The Shops And Doctors At Sandiway 1956

A Memory of Sandiway.

We first arrived in Sandiway in 1956. I remember getting off the bus at the top of Mere Lane and walking down towards our new home in Cherry Lane. The house was a 'tied house' belonging to the ICI and our tenancy of it was dependant on my father working at the ICI. On our right near the top of Mere Lane was a small mere, or flash as they are called in Cheshire, in a field (now under Sandown Crescent!). There were no buildings on the right hand side of Mere Lane at all then and the view was was across fields for some distance. Just past the start of Ash Road on the left side of Mere lane as we were going there were (and still are) shops serving the local area. Some of the shopkeepers' names have stuck in my mind: there was a shop on the corner of Ash Road and Mere lane, I think it was a bakery then, later to become a clothing shop?, run by Mrs Newall. Then next to it was Mr Ackerley's grocery shop, then a greengrocers run by Mr Cottle. Next to that was Mr Littler's butcher shop and then I think came Mrs Kelly's sweet and newsagent shop. I have an image in my mind of Mrs Kelly serving customers from a small room at the back of the shop and there being a curtain across a kind of serving hatch? My father bought the Reynolds News from Mrs Kelly's shop.

Later Mr Ackerly expanded his business and turned the old shop into a short lived launderette when he had a new shop built just past Mrs Kelly's. Later still a woolshop opened as the Busy Bee. Round the corner from the Busy Bee new shops arrived including a much needed chemist and a grocery shop.

There was a small green wooden shop in School Lane run by Aunty May. It always looked temporary but was there for years! She sold all sort of household necessities from drill bits, nails, to light bulbs etc. The Post Office was in an old red brick building bordering Chester Road. Its entrance was once on Weaverham Road but this was shifted to the Chester Road side. There was an off-license in the same building its entrance being in Weaverham Road.

There was a barber in Weaverham Road not far from Chester Road called Charlie Stainton. My father, brother and I used to go to him for our regular hair cutting which he did in his modified front room. Charley had only half an ear on one side which I would worry about now...I remember that he charged 9d for cutting boys' hair and I think 1s 6d for my father.

The Hiltons who lived opposite the top of Mere Lane in Weaverham Road delivered the milk locally. Our doctor was Dr Warburton who lived in the big house on School Lane adjacent to Chester Road and near the modern surgery. His surgery was in a small outhouse in the grounds.