6 Newport Street

An old postcard posted on Facebook by Paul Berry.

We can read the signs on Voses and see, though we already knew, that they are tripe dressers. On the corner of Coronation Street (off-shoot of) we see Warwickshire's. On the tallest building in the street on the corner of Ashburner Street we see the joist for the pulley and zooming in we can see a rope hanging from it.

Here we have a policeman on point duty waiting for some traffic to direct. An open-topped Halliwell tram is on its way. This corner had Bolton’s first set of traffic lights in 1929.

To the right a detail of the same picture from a different source.

<<<<<Mid-late 1920s

The corner of Great Moor Street and Newport Street. You may remember the Wheatsheaf but are unlikely to remember Waller and Riley.Note Vose’s, UCP. Sadly the other signs are not quite clear.

This corner had Bolton’s first set of traffic lights in 1929. Most pictures of this corner around this time have a policeman in the centre of the junction. The one on point duty here is well over to the right and has a colleague on the pavement apparently looking at the suspicious characters in the foreground.

Not quite the same date as the picture above because the notice on Waller and RIley's is different.

Above - Waller & Riley (chemists), Burgons (grocers) and others supplied their own branded toothpaste in small ceramic pots. Picture posted by Denis McCann.

<<<<< A quiet day on the job. Note the Wheatsheaf, in through the front door, turn left for the Vault or right for the Bar Parlour.

A similar view, there's the policeman again, it's a bobby's job!

This is slightly later than the previous pictures, some demolition having taken place either side of the chemist. The notice on the gable end reads something like "D Good and Son Ltd / Building Contractors". The notice on the hoarding says "New premises for Waller and Riley's, Chemists"

They are building the round fronted property which still exists. The old building on the corner will be demolished when W&R have moved into the new one. It may be that W&R wanted new premises anyway but this is part of the widening of Great Moor Street.

We do not yet see the traffic lights to be installed in 1929 but it is thought that the chemists and Shannon's opposite were probably redeveloped 1929/30.

Bolton Evening News picture dated 1929

Construction of the new Waller and Riley building is complete. To its left is Nicholson's Pram Land. The original building on the corner still stands and is still in use.

Buildings on Great Moor Street from this corner to the Congregational Church have been demolished and will soon be replaced by the elegant buildings which still exist, further back in line with Waller and Riley's new building.

The notice says Wm Gornall (?) & Sons Ltd; Builders and Contractors; Ellesmere Street, Bolton and Gore Street, Salford; telephone.....

The policeman is still there but now he has a box to stand on.

<<<<Said to be 1930. Waller and Riley's new building.

There is the policeman again, now he has a box to stand on, but we still cannot see these traffic lights.

It seems that the chemist was rebuilt to match the round corners of The Wheatsheaf and Shannon’s was built to match at the same time. However this style was also used just prior to 1930 on two corners of the Deansgate, Oxford Street, Knowsley Street junction so the Wheatsheaf may not have been relevant. It has been suggested that round corners were built at that time to make it easier for the trams.

Around 2000 the fourth corner was rebuilt by Olympus chippy but it was made square with a bevelled corner. In 2014
Shannons was sadly demolished to make way for the new bus/train interchange, it has recently become apparent that Shannon’s was demolished before any firm decision had been made as to what to build on that corner but it will not be round!

The chemist later became Timothy Whites and Taylor's and then Boots and is still a chemists.

Said to be 1930. Waller and Riley's new building. We note that property has been redeveloped down Great Moor Street in a matching style. On Newport Street the chemist's is once more attached to the buildings from there to Bold Street and the end of the building has been left in anticipation of further building along Newport Street. What a pity that it was never completed.

The upper floors of the W&R building are occupied by Scottish Legal Assurance.

Looking down Great Moor Street we see that the LIDO has not yet been built but that only puts the picture earlier than 1936.

