17 High Street
“Ah, I see that you are admiring my decorative plaster work, beautiful aren’t I? Not many like me in St Albans you know. Can you see the date up near my roof? That’s right it says 1665 but I am much older than that. Probably 15th century.
I was built as a medieval lock up shop, which means, I had no chimney or fireplaces. Just selling space on the ground floor and work space and storage on the floors above. I have been so many different kinds of shops over the years it’s hard to remember them all. But I did like it when I was part of a big department store called Fisks. It stretched all the way down the road to the top of George Street. I was their boot and shoe department.
In 1910 they were going to pull me and my sister shops down and build something new, but the people of the town didn’t like that and they protested. Mr Fisk relented and saved me though my sisters weren’t so lucky. I’ve never felt so proud, I was saved. I think it was because I’m so beautiful. What do you think?”
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