Earlestown, Merseyside

Memories of a bygone time

I was now old enough to drink (18) but unofficially you could always get a drink at certain pubs, which I'll not name but say thanks for looking out for me when I got tipsy on two pints of mild.
My memories of Earlestown are magic, the Viaduct club & Vic's dance nights, they were something to look forward to.
Sadly Earlestown never moved on, it seems stuck in a time warp & that's a pity as there were so many characters living there.
Still I miss it & I guess I always will.
Time doesn't wait for nobody, and my body is gradually running out of time.
PS.  Is George Woodward the guy I went to Patterson secondary with (1958-1962)?
Brian Callaghan

Memories of a youth

I remember when there were two fishmongers in Earlestown, Lyons's fishmongers in Bridge St. and one whose name I can't remember in Legh St., now we have none.
 We also had two picture places, the Rink where the Police Station is, and the Curson near the station, now we have none of those either.
 My interest is fishing, we used to go to the "Private", a small pond off Vista Road, also Berrys pit near the slag heaps, the perch pit over the slag heaps, and then there was a small pond off Southworth Road which I believe is now filled in.
  All these places we used to walk to, then we went farther afield to Pennington Flash, first on the bus to Leigh end of it, then on the pushbike to Plank Lane end; in those days I spent two shillings and sixpence on ground bait and a shilling on maggots for hookbait, and it lasted all weekend, there used to be hundreds fishing at the Flash, a lot different today.
   On the market there used to be rabbits hung up, I used to feel sorry for the rabbits. We always had black puddings, off the market, and it was years later that I found what they were made off and now I wouldn't eat one if I was starving.
   Haircutting was always done by Mr. Hacket on the market square, he was always smoking and ash used to drop on the gown covering your clothes.
  The shops in Earlestown used to be run by the same people for years, Anikins fruit shop in Market St., Morts groceries, Arthur Smiths ironmongers in Market St., Peaks chemist in Queen St., Lyons fish shop in Bridge St.
  There used to be a Mr Goulding who came round with household goods, he had a  "house shop" in Earlestown the St. I can't remember, his mother used to run the shop with him, she was getting on a bit.
   I also remember the chip van which used to park near Davies Avenue, their chips always seemed to taste better outside, all wrapped in newspaper, no plain paper first.
                 G. Woodward

Merseyside Living Memories

Solid evidence of Victorian endeavour and values, Stephenson’s great viaduct carries the Liverpool/Manchester railway over the Sankey Canal. The juxtaposition of factories, railway and canal give the strongest indication of the prosperity that accrued to this area in the 18th, 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. It is worth reflecting that the two forms of transport - water and rail - were not, at first, incompatible. Later the growth of the commercial road vehicle industry was to deal a killer blow to them both.

Merseyside Living Memories

The Market is still very much a part of modern life, and fulfils its prime function on six days of every week.

Merseyside Living Memories

Here and above we see contrasting aspects of one of the town’s most important thoroughfares: a quiet residential section overlooked by the comforting bulk of the Town Hall, and the busy shopping area where the opportunity is often presented to meet and greet friends and neighbours in addition to purchasing life’s necessities. The young mother on the right is probably a grandmother by now, and does not remember the quality of the Silver Cross perambulator that carried her pride and joy in 1960. Some of the names above the shop windows are still with us, but certainly not occupying the same premises.