Chalk's Stores, photograph, c1970, Exeter

Chalk's Stores, photograph, c1970, Exeter 

The corner of High Street and Broadgate was once occupied by three Grade II listed buildings, numbers 61, 62 and 63 High Street. All three properties had been built between 1660 and 1700 but had received a brick facade in the nineteenth century. When this photograph was taken, in about 1970, number 61 was occupied by A.B.C. Tobacconists and number 62 by Chalk's Stores, a shop dealing in government surplus stock. Both businesses were long-term High-Street residents, having occupied their respective premises since the mid-1930s, Number 63, out of shot to the right of Chalk's Stores, was occupied G.A. Dunn & Co., the hatters and men's outfitters.

Unfortunately, the three building were badly damaged by fire in the mid-1970s and subsequently had to be demolished. A completely new building was erected on the site and it is presently occupied by a branch of Trailfinders, a national firm of travel agents. This photograph is an important record of two buildings and two businesses that have been lost from Exeter's High Street. It is also a reminder of a time when the small independent retailer still had a place on the high street, though by this time they were already in decline. In the case of Exeter, the curtain finally dropped in March 2019 when McGahey the tobacconist, the last independent retailer left on the High Street, closed its doors for the final time.

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