This long-established High Street shop will be well-remembered by many readers, it only having closed in 1988. The name Shaw stayed over the doors for 180 years, though for the final 75 years of its existence it was under the ownership of the Carter family.

In this picture above, the proud-looking staff stand outside the premises around 1905. There was a real evocation of the period where shops were kept spotlessly clean, well-ordered and window displays were a work of art. Even the pavement outside would have been scrubbed daily by one of the two boys shown here.

In the left-hand window are the packaged goods while to the right is a fine display of meats and cheeses, each labelled ‘selected’, ‘choice’ or ‘very choice’. Window adverts for Eiffel Tower lemonade crystals, Libby’s ox tongue and Bovril add to the interest. The entire shop front is constructed from marble or faux marble panels and the huge gas lamps suspended from overhead brackets would have shone a welcoming light for customers on a dark winter’s evening.

This shop was originally the southernmost end of the Bell inn, the archway to the extreme right of the picture - still in existence today - was the entrance to the central forecourt of the inn, which like the Angel was built as a four-winged structure around a central courtyard.

The High Street front of the inn was converted into four shop premises in the late 18th century and in 1808 one Miriam Shaw from Newbury opened her grocer’s shop. Her son Samuel ran it from 1838-43 and then a second Samuel until 1881. Samuel junior was a keen local historian.

The fourth and final generation of Shaw’s was Frank S Shaw, photographer of local events in an age just before the advent of picture postcards. Thanks to him we are left with two superb photographic albums now in Hampshire Record Office that show the local celebrations for both the 1887 and 1897 jubilees of Queen Victoria, the marriage of Prince George to Princess May of Teck in 1893 and various other local events that otherwise would never have been recorded.

Frank Shaw sold the business to Marcus Carter in 1913 for £1861 8s.11d. In the first few years of the new ownership customer orders were collected by bicycle and delivered by horse and cart but two Model T Fords were acquired in 1919 and this made deliveries much easier.

Three successive generations of the Carter family were to run the shop, during which time the premises were enlarged twice by extending to the rear and in 1964, in order to compete with the supermarkets, much of the shop became self-service, though a high-class tradition was maintained and it was still possible to buy dry goods such as coffee beans and tea by weight from large tin containers, each containing a different variety.

It closed in 1988, which saddened many Andoverians who preferred a more personal service. But in the end, it became impossible to compete with the larger stores.