Next to Shepherd’s shop stood the equally imposing Criterion House. Built in 1862 by Samuel Steel. It was operated first by Arthur Grace in 1871, then subsequently by John Green, as a drapery and general clothing store. In 1875, Green sold it to B N Dodd, who continued the drapery and added a millinery business. In 1892, Henry O’Beirne bought the shop and rented it out to Miss I Dodd who continued the drapery business. In 1896, Mrs E J Commons took it over.
From the end of World War 1 to the mid-1920s, the upper storey became a private hospital run by Nurse Coffey. From about 1913, William Murrell operated a newsagency and tobacconists shop downstairs. In 1932 he and his daughter Carrie moved the business across the road, having bought Dan Cornish’s boot shop at No. 75 Sussex Street. Criterion House then became a boarding house and a café. It was demolished in 1938/1939 along with the old Shire Hall next door to make way for the new Shire offices.
The photo shows an unidentified motor cyclist with Criterion House and Shepherd’s store in the background.
