ALTHOUGH the High Street store opened in 1931, there has been a Marks and Spencer in Colchester since 1911.

In 2011, as Marks and Spencer marked its centenary in Colchester with an all-day celebration, the company reportedly served an average of 70,000 customers a week and employed 156 people.

Jewish immigrant Michael Marks opened the first stall in Leeds, in 1884, selling goods for a penny.

Over the next ten years, he opened more stalls and invited Tom Spencer to become a partner. The business grew from there.

In Colchester, it opened in 1911 at 3 St Botolph’s Street selling a range of items, including sewing equipment, biscuits, toys and sheet music.

The store retained the policy used by Mr Marks of selling almost everything for a penny, apart from a few luxury items.

Goods were displayed on tables and the “admission free” sign outside encouraged people to browse – a marked contrast to most shops at the time, where customers had to ask the shopkeeper for goods stored behind the counter.

But by 1931, larger premises were needed in the town, so the store relocated to High Street.

Over the next few decades, that premises underwent several extensions, including a revamp of the first-floor in the 1950s.