Window shopping on the past: meet Shrewsbury’s Victorian shopkeepers

An exhibition jointly created by Shropshire Archives, and Volunteering for Shropshire’s Heritage, called “Window Shopping On The Past”, is on the move.

After a very successful run at Theatre Severn throughout the autumn and early winter months of late last year (2013), the majority of the images can now be viewed in the Reading Room of Shropshire Archives (Castle Gates, Shrewsbury SY1 2AQ).  During the exhibition’s stay at the theatre, the images caught the attention of the national press and rave reviews appeared in Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail, as well as the local press in Shropshire.

So if you haven’t yet caught up with Shaw the taxidermist, Moore the hairdresser, Napier the bookseller or Dick the bootmaker, then you can still do so at Shropshire Archives (admission is free).  In fact, a few of the images will also remain in the Chapel Bar at Theatre Severn until Saturday 22 February 2014.    

John Benson, project manager, said:

“Historic photographs are our window onto a world that in many cases has now gone forever.  The characters in these images are reaching out to us down the years by means of some magnificent, if somewhat fragile, Victorian technology.  The photographs look as if they were taken last week and, as the press said over Christmas, there’s not a supermarket in sight.”

Shropshire Archives has prints and greetings cards for sale featuring the images; these are on display in the Reading Room.

Councillor Tina Woodward, Shropshire Council’s deputy Cabinet member for business growth, said:

“These images really do reel in the years, and it’s wonderful to have a snapshot of life so long ago when everything looks simultaneously so different and also so familiar.  They are a splendid example of how archives are not dry, dusty bits of paper, but living things that connect us with the past and the people who populated it.  It’s really terrific that these images are still available for people to see in Shrewsbury, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to see them at Shropshire Archives.”

The images can be seen during Shropshire Archives’ normal opening hours, which are Wednesdays to Saturdays; check www.shropshirearchives.org.uk for times, as each day varies.

Anyone interested in further information can email john.benson@shropshire.gov.uk or call 01743 255377 (or the project mobile 07919 8107272).