Personal Life
Selfridge's wife died in the influenza pandemic of 1918. As a widower, Selfridge had numerous liaisons, including those with the celebrated Dolly Sisters and the divorcée Syrie Barnardo Wellcome, who would later become better known as the decorator Syrie Maugham. He also began and maintained a busy social life with lavish entertainment at his home in Lansdowne House located at 9 Fitzmaurice Place, in Berkeley Square. Today there is a blue plaque noting that Gordon Selfridge lived there from 1921 to 1929. At the height of his fortune, he also leased, as his family home, Highcliffe Castle in Hampshire (now Dorset). In addition, he purchased Hengistbury Head, a mile-long promontory on England's southern coast, where he planned to build a magnificent castle. The land was put up for sale in 1930.
Read more about this topic: Harry Gordon Selfridge
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