Why Is Harrods So Famous And What Makes It So Special?

With over 300 departments, including an entire floor dedicated to food and another for perfumes, Harrods is a veritable paradise for shoppers. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been to this haven of shopping in the British capital or not, the fact is, you will be fascinated with what this place has in store for you.

Harrods is the largest department store in the world. The store has been deemed a “worldwide byword for luxury and quality.” The idea that Harrods has the largest department store in the world may surprise you. So let’s examine some of its distinguishing qualities and why it is superior to those of other renowned department stores.

Harrods is the World’s Largest Department Store

Harrods is one of the world’s largest department stores. The first shop was opened on Brompton Road, Knightsbridge. The original building has since been demolished, but it still exists today as the Harrods Food Halls, which was once home to Harrods’ tea room.

Harrods is famous for its architecture. The building itself is an amazing piece of art with an Egyptian theme. It was designed by Charles William Stevens, who also designed other buildings such as the Royal Institute of British Architects building in London and the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The exterior has been described as “an ornate confection.” It is made of red brick with white stone trimmings that make it look like an Egyptian temple. 

Harrods History

Harrods’ history can be traced back to 1834 when Charles Henry Harrod opened a small grocery store at 216 Oxford Street. The store grew rapidly, and in 1877 John Harrod took over from his father and moved the business to 1 Brompton Road. In 1884 he commissioned architect Alfred Waterhouse to build a new building on this site; this building was designed to resemble a French Renaissance palace, complete with turrets and ornate window frames inspired by his travels in Europe.

The first escalator was installed in Knightsbridge Station in 1898, which made it easier for customers to get from street level up to Harrods on Brompton Road. But it wasn’t until 1911 that escalators were installed inside Harrods itself; at this point, five single-line escalators were installed at different points around the store. 

Today there are more than 40 pairs of escalators between street level and lower ground floor level.

Harrods Has A Great Selection Of Food

If you want to dine at Harrods, you won’t be dissatisfied because it has a great food court with many different restaurants and cafés, including burgers, Asian food, curries, pizzas, and much more. You can also buy snacks from their convenience store or enjoy a delicious meal in one of their restaurants, such as The Brasserie, or their bar & grill restaurant called The Automobile Club.

There are also several restaurants inside the store, including The Palm Court Restaurant, which serves English cuisine with French flair, and The Dining Room.

 These restaurants serve classic British fares such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding alongside more exotic offerings such as braised ox cheek with bone marrow mash or seared duck breast with apple puree, red cabbage, and bacon lardons.

The Great Exhibition

Major credit for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park goes to the well-known Knightsbridge location of Harrods. From 1824 to 1831, Charles Henry Harrod had a draper and haberdashery shop in Borough High Street. He opened a grocery store in Clerkenwell’s Upper Whitecross Street in 1832. To take advantage of the business generated by the 1851 Great Exhibition in neighboring Hyde Park, he took over a store on the site of the modern Harrods in 1849.

Iconic Logo

Harrods is a British department store chain with its flagship store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London. The Harrods logo is one of the most recognizable in the world and has been used by the company for over a century.

The Harrods logo was designed by Charles Holroyd Collins and was first used in advertisements in 1894. It was initially intended to represent a knight’s helmet, but it has come to represent Harrods.

The Harrods logo has undergone many changes over the years, most notably being updated in the 1960s to include an image of its flagship store on Brompton Road. This new version featured a picture of an Egyptian Sphinx sitting above a pyramid with a golden crown on top.

Royal Warrant Of Appointment

The Royal Warrant of Appointment symbolizes the British king’s approval. It is an outward symbol of royal favor and can be granted to individuals, companies, or institutions.

King Edward VII, famed for his passion for horses, gave Harrods a Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1910. (he was nicknamed “the racehorse king”). The store’s royal warrant makes it the oldest British retailer with a royal warrant.

Harrods has also been awarded three further Royal Warrants: in 1954 by Queen Elizabeth II, in 1997, and again in 2018 by Prince Charles, who gave a speech while visiting the store.

Harrods has also been honored with awards from various other organizations over the years, including The British Book Awards (Best Retailer), The London Good Food Award (Best Supermarket), and the Restaurant & Catering Review Annual Award (Best Department Store).

A 600-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy

The first ever mummy to be displayed publicly in Europe was at Harrods when Charles Harrod exhibited it in his shop window in 1835. The mummy had been bought from Egyptologist Giovanni Belzoni, who had found it during his excavations at Thebes in the 1820s.

It remained on display for 20 years before being sold to another collector, who kept it for another 40 years before donating it to the University College London (UCL) Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where it remains today.

A Festival Of Lights

Harrods is most famous for its Christmas display which has been running since 1920 when Harrods first installed an electric lighting display outside their windows on Oxford Street to promote their Christmas shopping sales. The annual festival now attracts over four million visitors who come to see the lights, which are turned on every year on the first Friday after Thanksgiving Day in November.

Harrods Art Gallery

The Harrods art gallery is one of the most famous and popular worldwide.

 It has been ranked as one of the best art galleries in the world and is home to beautiful paintings, sculptures, and other pieces of art from around the world. 

The Harrods art gallery has hundreds of exhibits available. Some are permanent displays, while others rotate throughout the year so that visitors always have something new to see when they visit.

The Harrods art gallery is open to both staff members and the public alike and is free to enter. The various exhibitions on show at any given moment are all available for visitors to peruse for as long as they desire. However, if you want to spend more than thirty minutes looking at any one piece, you’ll need a special pass from security so that they know you’re not trying to steal anything.

Harrods boasts some amazing pieces of art in its collection, including works by Picasso and Leonardo Da Vinci, amongst many others. There are also some beautiful sculptures by Rodin on display here that showcase his skill as an artist using just stone or metal for his mediums.

In the end, Harrods is more than just a store. It’s iconic—a symbol of luxury and opulence. So be sure to visit London and see for yourself if you’re searching for more than simply another shopping experience. 

Everyone loves a place full of history, and Harrods serves every bit of this specification. You won’t just learn the history of this town but also fall in love with it!