Retention of Historic Shop Fronts

Old shop fronts are already very rare. Wherever shop fronts of merit survive they should be retained and any alterations will require the greatest care and attention. Features of value such as blinds in blind boxes, shutters in shutter boxes against an upright and stall-risers should be retained. Often such features are concealed behind later alterations and premises where works to shop fronts are proposed should be checked for the possible survival of such features. The major threats to old shop fronts are security, fashion, advertising and the corporate image. However, there are almost always ways to meet reasonable working needs without resorting to wholesale change and increasingly, in the commercial world, it is now being recognised that individualism, when it is of good quality, is often better for business than thoughtless standardisation.