Banstead Village

Banstead High Street - 1955 and 2020

One of the things I enjoy doing on this website is browsing the random pictures facility (if you haven’t yet tried it, press the ‘Random Pic’ button above this image, top right of your screen).

During one of my browsing sessions, up came picture #371 from Lewis Wood’s extensive photo collection – a 1955 EA Sweetman & Son postcard capture of part of the High Street, and a scene I well remember from my childhood. So, the other day, I returned to the spot where the original photographer stood… and this is the 'before and after' result.

Architecturally, you could say little has changed, apart from the double glazed windows in the flats. Below them, the shops are all different, of course, but in the intervening 65 years that’s to be expected. More traffic, yes, but the bricks and mortar (and even the tree to the right) seem reassuringly much the same (although fewer shop blinds today). The only two features missing from the 1950s are the huge ‘H’ television aerial in the top image – and, sadly, the lovely old wall clock.

Anyway… here are the two views, some 65 years apart. They give me comfort and encouragement somehow; I hope they might do the same for you, too. PD