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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Harrods
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(London SW1) Britain's most famous department store, seen in its heyday as the ultimate in luxury. It derives from a small grocery shop on the same site which was taken over in 1849 by Charles Henry Harrod (1800–85). It was his son Charles Digby Harrod (1841–1905) who expanded the business. The present store, occupying the entire block, was built in 1894–1912. Two of its most famous features – the terracotta façade on the Brompton Road (lit by 11,500 bulbs) and the decorative tiles in the food halls – were produced by the *Doulton pottery at Lambeth.
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In 1985 Harrod's was the subject of a bitterly contested takeover battle between Al-Fayed and *Lonrho. The Egyptian Al-Fayed brothers won the day, but Lonrho's persistent accusations of financial irregularity (reinforced by a critical 1990 report on the takeover by the Department of Trade and Industry) have kept the dispute in the public eye.
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