READER Patrick Dwyer got in touch about an old photo entitled Berry's Fruits.

He wrote: "My rather dilapidated old map of the town leads me to believe this was Exchange Street, only part of which survives. I think it has the telephone exchange on it. Behind and to the left of the photographer was the old market hall dating from the mid 19th century and the street between the market hall and the covered market which has its own stalls on certain days of the week, selling mostly fruit and vegetables.

"Berry Bros. were a fruit and veg wholesaler and presumably would have supplied some of these stalls. In those days a lot of goods arrived at Shaw Street station rather than road and there was a goods yard to deal with them.

"They were conveyed around the town by three wheel vehicles, which I think were called Scammell Scarabs. They were just a tractor unit with a quick release coupling for the trailer, which allowed for a quick turnaround in the yard.

"You saw these delivering to premises in the town centre when Church Street was a main road.

"Back to Berry Bros. The buildings pictured were and were possible among the earliest built (originally for residential housing) during the town's residential expansion. They were not terribly well built and were in quite rough condition at the time of the photo, which I would place in the 1960s.

"Behind the buildings was Tontine Street and later (possibly by the time the photo was taken) the inner ring road or Chalon Way. Had the photographer put his camera to the right he might have taken a photograph of the Savoy Cinema, a very large building leading to the corner of Bridge Street.

"It is a very evocative photograph. I spent many a Saturday hanging around the market area. The market hall housed a wonderful second hand book shop at the end of the building. There was also Darwin's music and record shop which had a display in one of the few external windows of the market hall.

"Another display window was given over to a sort of herbalist's stall which sold remarkable black pods called locusts. Another memory I have is of an ancient Rolls Royce parked beside Berry Bros possibly as late as 1970 or 71, when I'd begun driving.

"What was remarkable about it was that it had a timber and fabric body in extremely poor condition. I bet it still ran well though. Even back then it was unusual to find a Rolls Royce which had been so badly neglected.

"I believe that when the area was redeveloped it was a great loss to the town. Had this been Prague or a German city they'd probably have restored or rebuilt all the buildings as they were. Sadly in the 60s and early 70s there was much more enthusiasm for demolition and redevelopment.

"The place has never felt the same with its indoor shopping precincts. I remember Saturday afternoons in winter when it was going dark and the market stalls were illuminated by the Tilley lamps. Underfoot was a mass of discarded fruit, vegetables and their wrappings, all top be swept up on Sunday morning when the town centre was deserted.

"At the opposite end of the market to Exchange Street you came to an old building which once housed Marks and Spencer's Penny Bazaar. On the front of the building was a very elaborate and colourful mosaic. Mercifully when the area was redeveloped I understand the mosaic was rescued and found a home in Marks and Spencer head office and principal store which I think is in Baker Street, London.

"It would be nice to see a photograph of it, not having seen it for so many years.”

Allan Dockerty added his memories “Although I couldn't place the photograph of Berry Fruits exactly, I do remember, in the early 60s, a fruit and veg. company called Berry who operated behind the open and covered markets. My auntie ran Geenwood butchers stall in the market and my mum and myself were frequent visitors. I recall Berry's had a van and a lorry which were normally parked by their premises.

Brenda Winstanley recalls “The photo of Berry's Wholesale Fruit Market was across the road from the old covered market next to the Savoy Cinema. There was an entry between the Savoy and Berry's and we used to queue up for the cinema along this entry.”