They were once flourishing places
in the palmy days of the cloth trade, and could boast of fairs and
markets and a considerable number of inhabitants and wealthy
merchants; but the tide of trade has flowed elsewhere. The invention
of steam and complex machinery necessitating proximity to coal-fields
has turned its course elsewhere, to the smoky regions of Yorkshire and
Lancashire, and the old town has lost its prosperity and its power.
Its charter has gone; it can boast of no municipal corporation; hence
the town hall is scarcely needed save for some itinerant Thespians, an
occasional public meeting, or as a storehouse of rubbish. It begins to
fall into decay, and the decayed town is not rich enough, or
public-spirited enough, to prop its weakened timbers. For the sake of
the safety of the public it has to come down.
On the other hand, an influx of prosperity often dooms the aged town
hall to destruction. It vanishes before a wave of prosperity. The
borough has enlarged its borders. It has become quite a great town and
transacts much business. The old shops have given place to grand
emporiums with large plate-glass windows, wherein are exhibited the
most recent fashions of London and Paris, and motor-cars can be
bought, and all is very brisk and up-to-date.
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