withdrawn to manage the London store as a separate concern. Post Debenhams History In July 1883 Cavendish House Ltd was registered as a limited liability company to acquire the Cheltenham business with a capital of £35,000. George Hewitt, chairman of the new company, took most of the shares and the remainder were largely split between John Cooper, an accountant and secretary of the company, Charles Williams, manager of the general departments, and Albert Chapman Nicholls, manager of the furnishing section (and father of singer Agnes Nicholls). In 1888, upon Hewitt's retirement, the first company was liquidated and reconstructed as Cavendish House Ltd, a public company with a capital of £85,000. J C Griffith became chairman and John Cooper, Charles Williams and Albert Nichols initially remained managing directors. Both Hewitt and Debenham had modest shareholdings which were gradually sold off over the following years. By 1890, the store had a floor space of 20,000 square feet. The capital provided by the public flotation of the business allowed the implementation of an extensive refurbishment programme. In 1891, a new frontage of plate glass, with a frieze of richly coloured leaded windows, was erected, and, in 1898, electric lighting was installed throughout the store. In 1903, Brunswick House, a silk mercery business established in 1851 by William Thomson Smith at 3 Promenade Villas, Cheltenham was purchased on favourable terms. The acquisition was financed by the issue, in November 1903, of £20,000 of debentures. During 1904, the company also purchased 56 Regent Street, London, which was used for the bedding department. In 1920, a gentlemen's outfitter and music shop were acquired with capital raised by the issue of a further £30,000 of debentures, and, in 1928, a site in Regent's Mews, formerly a livery stable, was acquired and opened as showrooms. In July 1928, the company was taken over by Standard Industrial Trust, Broad Street Place, London, which also owned Morgan Squire Ltd, department store, Leicester, England. In 1931, the Cheltenham premises were entirely refurbished, creating a large store of over 163,000 square feet, with a 287-foot frontage on the Promenade. (Obvious typo for 1837, see above, In 1951, Cavendish House bought Cheltenham drapers Ayris Ltd, also based on the Promenade. In 1957, the company opened a branch store in Oxford Street, London, but it proved impossible to manage effectively from a distance and the venture was closed within three months. In 1961, a