[susie123]

I have been remembering more shops from the 50s and 60s for anyone that’s interested. These are on Whalley Road starting of course with the Clock Garage which occupied all the space between the top of Milnshaw Lane and the railway bridge. Then going under the bridge, on the other side was Mr Watts barber where my brother used to get his hair cut when he was little, with brilliantine and a quiff! In the block before the Castle pub was Stanton’s, may have been a café, they sold ice cream, Whitewells I think. We used to go there on a Sunday afternoon for ice lollies (suck all the Vimto out!) and ice cream sodas. Then Milton Holgate, butcher, he used to slice bacon for you off a big roll. Our order was always for smoked streaky on number four (that was the thickness he set on the bacon slicer). There was also a newsagent in that block and I think the last shop before the pub was called Hoyle’s, they always had basins of brawn on a marble slab in the window but I’ve no idea what else they sold as we never went in there.

On the corner opposite the pub where the vet’s car park is now was Mr Faulkner’s off licence and stores. This was a long narrow shop extending down Whalley Road. Inside was dark and rather chaotic and we only went in there occasionally. I don’t know if there was a Mrs Faulkner but my cousin told me recently he had a reputation as a dirty old man. I think this shop was next to the Whalley Road Methodist Church. On the opposite side of Whalley Road was Percy’s chippy on the corner which I think is still there in the guise of a Chinese. A bit further down was a hairdressers called Maison Martin where my mum used to go for a shampoo and set and a pink rinse (she had white hair). When I used to go there at first to have my hair cut they had individual cubicles then they ripped them out and went all modern and open plan. I have photos of me as a 15yr old bridesmaid in 1962 with my hair backcombed into a cottage loaf style (I’m sure you can imagine it).

Crossing back over Whalley road, before the Hope & Anchor pub was a grocer called Joinson’s with a proper counter, chairs to sit on and sugar in blue paper bags. My mum used to have an order book where she wrote down what she wanted and they would deliver it. On the corner of Broadway there was a sweetshop and tobacconist, I think it was called Calverley’s. On the other side of Broadway next to where Catlow’s fruit and veg market used to be on the corner, there was a music shop with a grand piano in the window, Howarth’s I think. Also somewhere near there was an army surplus type shop where I got the kit for my first guide camp about 1958 – sleeping bag, kit bag, tin mug and plate and folding cutlery. I know there is/was a similar shop further up Whalley Road but it wasn’t that one.

Can I just mention one or two stalls that I remember in the market hall –Johnny Nolan’s with his wonderful sculptures Winston Churchill bust in white marble and a wooden eagle with spread wings, among others. They used to sell home cooked ham on the bone. Also Len’s cooked meats which was still there last time I looked but that was before the revamp. Two others are Greenwood’s cheese stall (tasty Lancashire in a great big block with lots of crumbs) and Fairbrother’s biscuits with all the tins laid out to choose from. Outside was Wilson’s who sold chickens, a treat in those days. They were hanging up and when you chose one they would cut its head off and draw out its guts for you. There was also a seafood stall which I see from another thread was called Molly’s. We often used to have crab or prawns or winkles for Saturday tea. I love shellfish and it’s ironic that now I live by the sea in Morecambe it’s virtually unobtainable unless you like potted shrimps, which I hate, whereas then there were all sorts to choose from.

The last shop I remember is Saul’s in Black Abbey Street, though only very vaguely. I just recall the name and where it was. I used to go there with my great aunt, that would have been in the fifties when I was at Central Prep School which was at that end of town and she would have met me from school. Until I read some of the other threads on here I had no idea what kind of shop it was, couldn’t remember at all, but it seems to have been a bit of everything.

Well another ramble comes to an end. Happy memories!