Woolworths, Boots, Currys and more - Shirley in the 1980s

The precinct area has probably been one of the biggest changes, along with the new St Mark’s School building.

Not one of Shirley’s cinemas was still showing movies, although three of the buildings still existed; The Atherley Cinema which was a bingo hall, Rialto was a furniture store and the Regent was where Sainsbury's and a handful of other shops could be found.

Electronics shops came in the form of Currys, Rediffusion and Gibbs. But for those not wanting to make the purchase, various TV rental companies also existed including Grenada.

Banks and building societies were strewn throughout and included Barclay’s, Abbey National, Halifax and more.

There were still plenty of independent stores such as Shirley Bazaar and Shirley Direct Carpet Centre.

Lewis Price catered for people looking for new threads while Cecile was the ideal location for those after children’s clothes.

Other shops at the time included Spudulike, Dee Bee’s, Pickfords Travel, Holt and Haskell, Bradley and Co, Woolworths, Boots chemist, the Nissan car garage, Crompton's stationers (later Atkins), Royal London Insurance, G Clarke & Co estate agents, Ann Brown hair salon, Plested Pies, Arrow News newsagents and Circle K convenience store.

Pubs lined the road, as they do these days, but back then the Brass Monkey was called The Rising Sun.

What do you remember about Shirley Road and Shirley High Street in the 1980s? Let us know in the comments below.