Joseph Hopson set up his furniture business in 1854 following the purchase of premises in West Street, Newbury. Devonshire born businessman Alfred Camp opened Camp’s Drapery Bazaar in Northbrook Street, right in the heart of Newbury, some years later in 1886. Joseph’s grandson son, Paul, married Alfred Camp’s daughter, Norah, in 1920. The following year the two businesses merged to form Camp Hopson, taking over the premises in Northbrook Street where the store still stands today. In 1998, Camp Hopson’s Furniture Centre was opened, offering furniture, beds, carpets and soft furnishings from an award-winning building located across the car park behind the Department Store. In 2004-5, the Grade II listed Department Store underwent a comprehensive programme of refurbishment, creating a fully air-conditioned contemporary retail environment trading from three floors.
