Models of iconic department store to go on display

The models were commissioned to mark 150 years since the first Jacksons store opened in Reading

Three scale models of an iconic department store are to go on public display.

Jacksons was founded in 1875, and its flagship store in Reading remained open until 2013.

Now, scale models of three of its former locations in the town are set to go on display at Reading Museum from 2 December to mark 150 years since the family-run chain first opened.

The models depict Jacksons Corner, which sold clothing; the Duke Street store, which sold household items; and the boot and shoe department on the High Street.

Thomas Macey, who works for the Didcot Railway Centre and commissioned the models, said it would be "wonderful" to see them on display together for the first time.

The 38-year-old began working in the store's school uniform department in 2004 when he was 16.

He said the store was known for its "old fashioned" shopping experience and its unique "cash railway".

"We had to put the money into a little glass cannister and send it through the tubes to the cash office," he said.

"It was basically like stepping back in time to how shopping used to be."

The models depict the stores as they would have looked in the Edwardian era

Over the time he worked there, Mr Macey became a key holder and personal assistant to one of the directors and, when the last store closed, was given the archives by the Jackson family.

"It's through those archives that the models were made," he said.

The project with Monk's Gate Models has taken about five years, Mr Macey said.

"It's been constant phone calls and emails throughout those five years," he said.

"[We worked] to make these models as accurate as possible, even including tiny price labels on the stock in pounds, shillings and pence."

The store was known for its Lamson cash system, in which money was sent through tubes in glass cannisters

He said Jacksons continued to be important for the people of Reading - and for him.

"There's still a huge following for it from the public... it's a really famous landmark," he said.

"I'm just proud of the fact that I was a local man who, at the age of 16, worked for a famous company.

"It just became part of my life - and it still is."