Gaolgate Street, Stafford

Description:This view looks south along Gaolgate Street towards the Market Square in Stafford. In 1992 the town centre became pedestrianised and the A34 was re-routed around the town.

Most of the buildings in the picture remain (October 2023) although over the years some have changed use on several occasions. On the extreme left is the M.E.B. (Midlands Electricity Board) showroom; then possibly a Poundstretcher shop, in earlier years this was Aston’s furniture shop and currently it is known as the Butler’s Bell, a J D Wetherspoon’s public house; then Dunn & Co. menswear shop, which became a charity shop and later Slaters micro pub; adjacent is John Collier’s menswear shop, which became Principles menswear and later an Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop; then Sketchley dry cleaners, later occupied by Hepworth’s menswear which was converted into Next men’s and women’s clothing and footwear and is currently Trespass an outdoor wear shop; adjoining is the former Marks and Spencer’s store which relocated to the Riverside shopping centre in 2016.

On the right there is a Barratt’s shoe shop, later occupued by The Salvation Army; then an unidentified shop which in the 1970s was Baxter’s butchers shop and later Specsavers Opticians, who subsequently moved to the Market Square; next door is Greenwoods menswear shop, which became a William Hill Betting shop; beyond is a glimpse of the former Woolworths store, which was occupied by Sports Direct until it relocated to the Riverside shopping centre.

On the left there is a Chaserider Midland Red mini bus and on the right a PMT (Potteries Motor Traction) double decker bus, this bus is an ECW (Eastern Coach Work) bodied Leyland Olympian from the batch of registration numbers A733 GFA to A742 GFA, delivered new to PMT in 1983. In this scene it is working the X60 route to Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent via Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Thank you to Mr Ian Hazlehurst for additional information. This photograph was taken by Stafford photographer Tony Boydon.