Not a Tesco in sight! Forget today's soulless chain stores. These magical pictures show the lost British High Street in its idiosyncratic pomp



Pictures taken in Shropshire by Joseph Lewis della-Porta, a 25-year-old skilled photographer, whose family ran one of the UK's first department stores

Photos have been printed from his original glass negatives - more than 100 of which still survive


At Dick's Depot, pairs of shoes and boots dangle outside the shop; while at Henry James, carcasses of meat tempt shoppers from the pavement.

If this was a high street today, such wares may well have been discounted as festive bargain hunters elbowed each other to grab them.



But this is the scene from a bygone and, some might say, more civilised era: the historic market town of Shrewsbury... 125 years ago.



The treasure trove of Victorian photos shows every shop front imaginable selling everything from cheeses and chocolates to shovels and shoes.

This treasure trove of Victorian photos shows every shop front imaginable selling everything from cheeses and chocolates to shovels and shoes, in the historic market town of Shrewsbury 125 years ago

The pictures were taken in Shropshire by Joseph Lewis della-Porta, a 25-year-old skilled photographer, whose family ran one of the UK's first department stores

Faces of long-dead shopkeepers stare out from the images, which are of such high quality, they might have been taken yesterday, although were in fact snapped in 1888

The pictures were taken in Shropshire by Joseph Lewis della-Porta, a 25-year-old skilled photographer, whose family ran one of the UK's first department stores.



Faces of long-dead shopkeepers stare out from the images, which are of such high quality, they might have been taken yesterday, although were in fact snapped in 1888.



The pictures have been printed from his original glass negatives - more than 100 of which still survive - and are now on display at Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn.



'They illustrate some of the very fine images that were possible with very splendid, fragile Victorian technology,' said John Benson, project manager for Shropshire Archives.

The pictures have been printed from his original glass negatives - more than 100 of which still survive - and are now on display at Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn

Mr H Shaw, who sells fishing tackle, has a giant stuffed fish in his window

Little Victorian children in their Sunday best get in on the picture at Manchester House hosier and draper, with its bunting of stockings

'We all talk about high resolution nowadays but these large glass plate negatives really did cut the mustard. The quality of these images makes them look so fresh.



'There's an exoticism about them. The shots show all sorts of remarkable detail and history about the products on offer at the time. Also, the way the people are looking into the camera, it's as though they are reaching out to us over a hundred years later.'



The photos record the wonderful world of the Victorian high street, with stunning displays of foods and products we have forgotten we ever needed.



You could pick up a pound of cheese from Provision Merchants Henry James or waft through the doors of Moore's Hairdresser and Fancy Repository, which has fans and hair pieces hanging in the window.



The ironmonger, who is wearing a long white apron, stocks buckets, baskets, pitchforks and spades, whilst Mr H Shaw, who sells fishing tackle, has a giant stuffed fish in his window.

None of the subjects is smiling. There is perhaps amusement in some eyes but more a sense of occasion and formality - of proper regard for the camera lens and its great powers of documentation

Joseph Lewis' camera would have been large and heavy with a long exposure time. He would have had to persuade his subjects to stay very still for quite some time

Dick's Depot is stocked full of boots and shoes hanging all around the window and door, while the nearby confectioners sells Cadbury's chocolate, jars of sweets and even offers hot dinners and a bed for the night.



There's even a bobby in the butcher's picture, along with hewn-out carcasses and great slabs of meat hanging in the street. The occasional curious onlooker also steals into some of the shots.



Little Victorian children in their Sunday best get in on the picture at Manchester House hosier and draper, with its bunting of stockings.



None of the subjects is smiling. There is perhaps amusement in some eyes but more a sense of occasion and formality - of proper regard for the camera lens and its great powers of documentation.



At the time the pictures were taken, Joseph's family ran a department store in Princess Street

Today, the cobbled streets of Shrewsbury still boast more independent shops than chain stores: 400 out of 680

Joseph Lewis' camera would have been large and heavy with a long exposure time. He would have had to persuade his subjects to stay very still for quite some time.



At the time the pictures were taken, Joseph's family ran a department store in Princess Street.



His father, Giuseppi della-Porta, an Italian immigrant, had arrived in Shropshire in 1848 and his first timber-framed shop expanded into several buildings and sold furniture, bedding, china, boots and shoes.



Joseph, who eventually took over the family business, had a new house built in 1892, on the Mount - the same street as Charles Darwin's former family home - complete with a dark room.



He was a member of Shropshire Photographic Society, was involved in the development of X-ray photography and did honorary work for the Royal Salop Infirmary.



Today, the cobbled streets of Shrewsbury still boast more independent shops than chain stores: 400 out of 680.



The della-Porta department store existed until 1975, when it became Rackhams and subsequently, House of Fraser.



Joe della-Porta, a furniture maker from East Sussex and a distant relative of Joseph della-Porta, said: 'I was told all about the shop in Shrewsbury when I was growing up. It was very famous in its heyday.'