Dudley, Market Place c.1955

Photo ref: D103029

More about this scene

The Criterion Cinema, just off camera to the right, was still open when this view was taken. This is the heart of the town, and markets have been held here for 800 years; the basic size and shape of the market place has remained largely the same throughout that period, as evinced by map evidence. The shops represented here are a mix of chain multiples (Burtons, Boots, Timpsons shoes, Woolworth's and the Maypole Dairy Co), and local chains, such as Alfred Preedy & Sons (second from right), who were tobacconists, with other shops in the Fountain Arcade and Hall Street. Until 1930 the area in front of the fountain had been the tram terminus, and one traction pole from the tramway overhead can be see on the extreme right.