Mike Jones has been in touch with some very full information about John Littlewood’s Frith 1924 view of shops in The Borough.

“The left-hand shop adjacent to The Goat’s Head (41) was Frank Sturt’s bookshop and lending library; the right-hand shop (42) originally had been the 50 per cent* of the printing shop of John Nichols bookseller, stationer and printer, but after the death of Nichols one way or another both businesses came under the ownership of Frank Sturt.

“In earlier days a friendship had developed between the two men and they ran the two business in co-operation with each other, sharing advertisements in the local directories, one of which was the Nichols Directory.

“The architect for the renovations and alterations to the whole building in the early 1920s was Harold Falkner, but an anomaly has developed within dates put forward for the conversion work.

“Nigel Temple in his book Farnham, Building and People published in 1963 dated the work as having been carried out in 1930.

“However, this is challenged in George Sturt’s Journal entry on Friday, September 7, 1923, when he stated that two days before, his sister, Susan, had taken him down to see the completed restoration of Frank’s shop at 42 The Borough, commenting he thought it excellent.

“This photograph in the Herald indicates a ‘seriously’ recent renovation, which would tally with your date of the Borough in 1924.

“I hope this is of interest with your work and, for what it is worth, I am tapping this out in the spare bedroom of Frank Sturt’s old house ‘Newnhams’, in West End Grove.”

* The whole building used to belong to Nichols, who offered the opportunity to Francis Sturt, Frank’s father, to move his family and their shop along the Borough to number 41 as it was becoming too big for him to handle – an offer which was accepted.