More scenes of High Wycombe High Street over the years

The western end of the High St in the early 1930s, when motor vehicle ownership was beginning to increase substantially. Parking was still allowed in the street, and it was free:

The construction of the M40 motorway, and the inner relief road in the town, reprieved the High St from its domination by traffic, and the market continued to flourish. In this picture taken on a market day in 1992 a traffic warden instructs a motorist to park elsewhere:

In the mid-1990s it was decided to pedestrianise the western end and large concrete balls appeared:

A group of men attend the “hiring fair” outside the Guildhall, c.1895. As a market town a “hiring fair” was an essential feature of the regular market, where mainly agricultural workers were hired for fixed terms. This practice continued well into the 20th century:

In the mid-1930s the narrow road leading from the railway station to the High St, known then as Crendon Lane, was widened to accommodate motor traffic. This required considerable redevelopment to, and demolition of buildings, on the north-eastern side of the High St: