Ghosts of Shrewsbury's High Street past found in photos
[gallery] An extraordinary newly-unearthed set of photographs from the Victorian era provides a glimpse into Shrewsbury's rich history of independent retail, as entrepreneurs pose outside their companies.
Taken in 1888 by Italian businessman Joseph Lewis Della Porta, the images capture almost 100 stores and their staff in the town.
Now 124 years later, local photographer Paola Alessandri-Gray is aiming to recreate the project with the independent retailers of today for a special exhibition next year.
Click to the right of the picture above for more photos
Among the pictures on display are a shopkeeper posing outside the Ward Watchmaker shop in Castle Gates, three workers outside Cash & Co wholesale manufacturers in Pride Hill and a member of staff standing in the doorway of Juckes Ironmongers in Mardol.
Paola, 52, who lives in Castlefields, said she came across the treasure trove of images at Shropshire Archives, leading her to launch a project to repeat the work of Mr Della Porta for the 21st century.
She said she tracked the pictures down as she searched for old pictures of independent stores in Shrewsbury from down the years.
"It took a bit of detective work to find them and I have seen them all," she said.
"They will all go on show together with the new photographs I'm going to take."
She said the exhibition was likely to take place in autumn next year, with a location for the display yet to be decided.
Paola said she hoped to show how the character of the town's independent shops have changed over time.
And she added that she shared a northern Italian heritage with Mr Della Porta, whose family moved to Shrewsbury in the 19th century and opened a department store in The Square, before taking on the space in the High Street now occupied by Rackhams. "They were there until 1976. That is why if you talk to people of a certain age, they will remember going into Della Porta," she said.
"Mr Della Porta was a big businessman in town and one of the early members of the Shrewsbury Photographic Society.
"Somebody who is helping me with this has just found plans of a house he built for himself in The Mount which had a dark room included. He had the money to invest in this."
Businesses in the town are now being asked to participate in a recreation of the photographs Mr Della Porta took and Paola said she hoped retailers would get behind the plan as she attempts to take pictures of as many as possible over the next few months.
For more information, e-mail paola.alessandri@talktalk.net or call 07944 492581.
