This week the Recorder is looking back at a time when shopping was an event: with hectic January sales, bustling market days and busy high streets.
These photos stretch from 1914 all the way to 2000, showing Romford residents enjoying a simple shop.
January sales and bustling market days in Romford captured in old photos
South Street, Romford – c.1914
A lively shopping scene in South Street, Romford in c.1914 (Image: Havering Libraries-Local Studies)
This view of South Street showcases the vibrant shopping environment of early 20th-century Romford, with businesses like Frank Waring’s hosiery shop and The London Clothing Company alongside the Picture Pavilion cinema.
The area evolved rapidly, according to Havering Libraries, with the Picture Pavilion eventually replaced by the Quadrant Arcade in 1934, marking a shift from entertainment to retail as the primary focus of the street.
READ MORE: A photographic look back at Romford in the 1990s
Market Place, Romford – c.1957
This busy photo of Romford Market in the late 1950s shows shops like Stones, Fine Fare, and A. Morris and Sons alongside the bustling crowd.
Buses can be seen making their way through the market, with crowds stretching right up to landmarks like the Midland Bank on the left and Laurie Hall at the head of Market Place.
Hilldene Avenue, Harold Hill – 1961
This newspaper photo captures the long queue for the January sales at Burney’s Soft Furnishings and Household Linens at 114 Hilldene Avenue in 1961.
According to Havering Libraries, it was not until 1952 that shops in Farnham Road opened, costing around £663,000 to build.
Today, Saint Francis Hospice’s Harold Hill shop is where Burney’s once was.
South Street, Romford – c. 1972
Back in South Street, but this time in the early 1970s with shops like Stanwood Radio, which became Rumbelows, Dunn & Co. menswear, and Jane Norman for ladies’ fashion.
Landmarks like the NatWest bank and the Golden Lion pub frame the bustling retail scene, while the Quadrant Arcade marks the entrance to a shopping area.
C&A, Market Place, Romford – 2000
This photo shows C&A in Market Place on February 22, 2000 during a clearance sale.
By 2001, all C&A stores in the UK had closed, including the Romford branch which shut in January 2001.
The building is now a B&M with Premier Inn above.
