HEREFORD’S High Town was once full of shoppers every day, with taxis, cars and motorcyclists adding to the hurly burly of the scene.

A picture has stirred some memories for members on our Facebook group We Grew Up in Hereford.

It shows High Town in black and white, thought to be in the 1950s, with cars travelling through it, old shops and no sign of the coffee carts that stand there today.

Old shops spread down the street include Maypole and Stead and Simpson on one side and Gurneys and Hiltons next to the Buttermarket on the other.

RELATED NEWS:

Canopies were also open at the front of most shops, and taxis would pull up to pick up and drop off shoppers.

Now those shops have been replaced with Marks and Spencers, Hotel Chocolate, Santander, and WHSmith.

One of the buildings was hit by a fire in October 2010.

The blaze ripped through River Island and the Card Factory shops.

But the site has since been restored and a greengrocer has opened there now.

Archives at Herefordshire Council confirm the process of the city centre becoming pedestrianised.

Documents say: “Eign Street was the first road to become fully pedestrianised in August 1970, following consultation with local business owners.

“Church Street soon followed suit, with attentions then turned to High Town.

“An inquiry was launched leading to an experimental prohibition of through traffic by May 1972, which was followed by a completed ban by 1974.”

OTHER NEWS:

More than a decade later St Peter’s Street and Commercial Street were pedestrianised.

Currently people are not able to drive through Hereford’s centre between 10.30am and 4.30pm, including cyclists.

We Grew Up In Hereford members shared that they felt sad to see High Town changed so much.

Deirdre Lloyd said: “I have lived in Hereford all my life. It’s sad to see all the empty shops and the ones that are not empty taken over by coffee shops.”