This is a view looking north along the High Street. Clearly photographers were unusual enough to draw a crowd in those days. I wonder if Stuart slipped the man sixpence to hold his rented donkey and cart whilst taking the picture or whether he just happened to be passing? Happily the Swan Hotel on the right is still trading under the same name today. The same can't be said for much of Alton's High Street and today it has more than its fair share of modern eyesores that seem to have been designed with little consideration to the character of the area.