‘If you stood in this spot today, it would put you outside the top door of McDonald’s, looking over at the bottom of David Evans – the ruined corner and doorway of the old David Evans store is very prominent, centre left. It had been founded on this site in 1899 by Mr. Evans and the Andrews brothers. On the right is the hollow remnant of Ben Evans, looking rather like a ghastly film set. The Electricity Showrooms and the Three Lamps are part of this block on the right too, though nearly all the rest made up the huge store.
The ‘Evening Post’ tower is again very evident in the centre, and the roadway leading up to it, today just a pavement, had been Temple Street. The dark ruin on the extreme left is on the corner of Oxford Street, the equivalent of the Richard Shops site today, always remembering that our streets tend to be far wider. A left or right turn here would take you into Goat Street’.

Gerald Gabb, 2021