Stroll along the High Street in Cowes and you are walking through the story of so many businesses and the people that ran them.

Cowes still has several iconic family businesses. Some - such as Beken, Benzie and Pascall Atkey - are well known off the Island too but others have disappeared.

Scroll through the photos above

More than 100 years ago, Cowes High Street boasted top fashion houses supplying made-to-measure outfits around the world under royal patronage.

Royal warrants were presented to several Cowes businesses, such as Brown’s Stores whose premises were later to be occupied by Somerfield, then Sainsbury’s.

Medina Road went from being a salt marsh to a street lined with shops, pubs and major industry.

Until the last few decades, most streets in Cowes had a corner shop supplying groceries, sweets and day-to-day necessities. Almost all are now gone in the era of superstores.

You can find out more about the old shops of Cowes and what became of them at the Couture to Coffee Shops exhibition.

As well as many photographs, there will be old shop artefacts sure to trigger memories and a model of the Victorian Brown’s store with the royal warrant.

The exhibition runs from Friday, August 16, to Sunday, August 18, at the Beckford Centre, Cowes, PO31 7SE. It is open 10am to 4pm each day. Entry is free but donations welcome.

The display has been put together by Cowes History and Community Group, which looks after the archives of photos, cuttings and documents relating to the Cowes area.

For more information or if you are interested in volunteering, email chcg386@gmail.com or look at chcg.org.uk