HIGH STREET

Sussex Express Article - October 2012

By Carol Walton

This month’s picture is of the High Street from 1971: the left of the picture shows some scaffolding indicating the final construction stages of the new Post Office at 62 High Street.  The next shop in view is the opticians, PR Gray, followed by the Sports shop; sadly these premises have now been converted into private flats.  Lloyds Bank and the last great oak tree fill the lower part of the picture. On the right side of the picture is Williamsons the hardware store, followed by Dees newsagents, with a gentleman peering through the window. You may have noticed that all traffic is heading east! 1970 saw the opening of the first part of the ring road, all west bound traffic was now speeding around the new South Way Road and past the Conservative Club.  In July 1976 we had the great Arrow Tyres fire which is where the person taking this photograph would have been standing.  Just a few months later the new North Way was completed and the High Street was then closed for all traffic.