Kingsway Tamale, Ghana

We came across a drawing for Kingsway Stores in Tamale, dated August 1961 (Unilever Archive ref: UAC/2/10/B3/4/3/5/1). The architect is currently unknown – only their initials are stated, “A U B” . The layout is typical of the Kingsways found in smaller cities from this period, catering more as a supermarket than a department store. But the exterior, with its rubble-stone wall, flagpole, and cantilevered concrete canopy above the entrance follows a design pattern found elsewhere, such as the Kingsway Jos, Nigeria.

We were eager to find out if the Tamale store could still be found and began searching the city centre to see if it had survived. A number of late colonial and early independence era commercial structures can still be found, along with some innovative banking and office spaces built in the 1970s. We were able to locate the Kingsway – now a bank – with its distinctive stonework and the flagpole base still visible.