Cheapside, London 1974

A quiet Cheapside in 1974, captured at a time when the Square Mile still emptied almost completely outside office hours. On the left stands Woolworths — then a familiar presence across Britain — occupying part of the Victorian frontage that survived both the Blitz and the early waves of post-war redevelopment.

On the right, a row of 1950s–60s commercial buildings houses retailers such as Saxone Shoes, all typical of the “everyday City” long before Cheapside reinvented itself as a modern retail street. Looming above them is the brick flank of the City of London Magistrates’ Court (opened 1977), with the tower of St Mary-le-Bow just appearing further along.

Every building on the right-hand side of this view — all the way to the church — has since been demolished and replaced by large office-led developments in the 2000s and 2010s. This photograph preserves a rare glimpse of Cheapside’s transitional mid-20th-century streetscape, caught between Victorian heritage and the sweeping redevelopment still to come.