and Rowan, and later his grandson, Edward, took the helm until 2001, when the Kingston store and its 5 branches were acquired by Fenwicks.

Source:  The Kingston Book (2006) by June Sampson