In the post-war era, Edinburgh boasted a long list of them within a mile’s radius of the Castle. Sadly, the vast majority of them closed their doors long ago.
Many of the Capital’s large department stores had thrived since the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but over the course of the 20th century, as shopping trends shifted, theygradually began to close one by one.
Take a look through our photo gallery to see a dozen of the most iconic Edinburgh department stores that are sadly no longer open.
13. Jenners Department Store
It is one of Princes Street’s landmark buildings and is one of the first sights many will see as they arrive into the Capital. Jenners was one of the country’s first department stores, and has always been synonymous with class and style. In 2005, House of Fraser purchased the store, that had been operated by the Douglas-Miller family, who had been in charge since the founders retired. House of Fraser retained the Jenners name, and revamped the store with a £3 million investment, the most notable change being the creation of the basement toy store. The building itself was purchased by Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen in 2017. It closed in December 2020 and was vacated by House of Fraser in May 2021. Photo: Third Party