Can you identify this Hereford scene from yesteryear?

Maylord Orchards under construction in the 1980s. <i>(Image: Alan Broatch)</i>
Maylord Orchards under construction in the 1980s. (Image: Alan Broatch)

IF you live in Herefordshire, you have probably been in this building at one time or another... but where is it?

The year is 1987, and the Maylord Orchards shopping centre is under development.

In this picture, shared with our We Grew up in Hereford Facebook group by Alan Broatch, the shopping centre's underground car park can be seen under construction.

The shopping centre, which opened in the late eighties, was once a destination for many shoppers, housing shops including C&A, Our Price, Dolcis, Index, and Jessops.

But the years have not all been terribly kind to the shopping centre, which has had some definite ups and downs.

In latter years, it was home to shops including Next and TK Maxx, both of which have since moved out to the city's Old Market development, which opened its doors to customers on the site of the city's old cattle market in 2014.

Even more recently, a large portion of the centre was given over to Wilco, which closed in September last year after going into administration, leaving the shopping centre largely empty.

The shopping centre was taken on by Herefordshire Council, which paid out more then £4million for it in 2020. It has since been suggested as a suitable venue for a new library for the city, but now looks like it will remain as a shopping centre.

The shopping centre is a bit of a controversial topic for members of the group, with Anthony Marmo saying it was "made clear by the residents in Hereford that it was something that we didn’t want or use".

Martin Glover remembered working on the construction site, taking his first job on a crane there for Jay and Davies Crane Hire in 1987, and Paul Batten remembered working there as a labourer.

Other members of the group have previously shared their good memories of the centre, with Donna Russell saying she looked forward to Santa's Grotto every year as a child.