1920s

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Opened almost 100 years ago in 1927, Peterborough’s Westgate Arcade has kept its vintage charm, while the mega multi-storey Queensgate shopping mall grew up next door. There are two floors to this arcade, with a balcony running the full length of the arcade, marked by impressive pillars, which might well be decorative as much as…

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Hitchin’s little arcade near the town’s market place dates from the mid-1920s. Footfall was good at the time of my visit on a mid-summer Friday morning, though the presence of eateries in the arcade suggests it might be just as busy in the evenings, too. It’s not named after a local dignitary or businessman; in…

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Letchworth’s arcade, like its neighbour Hitchin, dates from the mid-1920s, but this is a bright, cheerful arcade, well-looked-after and has the feel of a real, functioning arcade, with its glass ceiling all along its length, which bends in the middle, and has a glass roof also over the central section, in the same style as…

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It’s hard to imagine that this 1920s arcade was once the Welsh hub for the worldwide film industry, with every reel of film doing the rounds of cinemas making its way through this arcade at the height of the movie era. There’s a nice 1921 logo at both ends of the arcade, though the name…

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Originally built in the mid-1920s, Quadrant Arcade has recently had a major refurbishment. Its new look is chic, glamorous, fairly modern in its style, but this is still very definitely an arcade and its position at the bottom of Regent Street gives it real kerb appeal. I visited first when most of the shop units…

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The Arcade in Colne is a 1920s passageway that runs from the main road in Colne, Market Street, to Post Office Yard at the back. There’s a definite sense of community in here, even though there is only a handful of shops, and most of them are fairly recent arrivals in the arcade. It’s a…

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