Palmers Pet Stores

Palmers Pet Stores is a pet shop dating from around 1938, occupying the ground floor of two three-storey terraced houses built in the 1820s. The two houses, each originally a single bay, form part of a larger terrace on what is now Parkway in Camden.

The shop front is symmetrical and spans both properties as a unified composition. It features three large display windows with two entrance doors flanked by smaller curved display cabinets set within the porches. The front is constructed of painted black wood with brass surrounds to the curved display windows at the corners. Mosaic tiling runs along the pavement outside and within the porches, with the lettering 'PALMERS' worked into the porch tiles. The upper horizontal elements of the window surrounds are scored with triglyph-style grooves, and classical paterae ornament the four corners of the timber surrounds. Above, the fascia carries carved wooden lettering on a white background. The two halves are each centred with 'PALMERS', flanked by smaller panels reading, from left to right: 'MONKEYS', 'TALKING PARROTS', 'REGENT PET STORES', and 'NATURALISTS'. These panels describe the shop's stock in detail. Above the shop, single window openings retain their original sash windows. The first-floor sashes show evidence of having been cut down in size, presumably when the ground-floor openings were reduced in height to accommodate the shop front. The brickwork to the front remains largely intact.

The interior shop fittings have been removed, but a large rectangular skylight from the early 20th century survives, designed to light the rear of the shop. Such features are rarely retained in post-war shop conversions, making its survival noteworthy. The upper floors preserve a good degree of 1820s joinery. The staircase of No. 37 survives, though its balusters have been replaced except for the final few at the top of the flight. Several door cases with elegant fluted pilasters and architraves date from the 1820s. Cornices, skirting boards, some plank panelling, and two alcoves flanking the position of a former fireplace represent good survival of original joinery, modest in character as befitted a humble dwelling. Horned sash windows of 19th-century date serve the rear. The rear elevation is obscured by early 20th-century extensions built into what were formerly the gardens of the houses. These extensions, particularly the section containing the skylight, are likely connected with the conversion of the ground floor to commercial use.

The building's history begins with records showing it unoccupied in 1918. By 1921, Mrs Florence Palmer, a bird dealer, was trading from 83 Park Street (now numbered 35 Parkway; the street name changed during the Second World War). In 1924, the business passed to Mr George Palmer, presumably Mrs Florence Palmer's nephew or son. Under George's ownership, the business expanded westwards into the adjacent house. Between 1937 and 1941, the shop began to be registered at both Nos. 35 and 37 Parkway, at which time the new unified shop front was designed and installed. The panel reading 'Regent Pet Stores' may have been added in 1954, though it was more probably included in the late 1930s refurbishment and only subsequently selected as the principal trading name.

Palmers Pet Stores occupied a significant location on one of the main thoroughfares leading to London Zoo, the world's first scientific zoo, which opened to the public in 1847. The Zoo opened the first children's zoo in 1938, precisely when Palmer's expanded into No. 37 and installed its new shop front. The shop's prosperity in this location is unsurprising, expanding from bird dealership into more exotic pets such as the monkeys advertised on the fascia. The choice of trading name 'Regent Pet Stores', evident in the shop front lettering, further emphasizes the connection between the exotic animals in the Zoo and those offered for sale at Palmer's.

When Mrs Florence Palmer arrived at 83 Park Street around 1921, she occupied a building of considerable age. Parkway, leading towards Regent's Park laid out from 1818, dates from the 1820s and 1830s and represents one of the earliest phases of development in the Camden area. Christopher and John Greenwood's map of 1830 shows the street lined with buildings and clearly depicts the terrace later occupied by Palmer's. On the north side of Parkway, a pair of houses in their original state survives at Nos. 98 and 100, but most other properties, like Palmer's, were converted to retail use at ground level from the mid-19th century onwards. The modest scale of the original development is largely preserved, particularly in the western portion of the street. The best-preserved terrace is the section containing Palmer's on the south side between Arlington Road and Albert Street, where the absence of roof extensions has maintained original building heights.

The building holds special significance as a pair of early 19th-century terraced houses converted to retail use around 1921. The shop front of approximately 1938 is of particular historic interest as a rare survival of a pet shop advertising exotic pets, with distinctive sign panels reading 'MONKEYS' and 'TALKING PARROTS'. This significance is heightened by the shop's proximity to London Zoo, also articulated in the 'REGENT PET STORES' lettering. The building possesses considerable architectural interest: the 1930s shop front displays fine detailing including brass surrounds to the curved glass side windows and circular paterae marking each corner of the panels; the upper floors retain good survival of late Georgian features, including sash windows and door cases with fluted surrounds, relating to the buildings' original development as a pair of terraced houses.