Skip to content

New images show how revamped Jenners store will look

Angie Brown
BBC Scotland, Edinburgh and East reporter
David Chipperfield Architects A light airy room with high ceiling which is made of glass and wooden beams. There are white blocks aross a wooden floor with items to purchase on them.David Chipperfield Architects
Windows which were boarded up have been restored, allowing natural daylight to flood into the grand saloon. A new staircase, in the position of the lost original stairs, will connect all levels.

As a three year project begins to revamp one of the world's oldest department stores, images of how it will look inside have been released.

Jenners has been an Edinburgh landmark since it opened in 1838 and has often been dubbed the Harrods of the north.

Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who owns the building, has vowed to return the Victorian department store to its former glory.

The store will remain the same size, while 10,000 sq m (108,000 sq ft) of disused rooms in the upper levels of the six storey building will be made into a hotel.

A crane is poking through the roof set against a blue sky.
A crane has been built through a hole in the roof of the Jenners building

A cafe will be created between the department store and hotel.

Work to strip out old electrical wiring and asbestos began in 2021.

Now that work has been completed, a huge crane, built through a hole in the roof, is being used to remove and replace fixtures and fittings.

Managing director Andrew Keith, who was CEO of Selfridges until recently, said anything taken out of the building was going through the roof by crane.

"We can't take it our through the doors, it's got to all go out using this crane," he told BBC Scotland News.

"The doors aren't big enough.

"I don't want anyone getting worried that we are stripping out all the original features because we're not.

"The only practical way in and out is to use this crane to take out building materials."

David Chipperfield Architects A large white room with stairs at the far end. There are glass cabinets for shoppers to look at products to buy.David Chipperfield Architects
This space was filled in during the 20th century. The project will reinstate this space with its mezzanine gallery and skylight, bringing back the original 1895 form and natural lighting conditions.

Jenners closed its doors for refurbishment in 2020.

It was acquired by House of Fraser in 2005. In 2017, it was purchased by AAA United, a real estate company owned by Anders Holch Povlsen.

Firefighter Barry Martin, 38, died at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh following a fire at the Jenners building in 2023.

David Chipperfield Architects A tiled room with pillars. There are glass cabinets with items for shoppers to buy.David Chipperfield Architects
The project will create a new contemporary department store while retaining its original features

The Victorian facade is also being restored, while the 1966 extension facing on to Princes Street is receiving a new facade, "which respects the older sections of the Jenners building".

The building's parapet will be extended and the roofscape will be tidied as part of plans for a rooftop bar overlooking St Andrew Square.

The rooftop will also include a private terrace for the hotel's corner suite, which will have views of The Mound and Arthur's Seat.

David Chipperfield Architects The old Jenners builging on the right with the extension on the left.David Chipperfield Architects
The Victorian facade is also being restored, while the 1966 extension facing onto Princes Street is receiving a new facade, "which respects the older sections of the Jenners building"

The hotel's entrance will be on Rose Street at the back of the building, while the department store entrances on Princes Street and South St David Street will remain as shop doors.

After the original Jenners building was destroyed by a fire in 1892, architect William Hamilton Beattie designed the current building on Princes Street in the Victorian Renaissance revival style.

The new building opened in 1895 and was extended in 1903.

Further extensions were added in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Jenners department store was highly acclaimed when it opened as the largest department store in Britain, introducing technical innovations such as electric lighting and hydraulic lifts.

The richly decorated interiors, open atrium and extensive use of daylight was pioneering in retail building design.