PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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Alfred Coster was born in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, in 1844. It would appear he was the eldest son of Mr Edwin Coster and a Miss Fleming. He had at least one young brother, Edmund, born in 1856. In 1881 Mr Alfred Coster and his wife Mary Ann were living at 5 Prospect Street, Plymouth, and he was described as a "Draper's Shopwalker". By 1891 he had become the Manager of Mr John Yeo's store and lived at 11 Headland Park, Plymouth. There were no children. In 1894 he left Yeo's and set up on his own at 5 Frankfort Street. Mr Alfred Coster died suddenly of a heart attack on April 10th 1906. He was living at number 21 Headland Park at that time. His funeral was held at Woolborough, Newton Abbot. His brother Edmund, who was a grocer in Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and his brother-in-law, Mr H T Parker, were present. Legend has it that the business was then purchased by members of the Leatherby and Prynn families for the princely sum of 100 gold sovereigns (£100). So who were they? Mr Edward B Prynn was a tailor and outfitter at number 10 Tavistock Street in Devonport. He and his wife, Ellen, had several children, of whom the eldest was Bessie, born in 1858. They later had two boys, Ernest and Bertie, who both joined the business as apprentice tailors. In the meantime, Miss Bessie Prynn had met a shipwright by the name of Mr Edward James Francis Leatherby and on December 26th 1883 they married at Stoke Damerel Parish Church. While still continuing his job as an overseer of shipwrights in the Royal Dockyard, they opened a draper's shop at 34 Flora Street, Plymouth, on the Stonehouse side of the Great Western Railway's line to Millbay Station. Edward and Bessie had at least two sons: Edward Stanley Leatherby was born in 1884 and Francis George Leatherby in 1886. It has been impossible to identify exactly who purchased Coster's business but the two Leatherby sons certainly went on to take a very active part in running it in later years. Mr Edward Stanley Leatherby married Miss Emily Sarah Proctor at Cobourg Street Primitive Methodist Chapel on March 13th 1910. Mr Francis George Leatherby married Miss Ada Leigh at the same Chapel on April 17th 1912 and on December 29th 1913 they had a son, Mr Geoffrey Gordon Leatherby. As properties in Frankfort Street became empty the Leatherby's bought them and added to the store. In 1931 their building in Frankfort Street was given a major revamp. By buying the former Capital and Counties Bank at the rear in George Street, they were able to construct a glass arcade, over an eighth of a mile in length, between the two Streets. The frontage in Frankfort Street was increased from 170 feet to 370 feet and the number of windows from 52 to 120. The architect for the work was Mr Barron, the structural contractor were Messrs Pearn Brothers and the construction of the arcade was in the hands of Messrs Harris, of George Street. Including the branches at Exeter and Torquay, the business was employing some 250 staff. Both sets of buildings were destroyed in the Second World War as a result of which Coster's moved in to temporary premises in what little remained of George Street, close to Derry's Clock. Later they took over nine properties in different parts of the Centre. Mr Edward Stanley Leatherby died in Plympton on Tuesday March 23rd 1948 at the age of 64. In addition to his role as joint managing director of Coster's he is credited with having turned Plymouth into a holiday resort. It was his personal dream that the City should overcome the problem of having no beach by providing a lido and sun terraces, which came to fruition in his term as Mayor of Plymouth for 1933-34. He was a member of the Liberal Party and to commemorate his year as Mayor he gave a fishermen's shelter on the Barbican, which is now used by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Once the reconstruction of Plymouth's City Centre got underway, they opened a new store in New George Street. That was at 9.30am on Thursday July 22nd 1954. Mrs Ada Leatherby died on Saturday August 4th 1956 at 72 years of age. Mr Francis George Leatherby died at the South Devon & East Cornwall Hospital, Greenbank, Plymouth, on the evening of Saturday June 15th 1957. He had first joined Plymouth Borough Council, as it then was, in 1928 as a representative of Compton Ward and he continued to be their Councillor right up to the time of his death. He was elected an Alderman and in 1936-37 was chosen to be Lord Mayor. He was again chosen in 1939 but stood down in favour of Lord Astor, whose influence, it was felt, would be of great value to the City. He did eventually get to serve a second term in 1949-50 and was the first of Plymouth's Mayors to serve from May to May instead of November to November as it had been for around four centuries. In October 1949 he and the Lady Mayoress, Mrs Ada Leatherby, had welcomed the young Princess Elizabeth to the City when she came to unveil a tablet to mark the commencement of the reconstruction of St Andrew's Church. And the following month they welcomed home the crew of HMS Amethyst after their adventures on the river Yangtse. During his life, Mr Leatherby had been a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Plymouth Mercantile Association and for 15 years was the chairman of the Plymouth National Savings Committee. He had also been a director of Plymouth Argyle Football Club and a committee member of the City of Plymouth Amateur Operatic and Dramatics Society. Control of the business passed to their son, Mr Geoffrey Gordon Leatherby, a former pupil of Taunton School and Plymouth College, while the daughter, Miss Patricia Leatherby, married Mr David Cundy, one of the farming family of Plympton. After a massive three-week long "Sale" the business ceased trading in November 1978 and the building was converted in to a new store for Messrs W H Smith & Son Ltd. They have continued to occupy the premises since it re-opened in December 1980. Mr Geoffrey Gordon Leatherby died at his home in Seymour Road, Mannamead, Plymouth, on Saturday December 7th 1985. He was 71 years of age.
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