This week in Down Memory Lane, we take a look back at the old Grays High Street.

The first picture is from when Navy administrator, Samuel Pepys, came to Grays in Sept 24 1665.

Many people in the area will know of this famous, historical visit as he mentioned in his diary about buying fish from fishermen at the quay.

The second and third photos show pubs the White Hart and the Anchor & Hope during the early Nineteenth Century.

In the 1900s, you could still see the weather-boarded shops and pubs still intact.

It was not until later in the early 1970s a redevelopment completely changed the old High Street.

Today, Grays High Street is a very different place.

There are now a lot of high street brands and international food outlets, such as KFC and Subway.

There are no longer any pubs along the high street, with the nearest one, the Courtyard Inn, being on Clarence Road.

The area has recently come under fire as residents and councillors have raised issues on anti-social behaviour and violent crime happening during the evenings.

The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has been asked to put more police in the area in an attempt to decrease the amount of crime that goes on in the High Street.

There is, however, a planning application to open a Wetherspoons in the old State Cinema building just off the high street.

There are also still market stalls that sell a variety of goods up the High Street.

*All photos provided by Philip Edgar.