The iconic Whitgift Centre, known as one of the forerunners of the modern shopping experience, was built on the site of the Trinity School of John Whitgift, which had occupied 11 acres between the new office centre and North End since 1931. The original site of the school provided an oasis of playing fields in the centre of the town, surrounded by shops from its entrance in North End. However, in 1965, the school moved to its new location in Shirley, leasing the very sought-after land to developers, who demolished the nineteenth-century school building to construct the Whitgift Centre, which at the time was an eight-and-a-half million-pound office and shop development.  

The architects took advantage of the sloping site to build a two-level shopping precinct which could be entered naturally from North End and at the upper level from Wellesley Road. The two levels were connected by goods and passenger lifts and two large circular ramps, which are no longer in place. One feature that many people remember was The Forum pub in the middle of the centre, accessed from the ground floor by a moving walkway or ‘travelator’. Polygonal in shape,  it proved a welcome focus for many shoppers and local workers at lunchtime.  

The first shop to open was Boots on 17 October 1968, and the centre itself was officially opened in October 1970 by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. It was the largest covered shopping centre in London until Westfield opened in White City forty years later.  

Plans to upgrade the existing shopping areas, including redevelopment by Westfield and a new John Lewis store, haven’t materialised in recent years, but discussions to revitalise the shopping centre are still on track to encourage more footfall to the town centre.