An old building being pulled down

This evocative black‑and‑white scene captures the careful dismantling of a row of timber‑framed shops on Avery Street in Dartford. A workman braces himself atop the first floor of the old Hardware Stores frontage, chipping away at the façade as passers‑by hurry along the pavement beside the sloping cobbles. Beyond, a horse‑drawn delivery cart trundles down the narrow street framed by rows of Victorian terraces awaiting their turn for renewal.

Historical Context
By the mid‑1930s, many Kentish market towns like Dartford were modernising their commercial centres to accommodate growing motor traffic and expanding retail needs. Older, substandard buildings—once the backbone of local trade—were systematically demolished and replaced with purpose‑built shops or municipal offices. This process reflected wider interwar trends in urban planning, slum clearance and the drive for improved sanitary and transport facilities in England’s provincial towns.

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