Telephone exchange
No 40 King Street forms the north-west corner with New Street, and was home in the late 19th century to the National Telephone Company, so it was Jersey's first telephone exchange. The poles to which the telephone lines for St Helier's earliest subscribers were connected can be seen in the top of the picture on the right.
China and glass
The company leased the first and second floors of the building from Clementina Hamon, wife of John Francis Gaudin, until the building was sold in 1899 to Wilfred Le Cheminant, who continued the business of china and glass dealer which had been carried on by the Gaudins. The telephone exchange then moved to 22 Bath Street
The property, which was known as 40 King Street and 2 New Street, was occupied by cooper Robert Quarm in 1834, was sold by him in 1839 to William Quesnel. It must have been sold again to William Jones, who traded there as a draper until, apparently, he died in 1855. It it was then acquired by Clement Hamon, and passed to his daughter Clementina when he died in 1872. Clement was earlier in business at No 41 across the street, certainly as early as 1851, when he and his family were listed in the census. He was followed there by watchmaker John Mallet.We have no information on when he crossed the street, except that it must have been by 1874, when he is shown at No 40 in a commercial directory, with John Mallet at No 41..
Wilfred Le Cheminant ceased trading some time in the 1930s, and the shop was taken over by Colley and Co, who later traded as the Fifty Shilling Tailors, and remains a men's outfitter to this day, now occupied by Top Man and Top Shop.
Chronology
- 1834 - Robert Quarm, cooper
- 1851 - Not listed in census
- 1850s - William Jones, draper
- 1861 - Not listed in census
- 1871 - Clement Hamon, china and glass dealer
- 1880-1890 - John Francis Gaudin, china and glass warehouse
- 1900-1930 - Wilfred Le Cheminant, china dealer
- 1940-1955 - Fifty Shilling Tailors
- 1960-1980 - John Collier mens' outfitters
- 1990-2020 - Top Man, Top Shop