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Camden New Journal - By DAN CARRIER
Published: 7 June 2007
 
Historian Christopher Wade outside the Flask Walk building
Historian Christopher Wade outside the Flask Walk building
Shoppers’ paradise past

Historian uncovers details of Hampstead’s once glorious High Street

IT is a dream of any shopaholic: a High Street with hundreds of independent stores, offering choice that would put any out-of-town mall to shame.
But instead of being a dream for the future, it is Hampstead’s past.
The sheer number of businesses has been brought into the present at Burgh House’s new Edwardian Hampstead exhibition.
Historian Christopher Wade, who works for the New End Museum, found a business directory published in 1907 by a West Hampstead printer.
Packed full of adverts for the latest goods, it also offered a shop-by-shop guide to what the Hampstead shopper could find. Using the directory, Mr Wade has pounded the shopping parades to survey exactly what has changed. He has used the survey and 100-year-old photographs to tell the story of Edwardian Hampstead.
Covering both Hampstead High Street and Heath Street, the stores boast a choice that today’s shoppers would drool over.
It seems what the foodie has lost, the fashionista has gained.
Mr Wade said: “The directory offered a complete ABC of what you would find, and the choice was quite superb.
“There are some fairly useless shops around now compared to 100 years ago. Back then, you are struck by the sheer number of tradesmen. Hampstead High Street would have been a very vibrant place.
“The competition meant choice and for the customer, better service. Nowadays you wouldn’t get the same service and attention.”
In a stretch that covered just Hampstead High Street and Heath Street, customers could buy meat from 10 different butchers and one store that specialised in poultry. There were 11 grocers, 12 confectioners and 10 bakers.
Mr Wade added: “There were also six fishmongers, compared to just one today.”
Other services included two dairies and cow-keepers providing fresh milk, a vet, piano maker, brewers, booksellers and printers, a public telephone office, the Metropolitan Boot Company, a costumier, a Singer Sewing Machine shop and the Hampstead branch of the Union of London Smiths Bank. There were saddle-makers and horse feed salesmen, timber merchants and glaziers.
However, although two tailors are listed as well as four hat-makers, there was just one ladies’ outfitters – compared with the 32 boutiques in the same stretch today.
Mr Wade said: “Change does not always necessarily mean progress. I can only imagine what a shopper today would do to use a time machine to do their shopping.”

• Edwardian Hampstead opens on June 10. Entry is free.Tel: 020 7431 0144

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