Names that made the High Street (3)

From haberdashery to quality food, and many things besides.

Michael Marks was a Polish Jew who, when he came to England, worked for a company in Leeds, called Barran, which employed refugees. In 1884 he met Isaac Dewhurst, the owner of a Leeds warehouse, and he opened a new stall on Kirkgate Market, in Leeds.

Marks went on to open market stalls across the North West of England, and then in 1894, Thomas Spencer invested in Marks' activities and they opened their first store, in partnership, at 20, Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester.

The rest, as they say, is history.