The story of Dingles began with a small drapery shop at 30 Bedford
Edward Dingle opened it in 1880. Within a year he was employing 27 people, including shop assistants, dressmakers and two boys. The business spread into neighbouring premises on Bedford Street and Cornwall Street and grew into one of Plymouth’s best known department stores.
Edward died in 1928 and was buried at Plymouth Old Cemetery, now Ford Park Cemetery. His story is being revisited in a video with Alan Bricknell of Ford Park Cemetery.
By the outbreak of the Second World War, E Dingle & Co ran around 80 departments and had a workforce of more than 500. On the night of 21 March 1941, incendiary bombs set fire to nearby Yeo’s department store. The flames spread to Dingles and the building was burned to the ground.
The company refused to stop trading. It bought and leased shops and houses across Plymouth and its departments were scattered around the city.
A new Dingles opened on Royal Parade on 1 September 1951, with four floors of sales space. It was the first new department store to open in the UK since 1938.
House of Fraser took over E Dingle & Co in 1971. Even as the company name changed, people in Plymouth kept calling the store Dingles.
On 19 December 1988, a firebomb attack gutted the upper floors of the building. It was one of a series of attacks on House of Fraser stores, and animal rights activists later claimed responsibility. The store was rebuilt and carried on trading.
The House of Fraser store closed on 24 March 2026. Babcock has since confirmed the building as the home of its new Plymouth Capability Centre, with plans to move up to 2,000 employees there. No start date for the move has been confirmed.
Photographs © Ford Park Cemetery