Description:This view was taken from Albion Place looking towards Bath Street in Safford.
Most of the buildings in this picture were demolished shortly after the photograph was taken in 1930, to make way for a new Police Station. The police station was built on the corner of Bath Street in 1931. The police had moved from the station in the Guildhall on Market Square because they required larger premises. Later the police station transferred to a new building in Eastgate Street in the 1970s and the old station on Bath Street was demolished in early 1985.
The building on the left was once the home of Colonel William Brookes, a retired East India Officer, who had an illegitimate daughter, called Anne by his housekeeper. When Anne grew up she married William Palmer, the notorious Rugeley poisoner. Both Anne and her mother were among Palmer’s victims. In 1923 the premises were occupied by Scott & Clarke who were Drapers, Milliners and Outfitters. On the extreme right can be seen the tower of the former Wesleyan Chapel on Chapel Street. The Chapel was demolished in the early 1990s; the tower remains (September 2022) and is incorporated into the Guildhall Shopping Centre, Market Hall and overhead car park development.
Photograph donated by Stafford Historical and Civic Society, who retain copyright ownership. Photographer: Bertram Sinkinson.