Back street shop front

click photo to enlarge
The British character is traditionally supposed to be low key, reserved, eschewing ostentation and brashness. There is an element of truth in this view. However, there have always been plenty of exceptions to this rule, and the internationalisation of many aspects of life have introduced more "showy" elements into British culture.

When I first crossed the waters that separate our island from the rest of the world one of the first things I noticed was how much more intrusive advertising could be in some European countries. Large cut out letters forming names on top of buildings were commonplace in Greece and France but very rare in Britain. Store fronts often had names on that stretched right across the facade where in Britain they were usually more modest. Roadside adverts were more noticeable even given the lower population density. But, things change, ideas are imported, and Britain now exhibits more of these kinds of features despite having planning regulations that seek to control them. I came across this example in Hull recently. The shop's location off a main thoroughfare clearly prompted the owner to come up with this large, eye-catching advertisement that could be seen by anyone glancing down the side-street. And, despite the colours having begun to fade, it worked, hence my photograph!

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 14mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Art Deco shops

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I've written elsewhere in this blog about how, in Britain, the architecture of the 1920s and 1930s was very conservative, noting but not, in the main embracing, the forward-looking developments of Europe and the United States.

This often manifested itself in a style that is sometimes called "stripped classical" with recognisably Greek,  Roman or Renaissance-derived columns, entablatures etc pared down to plainer, un-archaeological forms; a reluctant nod to Modernism. The style known as Art Deco and its synonyms or variants, Moderne and Jazz Moderne and Streamline Modern, also used classical forms in this way, but more enthusiastically and with the introduction of newer and different elements. British cinemas of the 1930s frequently adopted this style, as did quite a few factories and even power stations. On the high street Marks and Spencer's architects used white stone with classical, streamline and even Central American motifs in an attempt to show their modernity. The men's clothing store that was found in most large towns and cities - Burton - also adopted this approach.

On our recent visit to Hull I photographed the main windows of the curved facade of the Burton store at the top of Whitefriargate. This building dates from 1935 and is the work of the store's architect, Harry Wilson. It is faced in a veneer of black marble slabs with tall, narrow window bands featuring attenuated glazing bars. The central windows are given a "classical" emphasis with a pair of pilasters. However, the capitals are, if we are to compare them with anything, stripped down Egyptian! The balconies have iron-work featuring curved bars, not unlike those on the step ventilators of the Art Deco doorway of Hull railway station's hotel. The colour of the paintwork is gold, making the building stand out even more from its much more staid neighbours.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 23mm (46mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Coffee shops down the years

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In the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s coffee bars became popular as places where you could get a non-alcoholic drink (coffee, tea, etc) and light refreshments. They didn't last very long as specialist retail outlets, often changing into general purpose cafes that sold a wider range of beverages and food. To those who remember such places it has come as something of a surprise to see the return of the coffee shop in the past ten to fifteen years or so. I imagine if one were to look at the growth of retail premises during that period, coffee shops would top the list in terms of the number of new outlets. Chains such as Costa, Cafe Nero, Starbucks and the rest have been joined by independents, all vying for the business of the coffee drinker.

It's interesting to note, however, that the surge in popularity of such establishments during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries was not the only time coffee shops have been popular. They first sprang to prominence in England in the seventeenth century, with the first coffeehouse opening in Oxford in 1650. By 1675 it is estimated that there were over 3,000 such establishments. Thereafter numbers declined but they continued to be found in cities and larger towns. In the nineteenth century the number of coffeehouses increased once again, this time at the instigation of the Temperance movement. The widespread concern  at the amount of drunkenness among the poor saw well-heeled and social connected people attempting to woo people away from gin and beer by promoting the virtues of coffee.

Today's photograph shows the Ossington Coffee Palace at Newark, Nottinghamshire. This striking building, a far cry from today's corporate creations, is described on a plaque attached to its walls as "a perfect copy of a seventeenth century hostelry", and is the work of the architects Ernest George and Peto. It was erected in 1882, funded by Viscountess Ossington who presented it to the town, and was intended to be a Temperance hotel. One of its aims was to lure farmers from the town's inns. Its accommodation was extensive and included an assembly room, a reading room, a library, a club room for Masonic meetings and other societies, a billiard room and bedrooms for travellers. The carriage arch on the right of the facade led to stabling for forty horses, a cart shed, tea garden and bowling alley. Everything, in fact, to distract people from the demon drink. Today it is occupied by a restaurant.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 10.4mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
ISO:125
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Enduring Newark shops

