Much-loved Reading department store remembered in exhibition

Few Reading institutions have been more beloved in the town’s recent history than Jacksons department store.

Now an exhibition at Reading museum is paying tribute to the much-loved store.

Jacksons was famed for its traditional approach to service and its long history as a family business. Visits to the store became a rite of passage for Reading children, where they would acquire their latest uniforms for school, Scouts, and Guides.

The historic store was started by Edward Jackson in 1875 and remained in operation for 138 years.

The exhibition was inspired by Thomas Macey who worked at the store for its final 10 years, having joined the staff at age of sixteen.

So fond of the store and his memories of working there he commissioned detailed models of how the store looked in 1904. Those models form the backbone of the temporary exhibition now on at Reading museum.

Thomas said: "You came in as the customer you were treated as a VIP served individually with hand written receipts and beautiful old counters and a way of service as it used to be, it really was a time warp department store."

Brendan Carr is the Community Engagement Curator at Reading Museum and said the models were so good they had to be displayed: "People have responded so well to seeing these models and taking a trip down memory lane, every body remembers going to Jacksons to buy their school uniforms and the very unusual atmosphere."

Though the store closed its doors in 2013, its Hollywood-style signage still stands tall over Reading’s Jacksons Corner.

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