The Penhaligon’s Story
In the mid-nineteenth century, an eccentric barber travelled from Cornwall to London in search of success. A creative individual, he would become the court barber and perfumer to Queen Victoria and soon his name would be synonymous with the scent worn in the higher echelons of British society. Since then, except for a slight hitch in the mid-twentieth century, William Henry Penhaligon’s perfume has moved from the collars of a small and exclusive social elite to become a respected international brand.
Despite this globalisation, the Penhaligon’s brand has never forgotten its origins, and remains very much the scent of a dapper English gent – or, of course, elegant lady. The stores and outlets, one of which can be found at Bicester Village, still stock the clear glass bottles, adorned with a distinctive bow and glass-domed stopper, which WH Penhaligon himself designed. The lettering is Edwardian in style, reminiscent of the tops of the journals of Fleet Street. It’s subtly chic, fashionably industrious and a constant reminder of the brand’s stylish London roots.
An intoxicating Englishness has run through the perfumed veins of the company since the beginning, but it was in fact the Jermyn Street Turkish Baths in London, WH Penhaligon’s former place of work, which inspired the first fragrance. The Hamman Bouquet remained the inventor’s favourite until the day he died, and combined a subtle mix of musk, amber and sandalwood base notes, middle notes of cedarwood, roses and jasmine and top notes of lavender and bergamot.
But it was the Blenheim Bouquet, Penhaligon’s first bespoke fragrance, which set the mark with a thoroughly English scent. It is inspired by the sort of finery that you’d expect at Blenheim Palace, a Baroque-style mansion set in more than two thousand acres of superb grounds and formal gardens, and within easy reach of Bicester Village. The scent was created for the 9th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim’s then owner. As a fragrance, it challenged the state of scent, uniquely adding a citrus base and a touch of jasmine, ‘at twice the price of gold’. Developed in 1902, it was favoured by the Duke and his wider family, including Winston Churchill – himself born at this fabulous palace in 1874.
Later, as Churchill led London through the Blitz in 1940 to ‘41, the original Penhaligon’s store on Jermyn Street in St James’s met an unfortunate and sudden end at the hands of German bombers. Mr Penhaligon’s favourite Turkish baths were also destroyed, and sadly, neither resurfaced as the war came to an end. Not until 1975 did a Penhaligon’s storefront grace the pavements of London once again, resurrected by fashion designer Sheila Pickles with the help of Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli. With the help of the founder’s original hand-written formulae, the scent once again emanated from Covent Garden, across the capital and out to the country, carried upon the collars and wrists of the store’s many patrons.
Penhaligon’s continues to thrive today, still the brand of choice for English high society and attracting both eccentrics and traditionalists with elegant fragrances inspired by the steamy walls of Turkish baths and the gracious halls of a very English country house. Made in England, English in style, Penhaligon’s perfumes signify a certain circumstance, with a subtle but distinctive lingering grace.
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© Blenheim Palace.
13-09-2011