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It's not unusual to find old shops that are retail premises no longer, perhaps having once been converted into housing, only the large window revealing their original purpose. And it's also quite common to find buildings that were once houses that are now shops, their location on a street frontage proving less of an advantage nowadays for genteel living but very suitable for catching the passing trade. Then there are those premises that were shops a hundred or two hundred years ago and are still used for that purpose

The other day we were shopping in the town of Newark in Nottinghamshire, an ancient settlement on the River Trent. As we walked round the fine old market square I looked at the timber-framed inns of the 1500s and the grander stone and brick examples of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Interspersed among these I could see town houses of the 1700s, the imposing town hall of the same period and some early and later nineteenth century retail shops. There was even a fine Moderne building from the 1930s, it's jazzed-up stripped classical styling trying to complement the earlier authentic examples but failing, though not without bringing its own welcome contribution to the streetscape.

However, it wasn't these grand or prominent buildings, often Listed for their historic or architectural importance, that caught my photographer's eye on this occasion. Rather, it was a couple of nineteenth century shops that were still, today, selling their wares to the people of the town. One, the taller of the pair, was largely as completed a hundred and fifty or so years ago, an illiterate mixture of Gothic and Classical decorative elements all infused with a hint of polychrome Venetian Gothic. Its verticality seemed to be a testament to the value of its small site which could only be maximised by building upwards. The ground floor was the most changed level, with the large window and glazed door obviously not the originals. However, the wooden surround was still there and I have no doubt that the box above the window still held an awning and a metal mechanism for deploying it. What a pity, I thought, that the proprietor had succumbed to paint of the fashionable "heritage" green. The adjoining building had been worked over very comprehensively, a veneer of modernity completely obscuring any traces of the original building. And yet it sat reasonably well next to its lanky neighbour, its name and the chosen font being the most jarring elements.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 22.7mm (61mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec
ISO:125
Exposure Compensation: -0.7 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Mock shop fronts

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One of the few growth industries in these depressed times is the mock shop front. These are either manufactured in printed form, ready to be applied to the protective boarding that is fixed to the empty property, or more often, hand-painted by a local artist/painter. I've noticed quite a few of these on my travels, and over the past few years the number has visibly increased.

The main reason for their appearance is the closure of town-centre businesses unable to continue trading due to the economic downturn, and the understandable unwillingness of local traders and councils to have their high streets blighted by too many obviously empty premises. Of course, the growth of out-of-town shopping centres with their plentiful, free parking closed high street shops well before the onset of the latest economic crisis. But, what was a managed decline has, since 2008, increased to the point where something had to be done. A mock shop front is clearly only a stop-gap measure, but longer-term solutions are slower to appear and so these representations are not entirely without value.

I've seen examples that are banal, amateurish and inventive. One or two have been obvious labours of love and quite admirable. Today's example, in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, falls somewhere in the middle of this range. It represents an old-style butcher's shop with a range of meats, pies, game etc. all priced using pre-decimal currency values. It's a facade I've wanted to photograph before, but only on my recent visit to the town was the view of it unimpeded by parked vehicles.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 50mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Boxpark photo shoot

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The history of these islands is written across its face and is still visible in the planning, buildings and monuments, landforms etc, wherever you go. In fact, heritage is big business in the UK and one of the main attractions to holidaymakers who live here and who visit from other countries. However, there are many people who care little for castles, cathedrals and quaint cottages, but who do value the transient qualities that Britain offers: such things as popular music, style and fashion.

I was reminded of this the other day as we walked through Shoreditch in London. This isn't a part of the city I know very well, but I have photographed there before. On this occasion we came upon a shopping development that didn't exist last time I visited, but which sprang up very quickly and opened on 3rd December 2011. It's called Boxpark, and the reason it appeared almost over-night is because it is made of shipping containers. Sixty shipping containers to be precise, stacked two storeys high and five rows wide. The "facades" are painted black and have glass door/windows. The development, that describes itself as "the world's first pop-up mall", fronts Shoreditch High Street, has a five year lease, and consists of units selling mainly fashion. Most of the traders are independents with, it appeared to me, a few containers housing well-known labels seeking a bit of "street cred". I'm no follower of fashion, in fact I'm pretty much anti-fashion, but I'm very much for innovative, visually interesting ideas such as this.

It became a subject for one of my photographs not for the "architecture", though I may return and try a few such shots in the future, but because of the photo-shoot that was taking place on the pavement outside one of the units. A few men were modelling clothes and being photographed by a couple of photographers. This was providing street entertainment for, not only passers-by and this passing photographer, but wandering St Patrick's Day revellers too.

photographs and text (c) T. Boughen

Photo 1
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 85mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
ISO: 500
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On