Jesse Elliston

Who was Jesse Elliston?

Jesse Elliston was a proprietor of Elliston & Cavell, that became the leading department store in Oxford, England.

Elliston owned a draper's shop in central Oxford when his sister, Sarah Elliston of Summertown in north Oxford, married John Cavell on 9 April 1835. As a result, Elliston made Cavell a partner of the shop, which then became known as Elliston & Cavell. It went on to become the largest department store in Oxford for many years, until its eventual conversion to a Debenhams store.

In 1853, at the age of only 47, Elliston died in the Banbury Road on his way to Summertown. Cavell subsequently took over the running of the shop.