commercial architecture

‘Cathedrals of commerce’ : A guide through the Golden Age of the British High Street

In her new book about High Street heritage, Kathryn Morrison takes us on a trip down memory lane and reminds us that design quality was once a proud part of a retailer’s branding and public appeal, shaping our shopping experiences and the appearance of our historic town centres. Some claim that the High Street is in decline, but the best shops from the past provide a legacy on which to build a bright future, as Chris Catling reports.

The Past

This week: Co-op architecture

Today, the Co-op group has 65,000 employees, £11bn in revenues, and thousands of shops around the country. Yes, there have been some high-profile hiccups in recent decades – but the movement which spawned it has come a long way since 21 December 1844, when a group of Rochdale textile workers pooled their savings to open a store selling basic commodities at fair prices.

Below Project Manager Laurie Coleman of Cotswold Archaeology examines a possible beam slot in an internal wall dividing two of the shops. Bottom This section through the Corn Hall site shows the masonry footings for the Roman street arcade (right), and a considerable depth of limestone rubble pavement (left). The black feature to the left is a late medieval robber trench, dug to remove much of the stone forming the front wall of the shops. Some of the walling from the shops may be reflected in the above ground topography as late as the 16th century, and some of the houses and shops around today’s market place may have been built from recycled Roman masonry.

Roman shopping centre found in Cirencester

The 1st and 2nd century structures were found in the basement of Cirencester Corn Hall