The Deck

Wynonie Harris

Wynonie Harris

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Remember the Deck? It was the popular name given to the area in front of the market hall stretching from the town hall to the bus station and it was THE place to hang out for generations of teenagers from Accy and district.

I "served my time" there from the mid-60's to the early 70's. Saturday afternoons were the prime time with the long haired/hippie types lounging around at the town hall end and the mod dudes showing off their cool threads at the bus station end. Whenever I walk past on a Saturday nowadays it's practically deserted, so I guess kids must hang around somewhere else.

Anyone else have any memories of the place?
 
I to remember the deck,it was a very poplar meeting place,we used to lean on the
railings just watching the talent go by when women looked like women.I dont think
the saying (see you on the deck) exists any more but that was how it used to be.
 
Isaac, Florrie and Vito were all real characters and permanent fixtures on the deck, or so it seemed at the time. There were actually two Tunnys who were brothers - "big" Tunny and "little" Tunny. "Little" Tunny lives down South and runs a successful mug manufacturing business. He occasionally posts on the Stanley forum on this site.
 
I thought outside Wooolies was the meeting place for the culturally conscious folk of Accrington...hey hey hey...or was it the Copper Kettle?
 
Atarah said:
I forgot to ask, which railings did you lean on. I dont remember any railings?????
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Of course you do Atarah!!! The ones at the side of the town hall (Broadway side) and the Rawtenstall bus stop was at the other side. But there weren't any outside Wollies.

Remember Ollie? He use to stand on the deck, poor lad he was 3 bricks short of a building set. Last saw him a couple of years ago...he didn't recognised me, and I don't think he recognised anybody...shame really.

Did you ever go into the Blue Dahlia Cafe? We knew it as the Blue Dandelion, Sunday afternoons just after 2 (Pubs closed then), drinking coffee and cackling.
 
The Deck (photo by Jambutty from an old posting)

Oh silly me, I didn't realise you meant THESE railings!!!!

This photo was on an old posting by Jambutty (hope its OK I have shown it)
 

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The van in the picture was owned by Walter Smith confectioners,they had a shop in
Whalley Road near to Bootleggars.There pies were really good,as was all the stuff they
used to make,the shop was always busy why it shut down so quickly I dont know!.
 
What a great picture, Atarah! It really brings back memories. I seem to remember when I was a nipper (round about the time this picture was taken) that the railings were the favourite hanging out place for the local teddyboys. They always looked a bit sinister to me in their long black drape jackets. However, by the time I'd reached the stage where I was hanging around there, ten years later, the favourite spot had moved to the benches at the other side of the town hall and, of course, the fashions had changed too.
 
Pity there was no teds in the picture they would have been around at that time, I would have been 9 yrs. Am I right, Joe Morts was the dance hall they all went to. I used to hang around the bus station end of the deck, near the Blackburn bus stop and hagle where we were going to go that night, stay in town or hop on a bus to Blackburn to go to the Mecca, or go round to Melbourne St and catch a bus to Manchester. They opened a cafe accross from the town hall in the late 60s cant remember what it was called. The Dahlia was an institustion, Friday nights we Would'nt go out till Ready Steady Go, had finished.
 
Darby - You mentioned Ollie and that he was 3 bricks short of a building. Ollie is very intelligent, I see him regularly. He owns an appartment in Spain and lived there for a few years. I think he is worth a bob or two, so don't feel sorry for him.
 
JEFF said:
Darby - You mentioned Ollie and that he was 3 bricks short of a building. Ollie is very intelligent, I see him regularly. He owns an appartment in Spain and lived there for a few years. I think he is worth a bob or two, so don't feel sorry for him.
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I think we got our Ollies mixed up. I meant Ollie Rowley!! Did you mean Walter Ollet??
Or somebody else??

I didn't mean to be nasty or anything, Ollie (Rowley) was OK for a bit of crack (fun), and I use to spend ages talking to him (well listening actually), he wasn't a bad lad or anything like that, quite harmless actually. Though I've heard he turned a little wierd after he got beat up by some yobs a few years ago!!
 
The cafe opposite the town hall was actually a Wimpey during the mid-60's. Then it changed to become the Grill Bar in the late 60's. It didn't have much merit in itself (no jukebox, boring decor, mediocre food) but the window seats were a great vantage point from which to survey the comings and goings on the Deck. The Blue Dahlia was THE place to be, though - frothy coffee and a great jukebox! The Olympus in Union Street was also something of a hangout but mainly for rockers.

Darby, I remember Ollie Rowley. Lived up Craven Street. Nice bloke, but things always seemed to "happen" to him. I remember sitting in Leonard's Chippy in Ranger Street one day when Ollie walked in with a plaster cast on his leg. He'd been on a pub crawl in Burnley, gone to the station to get the train back to Accy and fallen off the platform (fortunately there were no trains coming at the time)! Very sorry to hear he'd been beaten up. A damning indictment on today's sick society when a harmless bloke like him gets attacked.
 
Wynonie,

Lens chippy.....I remember him, use to be the best chippy in Accy..nice bloke as well.

My missus always used Lens chippy, although it was a bit of a walk from Charter Street. Names....and memories come rolling back.

You must be from the same era as me, Blue Dahlia and all that. Do you remember the Spiders Web on Blackburn Road just before the Arches, across from Little Jacks? That was the place to be in the late 50's - Sunday afternoons (before I took to the demon drink). Turned into the first Chinese restaurant in Accy. First owner was a Mr. Chung, who ran away with our neighbours wife...but that's another story!!
 
I agree, Darby, Len's chippy was definitely the best! I think it's because he stuck to what he knew best - fish, chips and peas (with a few bottles of Tizer and packets of Park Drive stacked in the corner). No pies, puddings or sausages. It worked, though, because they tasted better from Len's than anywhere else in town. His popularity was such that the queues sometimes stretched outside his shop and up Ranger Street.

Don't remember the Spider's Web but if it was late 50's I'd still be in short trousers and too young to frequent such places. Remember the Chinese though. In the mid-60's we sometimes used to walk over from the Deck and have our lunch in there. It seemed incredibly exotic at the time!
 
Dont recall any railings on the Deck,outside the Townhall.The only railings were people used to hangout was opposite the Jewelers I think?
 
kestrelx said:
Dont recall any railings on the Deck,outside the Townhall.The only railings were people used to hangout was opposite the Jewelers I think?
Click to expand...

May have been removed before your time. See the thumbnail at Atarah's posting on page 1 of this thread!
 
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