THE HISTORY OF SHOP FRONTS IN THE UK

A shop front is like the face of your business. Shops are not any new innovation of the recent century, the history of shopfronts goes back to the time we have known trading. With time, innovation and new ideas, things change and we keep moving towards betterment and so is true with shop fronts. The style of shopping, the infrastructure of shops, and pattern and ideas of shopfronts have vastly changed.

The primary factor which remained constant during all these evolutions is competition. It will not be wrong if I mark competition as one of the major causes behind the ever-renewing trend of marketing. Everyone wants to lead the market by attracting the biggest pool of customers, and this desire and need mandate them to continuously look out for the ways of presenting their goods uniquely.

If we particularly talk about the shopfronts and market of the UK, a gradual shift was noticed during the medieval period when the shopping stalls were converted into permanent shops, begetting around forty thousand shopkeepers in Wales and England. From then, the UK market and shopfront designs have seen tremendous evolution.

Medieval Period (476-1492)

During this period, glasses were considered as a luxury product and hence, the glazed doors and windows were majorly reserved to only the rich classes. At that time, a pair of wooden shopfronts on the windows of shops was the only affordable option. These wooden shutters consisted of two parts where the upper shutter was used to secure the goods and the lower shutter was folded in order to make a table over which the products offered by the shop for sale were presented.

Georgian Period (1714-1830)

During this period, the most popular design of shopfronts included a pair of windows on either side of the central door. The windows used to be oriel and bow-fronted and the central door used to be half-glazed. While this design remained immensely popular until the late eighteenth century, the start of the nineteenth century introduced materials like steel, cast iron, and plate glass. The tall shopfronts designed using these elements were a reflection of elegance. 

Victorian Period (1837-1901)

This was the period when the UK has seen a notable urban expansion or urbanization i.e. the number of shops in the cities and towns of the UK abruptly increased. The shopfront designs during this period included a decorative ventilator of cast iron, fascia of timber or glass and tall windows. This period also witnessed the widely used sun blinds and roller shutters of timber.

Early 20th-Century Period (1900-1940)

While the 17th and 18th centuries beautified shopfronts, the early 20th century brought some striking and daring shop fronts. These Edwardian shop fronts of the early 20th century usually consisted of brass exotic brass and hardwoods. While the material of shopfronts changed during this period, the design remained almost the same as what we had in then Victorian period. The designs of this period can be best traced through the Paris Exhibition of 1925 where smooth shop fronts, striking signage, and angular windows changed the patterns of commercial architecture.

Transform Your Home with our Aluminium Sliding Doors

To stand above all, we should go hand in hand with the trends and changes the ever-renewing technology brings for our betterment. Gone were the days when people looked for wooden or timber doors, the new demand flooding in the market is aluminum sliding doors. Apart from sliding doors which are the perfect choice for simple indoor or outdoor configuration, folding doors also fall in the option.

Aluminum folding doors goes perfectly in-line with large openings as well as with the structures which demands an unusual configuration. Aluminum doors are made available in different attractive designs.

We offer a huge range of Aluminum sliding doors which holds capability of adding elegance to your premises. These easy to operate doors not only beautify the appearance of shopfront but also impress and engage the passers-by

Aluminum doors and windows enable your room to have enormous natural light. It helps you in keeping your place warmer during winters and also allows you a semi-locking which ventilates the heat during hot days.

Another benefit of the Aluminum doors is its strength. With a requirement of no or very little maintenance, these doors not only offer you durability but also save your pocket. Their robust frames render a larger area for glass which allows an unrivaled view to the outsiders. Where the outline sliders allow you to turn your whole wall into a glazed area, inline sliders allow you to save space.

The durability, ease of cleaning and strength of aluminum doors make them the perfect solution for the areas where natural calamities like storms, heavy rains, etc. strike more. The traditional wooden doors usually lack the ability to stay strong against such attacks of nature.

The endless luxury provided by these aluminum sliding doors at an affordable range is worth giving a shot.

Before installing the aluminum sliding door in your premises, we thoroughly observe your location, the nature of your business and the customers you focus on attracting. We then identify which design suits all the above evaluated factors the best. We make sure that we offer products of the best quality and longer durability.

Our automatic sliding doors render ease of operation with their smooth and effortless gliding system crafted using high-quality materials and modern day technologies. These doors guarantee you a long-term operation.

We offer you a wide palette to select your doors and windows from. From a wide range of colors, you can choose the one that perfectly enhance your new installation’s aesthetic. You can go for some traditional colors if you are looking aluminum doors and windows for your home while if you are willing to make your store stand out from the crowd you can opt for some bright shades. You can also go for two different shades for inner and outer frames.