Harrow On The Hill, High Street 1906

Photo ref: 53630

More about this scene

This photograph was taken from almost exactly the same viewpoint as one to be seen later taken in 1960; it is very much apparent that at this time the village was a thriving, almost self-sufficient commercial centre. Virtually every building has a shop front, but today the number is considerably reduced, and their uses are less practical - for instance, Hartley Chemist is now a restaurant. Many other shops have disappeared from the hill as dormitory residents opt for the under-one-roof convenience of the local supermarkets. The withdrawal of shopping from the village is not a recent phenomenon; in fact, it began prior to the First World War, when the shops on the western slope became houses, leaving only their large windows as evidence of an earlier use.