Manchester residents, a quick question

While re-organizing my display I came across a cased single ring that I bought off ebay from a fellow in england.

On the inner lid there is a store sticker, it's labelled as such:

Whiting's
6 Market Street
(under royal exchange)
Manchester

I'm just curious if such a store still exists or if someone had ever heard of it or maybe had been a customer, interestingly enough google puts that address right next to manchester city hall.

hutchster said:

I'm just curious if such a store still exists or if someone had ever heard of it or maybe had been a customer, interestingly enough google puts that address right next to manchester city hall.

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You sure you're not looking at Manchester, NH there?

This Whittard Teas & Coffees is in what is today 6 Market St in Manchester, England. Of course, it'd be hard to guarantee that the addresses haven't changed at all in the interim since that whole general area has undergone a fair amount of redevelopment with that massive shopping mall across the street, but that particular building certainly looks old enough to have been there since that era.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Exchange,_Manchester might help. There seems to be an underground retail arcade.

I suppose it very well could be, but the whole royal exchange thing made me think england plus it came from england via ebay, but you never can know for sure with these things eh.

MacDaddy said:

You sure you're not looking at Manchester, NH there?

This Whittard Teas & Coffees is in what is today 6 Market St in Manchester, England. Of course, it'd be hard to guarantee that the addresses haven't changed at all in the interim since that whole general area has undergone a fair amount of redevelopment with that massive shopping mall across the street, but that particular building certainly looks old enough to have been there since that era.

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There's quite a few Market Streets in Manchester and its suburbs, I don't suppose it is any more specific?

EDIT - scrap that, spotted the 'under royal exchange' part.

I used to work a stones throw from Market Street - that shopping mall is the Arndale, been there for a good 40 odds years I reckon. A lot of old victorian and georgian buildings still around that immediate area though.

WG Whiting, 6 Market Street were advertising as Cutlers in the Manchester UK local newspapers in the early part of the 20th century. I just had a look at the Newspaper archive, I don't have a subscription to this site so only can see a limited amount.
They sold Straight razors, Barometers as well as Gillettes.

The store no longer exists, but there is a small shopping arcade in the royal exchange and that contains a tobacconist, Aston's I think, that sells a small range of shaving gear,merkur razors, TOBS creams and soaps, a range of proraso goods as well as brushes and some straights I think k

hutchster said:

I suppose it very well could be, but the whole royal exchange thing made me think england plus it came from england via ebay, but you never can know for sure with these things eh.

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No, I'm sure it's Manchester, England. What I meant was that when you said that the address was right next to the city hall, I'm pretty sure you were looking at the result for Manchester, NH.

Google Maps plots the address in Manchester, England in the wrong location (in the next block over) if you just do a straight search. But that Whittard of Chelsea tea and coffee shop that I linked above in Street View is what would appear to be in the current 6 Market Street, which is also under the Royal Exchange.

Incidentally, I found this 1910 AutoStrop ad that has a testimonial from and (I presume) portrait of W.G. Whiting: