Whitehead's first phase of rebuilding was symmetrical about the left hand gable with the addition of the dome at the left corner. The Umbrella shop still occupied the part where the right hand gable is now and Preston's occupied the corner in the building they moved into in 1905.

The picture above was taken shortly after Preston's rebuilt its shop in the same style as Whtehead's in 1913 and the Umbrella shop was also absorbed into the design.

posted on Facebook by Peter Lodge

A quick glance back to Churchgate.

Whitehead's first phase of rebuilding is complete, The Umbrella shop and Preston's original building remain unchanged so this is between 1909 and 1913   

Just looking into Churchgate, there is no mock Tudor black and white on the buildings on the left

1910-1920s. A good view showing both sides of Deansgate. Some building is taking place at Mealhouse Lane. The Upper Nag's Head can be seen to the left of the tram.

On the right on the corner of Crown Street, Martin's Bank has not yet appeared.

Martin's opened a branch at 39 Deansgate in 1922 pending completion of the permanent premises at 12 Deansgate on the corner of Crown Street (opened in 1925). So this picture is earlier than 1925.

A similar view at a slightly later date than the picture above.

Scaffolding at Mealhouse Lane has been replaced by the dome of the present building, (Midland Bank). TYLER'S lettering is not there.

There is a good crowd of people at the left who are perhaps slightly formally dressed. Some coats and hats are what you expect of this period.

Visible on both pictures, slightly clearer on this one, in the distance at the left of the street is the Higher Nag's Head and on the right is the Palatine Building (Burgons, now MacDonald's) at its full height. At some uncertain date and for an unknown reason the top storey was removed.

Corner of Deansgate and Crown Street before 1925.

Scratched in bottom corner, "D. Cooper, Markland Hill, Bolton"

Again looking from Preston’s corner along Deansgate. Hard to imagine this amount of traffic in 1934. 

A cobbled Deansgate c1935. The Nat West Bank is its full size (comments later) and Britannia can be seen on top of the Woolworth’s building (see later).     Martin's Bank is on the corner of Crown Street with its dome.

24 September 2009 (C)WDC

Martin's Bank has become Bet Fred. The date just under the dome is 1925.

The white building with the gable just beyond Bet Fred is the Old Three Crowns pub.

On the left, Town Cafe, Bolton News, Alice's Fish and Chips, direct, Skipton B S,

.

Distance - MacDonald's is wrapped in green plastic for exterior renovations.

A beautifully clear picture of that side of Deansgate with Martins Bank, closed 1969, The Old Three Crowns incorporating Modelia and the District Bank (later Nat West). The date is likely to be early 1960s. This picture might be from the Bolton Archives.

(C)WDC 16 May 2017

The ornate Old Three Crowns

from the street you don't notice the sort of prefab to the left, but you see it when you look at the picture At left there is a small alley then the wall of the Nat West which was originally the Bolton Bank and only half its present size.

(C) WDC 19 May 2015 >>>>

The building now as Nat West. Note how the bank has been extended to be eight windows wide instead of four while retaining its overall appearance.

Its position on the street is clearly defined by Wilko (Wilkinson's, ex Woolworth's) to the left. What a grand if slightly small building it was and what a grand building it became surmounted by the town crest.

Picture repeated above for comparison.

Coat of Arms above the bank.

1938 a quick look back towards Churchgate, the Market Cross and the Parish Church before we cross to the opposite side of Deansgate and then progress to the Woolworth's / Mealhouse Lane corner and Bridge Street.

(C) WDC Deansgate is still quite busy in 1998. Universal Booksale has replaced Modelia at the side of the Old Three Crowns. Notice the tall building on the right near the corner with Bradshawgate with the bricked up windows on the wall facing us – this is the fustian warehouse from the mid nineteenth century. Among the shops on this side we have Stolen from Ivor and Bensons for Beds.

(C)WDC 24 September 2009

Whitehead's is now a bar. King Kebab has appeared on the corner of Churchgate and Bank Street. The old fustian warehouse is more clearly visible. The shops on the right include Subway (on the corner, closed down 2016), Euphoria (hairdressing), Hilary Ann’s (previously on Churchgate), Town Café (still there May 2017), ABM newsagent, and Alice’s Fish and Chips (off picture to the right of Bolton News, closed in 2016).

Sadly I have no date for this picture which brings back such memories of the bustling Bolton of the 1950s ar early 1960s. The bus is probably a number 18. The lorry is labelled "Bolton Farmers Dairies" The cars are probably a Riley and a Vauxhall. Among the shops we see SMC.

no date

Deansgate seen from the Bradshawgate corner; A Jones and sons, shoemakers on the corner, JAX ladies’ outfitters, Curtess shoes, unknown, Belmont?, Style, Loyds, and more. Bolton Archives picture?

(C) WDC 23 May 2016

Same view of Deansgate, now Miller Metcalfe estate agent on the corner, then John Lee G (?), Queen nails and beauty spa, Town Cafe and ABM News. The window frames above the John Lee G sign are quite old but not as old as the building which is half of the old fustian warehouse the half to the left having been removed when Bradshawgate was widened 1904-10.

c1870 The Joiners' Arms, 15 Deansgate, on the sign board 15 and R Wright. The pub sells Dunville’s Old Irish Whisky and Allsopp’s Pale Ale. A poster on the wall above offers Chancellor cigarettes and Old India(?) Tobacco from the firm of what appears to be Goggins and Co. The Danish Dairy Co is selling something for 1/1 “one and a penny”. This picture precedes the rebuilding of the block in the 1870s after which the Joiners’ Arms was a much grander place. The new building frontage remains almost the same in 2017.

The corner that we all knew as Woolworths until its demise in 2009 was previously occupied by Constantine brothers, drapers and funeral furnishers, for about 70 years from around 1856 until 1926 when Woolworths took it over having moved from their original store in Oxford Street (opened 1912). The building was known as Britannia House. Look at the plinth.

To the right of this building we see the corner quoins of the next door building and the word LUNCHEONS on the wall. This is Fernihough's Mimosa Cafe



This picture is an artist's impression of how an extended store would look. Later pictures suggest that it never actually looked like that. Notice that Britannia's plinth has been moved from the centre of the old Deansgate frontage to the centre of the extended building. The Mimosa cafe has become an integral part of Constantine's, presumably no longer owned or managed by Fernihough's.

c1920 Britannia House incorporating the Mimosa Cafe– Ladies’ Tea Room though its presence is on;y indicated on a temporary banner. Note that compared with the artist’s impression, the roof line is not continuous but remains from the two original buildings and the plinth for Britannia remains central to the original building not central to the extended building.

Picture of the Mimosa Dining Room (Constantine Bros) Posted on Facebook by Denis McCann who says it is not his.

 Britannia in all her glory atop Constantine's Britannia Building

Constantine's building on the corner of Deansgate and Bridge Street down which we can just see the old Fish Market, opened 1865, demolished 1932.

To the right on Deansgate is Fernihough's Mimosa Cafe and of course Britannia surveys the whole scene.

This statue stood on that plinth until it was removed for safety reasons in 1942; where it then went is unknown. The dates 1687-1890? – when Constantines expanded the building a wooden beam was found with the date 1687 was uncovered. Presumably this expansion took place in 1890 and a previous building on the site had dated from 1687. A reply from Museum to enquiries made by Peter Lodge: There are no formal records of the removal of the statue of Britannia within our holdings, however in an article published in the Bolton Journal of Friday, January 25th, 1957, appears the following paragraph:

“A stone plaque overlooking the Deansgate entrances to the store reads, “Britannia House, 1687-1890.” The name, of course, originates from the statue of Britannia which occupied a commanding position over the inscription and was dismantled and subsequently burnt in September, 1942.”

The same article contains a concise history of the site, including evidence found of earlier usage of the various premises occupying the site from the aforementioned date of 1687 through to the Woolworths’ era of ownership.