A Visit To London’s Oldest Shop: Lock And Co Hatters

I recently paid a visit to one of London’s most iconic shops: Lock and Co Hatters in St James’s. 

It is considered to be the oldest shop in London, but also is said to be the oldest hat shop in the world and is, amazingly, still run by the same family today. 

St James’s: Wealth And Style

The area of St James’s grew as an aristocratic enclave around St James’s Palace.

The palace was built by King Henry VIII in 1536, on what was once the site of a leper hospital: the hospital of St James’s. 

After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, the area around St James’s Palace started to be developed and laid out, grand abodes constructed for those that wanted to be near the monarch. To cater to the needs of these aristocrats, gentlemen and their households, shops started to spring up, particularly along St James’s Street, leading directly to the North from the palace. 

The Origins Of Lock and Co

In 1676 a milliner called Robert Davis sets up a hat shop on St James’s Street. He catered to all the rich and powerful of the period including the Walpoles, the Devonshires and the Bedfords.

Ten years later in 1686, a Mr George Lock opened a shop at number 6 St James’s Street (the same location as the shop today). It was originally a coffeehouse and sold coffee, chocolate and tobacco. 

In 1747, his grandson James Lock became a hatters apprentice to Charles Davis, son of Robert Davis, mentioned above. James also ended up marrying Mary Davis, Charles’ sister and the two families were subsequently intertwined. James therefore, in 1765, ends up with the keys to the Davis hat shop at number 6 and James and Mary ran their hat business from here.

The Building

The building, number 6 St James’s Street, dates then from the late 17th century.

The frontage is 18th century but the door I believe is original with its thick, layered paint.

During the Second World War, a bomb landed in the basement of the shop. Thankfully however, it was a dud and did not explode. 

The building today is Grade II listed by Historic England and therefore, hopefully, protected for the future. 

Iconic Hats

Lock and Co became the hat shop of choice for many of London’s well-to-do. In 1800, Admiral Lord Nelson visited Lock & Co for the first time to order his signature bicorne hat.

He returned a few times but his last recorded visit was in September 1805. Just a month later, on the 21st October 1805, Nelson was shot down on deck of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. 

In 1849 a nobleman called Edward Coke commissioned Lock and Co to design a new hat for his gamekeepers. It needed to be low and sturdy, so that it would not be knocked off by low branches. Lock and Co designed a hat and asked one of their suppliers Thomas Bowler and Son to make it. It was known as the Coke Hat, but is generally today known as the Bowler Hat. 

Other Famous Heads

In 1852 the ‘conformateur’ was invented in France by Allie-Maillard: a head-measuring device that registers the measurements on an oval of paper card, 1/6 the size of the head.

Any hard hats such as top hats, bowler hats etc, can then be fitted exactly to the size of someone’s head. 

In the back of the shop today they have a lovely little museum section. They were very welcoming when I went in and are happy for anyone to go in to learn about the history. 

in the heritage area you see Lock and Co’s conformateur, as well as lots of cards from famous heads they have measured. They have the cards of Laurence Olivier, Charlie Chaplin, Evelyn Waugh, Princess Diana, Franklin D Roosevelt, Eric Clapton, Bradley Wiggins, Jackie O’Nassis and many more. 

In 1882 Oscar Wilde had a fedora fitted at Lock and Co. He wore it on his lecture tour of the USA, but was unable to pay his debt to the shop after he was arrested and imprisoned for homosexual acts or ‘gross indecency’, as it was in law at the time. In 2000 an Oscar Wilde fan sent Lock and Co a cheque for £3.30 in the post, paying off Wilde’s debt. 

Churchill and the Queen

One of their most well known customers was Winston Churchill. He wore a Lock and Co top hat on his wedding day in 1908 for example.

They have his ledger on display, showing that his first recorded visit to the shop itself was in 1911 for a ‘Cambridge’ hat. The Cambridge, a square-crowned bowler, became synonymous with Churchill’s style and he returned to buy many more over the years. 

In 2017 Lock and Co became the official hatter for the film The Darkest Hour featuring Gary Oldman as Churchill. In the heritage room they have the various hats made for that film. 

They also have the Coronation Crown Ledger.

This shows that, in March 1953, purple velvet and ermine were purchased from Lock and Co to reline the St Edward’s Crown and the Imperial State Crown for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. Next to it they have the Queen’s head block, presumably matching the size of her head. 

In 1956 they gained their first Royal Warrant from the Duke of Edinburgh, making them official suppliers to his household. In 2024 this was renewed by King Charles III.

Visiting The Shop

As I mentioned above, they seem to really welcome visitors and the staff were all very friendly.

They are open from 9.30am-5.30pm Monday-Saturday and closed on Sundays.

You can see their website here and browse their men’s and women’s collections. You can also have a look at their heritage page here for more history and old photos.

Thank you for reading, more of London’s historic gems below.