Blackheath Village from roundabout 1898.

Hinds remarkable enterprise began in 1887 when two young men, john Prichard and John Hinds opened a drapery shop at No 8 Beaconsfield Buildings. in 1889 they took over No 9. soon after the single storey extension towards the road was added.

Trade was successful and Hinds, now without Prichard, added a large workshop at the rear whwre he manufactured ladies underwear and baby clothes. He acquired all the buildings in Beaconsfiled Buildings with the exception of Nos 1 & 2, then held by the London and County Bank, took on the lease of Whittaker and Browns old shops (now JigSaw) at Nos 5 & 7 Tranquil Vale, including the old Blackheath Literary Institution building which added more than 3000sq ft to Hinds manufacturing space.

When the Company celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1912 it traded from 50 departments and employed more than 200 staff. In the 1930s a branch store was built in Eltham which traded for many years as Allders.

The outbreak of war in 1939 but the resultant shortage of raw materials coupled with the expiry of the leases of 5 & 7 Tranquil Vale saw the company go into decline. From a staff of 200 and three department stores in 1944, ten years later it had effectively gone with the original premises at 8/9 Lee Beaconsfield Buildings being used by an associate company, Edward Evans Ltd, as a mail order business.