Until well into the 1800s, shops were few and far between and often little more than converted front rooms of houses, like the one here in Mount Pleasant. In the last quarter of the 18th century, Church Street was mainly residential. There was a grocer's shop where Compton House was later built and, on the opposite side, a confectioner's shop at the corner of Church Alley. One of the houses was converted into a tavern, and the site where the first Athenaeum was established was an orchard or garden with a fishpond which in winter was sometimes used for skating. Bold Street was almost entirely residential except for a milkman's cottage and dairy on a corner. There was a shop near the Old Dock which sold ladies' clothing and household linen, a fancy goods shop at the lower end of Duke Street, and haberdashery shops in Castle Street and at the corner of King Street and Pool Lane (later South Castle Street).

Image details: J Hamilton Hay