These images of Marks and Spencer in Croydon are a far cry from the bustling department store which dominates North End today.

But - somewhat incredibly - the store celebrates its centenary this year and the Croydon Guardian is looking back over its 100-year presence in the town.

The first Croydon shop opened in December 1906 at 7 London Road, with a small area covering just 2,000 feet. By November 1925 a new site at 118 North End had opened.

The department store empire was founded by Russian-born Polish refugee Michael Marks and Mancunian, Tom Spencer.

Marks opened a stall at Leeds Kirkgate Market in 1884 and by 1893 he teamed up with former cashier Spencer to open a store in Manchester.

Neither would live to see the incredible growth of the retail chain. Tom Spencer died on July 25, 1905, and Michael Marks on December 31, 1907.

Last week the Croydon store celebrated its 100th birthday with a birthday cake and more than 50 of its longest-serving staff, including Chris Duffy who has worked at the store for 28 years.

To celebrate reaching 100, the store is being expanded by 1,000 square feet. Phase one of the work has already been completed with phase two planned to begin in January next year.

Colin Hamilton, manager of the Croydon store, said: "We're really excited to be celebrating our 100th birthday in the coming weeks. It's a fantastic achievement made even more memorable by the store re-design.

"We've been trading in Croydon since 1906 so it's good to tie the celebrations in with showing the stores latest new design."

Between 1894 and 1914 Marks and Spencer consisted of stalls and penny bazaars, where all goods were a penny and included buttons, hairclips, cotton, picture hooks, music sheets, notepads, tins of tacks and small children's toys.

However, due to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the penny price policy was difficult to retain. Prices had to increase over the years resulting in the new five shilling price policy, formally introduced in 1927.

In the late 1920s, some clothing and food was introduced, like gloves, basic hosiery, menswear and boots as well as slab cakes, biscuits, nuts, ice cream along with mechanical small toys and books.

By the 1930s, the store had started to stock electricals such as lightbulbs, batteries, electric fires and light shades and by 1935 cafe bars opened up in branches of Marks and Spencer. During the war customers were able to use their ration tokens to pay for food in the cafes.

The M&S wartime utility scheme was launched in 1941 where a wide range of clothing was made available along with tinned food and fruit.

After the Second World War, a period of economic growth saw a more varied range of food being introduced and by the 1980s ready-made meals were available.

Now, more than 150 organic food products are available, a large selection of clothes and a thriving homeware section.

l Do you have any Croydon memories you would like to share? Write to Heritage at the address on page 2 or email kmcqueeney@london.newsquest.co.uk. For more Heritage stories log on to croydon guardian.co.uk/news/heritage.