The past is often a place where the imagination of today may soar, yet it was also a time when people had lives to live. Some of them were busy working all the hours of the day, yet others had leisure time. Businesses were there to serve the public, and many of them house both the business and the owner. The imagination of today can mean new life for the old village centre even if the buildings are in desperate need of repair.

Shops in heavy use more than a century ago might be abandoned today, or some of them could have already been renovated for use as private residences or new businesses. Those that still retain their old furnishings and functions can now be repurposed for modern life, and even some of the furnishings might be able to be restored to retain the charm and memory of those who lived more than a century ago.