This picture was taken by Phil Farlow in 1973, and shows the entrance to the newly-constructed Chantry Way.

The new buildings included the shoe shop Mansfield at No 81 High Street and Foster’s menswear at No 83 as the first shop of the centre itself.

We tend to imagine that all the upper High Street shops demolished on this side of the street stood in the way of town development but clearly, Milwards at No 79 High Street, though eventually suffering the fate of the others, survived for a few years longer and its demolition was not an integral part of development.

However, a threat overhung all the upper High Street shops on this side of the street for almost a decade during the 1960s. Most if not all had been compulsorily purchased by the council who only later had to curtail their plans following a public outcry over the proposed destruction of the 15th century Angel Inn.

Maintenance was inevitably kept to a minimum and even in the 1970s there was little appetite to restore old properties in poor condition; consequently, another wave of demolitions followed.

Milwards came to Andover around 1925.

As such, it was part of a chain of shops that originated in Basingstoke in 1857 when one Alfred Milward started selling shoes from a handcart.

The Andover premises that Milwards occupied had seen many proprietors during its history.

Just prior to Milwards was furniture dealer Frederick Colebrook, who had moved from the top of New Street, while before World War I it had been James Joliffe’s furniture shop.

Joliffe was preceded by grocers John and William Cooper and before 1900 Walter Page combined a plumbing business with dealing in china and glass.

This retail interest seems to have been a late development and perhaps it was then that No 79 became a shop with double-fronted display windows.

Page appears to have spent all his career at the same premises but a 19th century plumber’s business would not need extensive shop windows and before that it would have looked much like a private house.

Milwards had the feel of a converted house inside. It was a long shop with the floor space on two different levels with a step between, like two separate rooms one after the other.

A domestic fireplace stood to the immediate right on entering and then the glass panelled dais, acting as an office.

This was the preserve of Mr Bennett, the manager of the shop for most of the period after the Second World War.

Payments were always taken to him by the assistants and he would return any change due.

Some may remember that Milwards had a pedoscope to X-ray the feet to ensure a perfect fit in new shoes.

Unfortunately, the doses of radiation were more dangerous than ill-fitting shoes and the machines were gradually phased out after hazard warnings in the 1950s.

This 1973 photograph must have been taken only months before Milwards moved out from No 79, to go further down the street to No 73, now the Blue Onion.

However, the move was short-lived and it was not long afterwards that Milwards disappeared from the town.