1958

The chemist's is now Timothy White’s. The Wheatsheaf with UCP is still standing and will do so until some time after the Newport Street shops have been built. All the shops on that side of Newport Street have now been demolished but rebuilding has not yet started. Why were they demolished? Could they not have been preserved along with the little rabbit warren of streets behind. Other towns have made such places into attractive and intriguing areas, admittedly it was not quite the York Shambles, but it would be not unlike the Brighton Lanes. The reason given at the time was that Newport Street needed to be widened to cope with increasing traffic. The new shops here (and on Great Moor Street as well) were built somewhat further back leaving the Wheatsheaf sticking out in a rather ungainly manner. It is ironic that not all that long after this widening "for traffic" the street was pedestrianised and traffic excluded.

For now, we get a clear view through to the side of the Town Hall and the side of the Victoria Building you were not supposed to look at. The front part of the Town Hall, completed in 1872 so 86 years old is noticeably dirtier that the extension completed in 1938 so only 20 years old.

c1961

Newport Street, the new shops have now been built on a line further back than the originals so that the Wheatsheaf is too far forward. The purpose of the redevelopment of Newport St seems to have been to widen it to cope with traffic. But not many years later it was closed to traffic!

c1961

Newport St, similar but a wider view of the Wheatsheaf. The first Wheatsheaf on that site was built in 1835. The new building was opened in November 1962 and was renamed Serendipity’s in 1986. It became Home Bargains in 1997/8.

1962

The Wheatsheaf finally bites the dust. It was re built, still rounded but in line with the Newport Street and Great Moor Street shops. It closed down, to reopen as Serendipity in 1997/8 but is now a budget shop, Home Bargains since 1997/8.

There are lights on in the part of the ground floor behind the Dickinson sign.

How strange. The UCP shop has gone from the right hand end of the block. The upper storeys of the part we can see have been removed as seems likely has the part of the building to the right. But this room still looks as if it is in use.

1962

The Wheatsheaf now rebuilt further back relative both to the Newport Street and Great Moor St shops. In 1997/8 it became Serendipity’s. It is now Home Bargains. The widening of Newport Street and pushing the shops back meant that Coronation St which acted as Back Newport Street between the back of the shops and the Octagon multi-storey car park was also moved back slightly and aligned with Old Hall Street South. That latter name has now disappeared the whole length from Great Moor Street to Victoria Square being called Coronation Street.

24 September 2009 ©WDC

The Wheatsheaf is now Home Bargains, On the right is still a chemist though no longer Boots who opened a huge branch at the other end of Newport Street in the Shipgate mall, Olympus restaurant has now rebuilt on the left, as with many other places in Bolton it is now quite difficult to get a decent shot because of the trees.

Newport Street from Shannon's corner in some of our lifetimes but almost certainly before all our memories.

Between c1948 (there do not appear to be any tramlines) and 1957 when buildings to the right of Shannon's were replaced.

Shannon’s, road works in Newport Street - best guess that this is late 1940s and the tram-lines are being removed.

Julie Corcoran commented on Facebook: My great-grandfather was Thomas John Shannon who owned the shop. He died in 1919. People may remember his son Eric Shannon who with his sisters Winnie and Ena also worked in the shop.

So T J = Thomas John. If he died in 1919 he cannot have owned the actual shop on this picture which was built c1930. TJ’s wife was called Mary Alice who died in 1951. She was the powerhouse behind the whole business (Tim Win) TJS found the property on Newport Street and thought that it would be a good place for a new shop. The original owners had been unsuccessful in their business and declared bankrupt. TJS asked Grandma Shannon what she thought about the property and a quick decision had to be made to put a deposit on the place. Grandma Shannon was a walking bank. She had enough money hidden on her to cover the deposit. The rest is history. (Tim Win) TJS had several shops. You will be able to get a list of them from the Post Office reference book listing businesses in Bolton which can be found at the library local history section. There was a shop on Chorley Old Road, opposite where Nam Ploy is now. They used to sell aprons and those special knee and leg covers that were used in cotton mills. I can't remember the name of the things but they provided these and many other things but mainly for the people working in the mills. (Tim Win)

<<<< late 1950s. Shannon's has closed down and the shop is about to be taken over by Edwin P Lees - radio, television and electrical goods. Two new buildings have been constructed to the right of Shannon's, one for Proffitts, but the further block including the pet shop and post office remain.

No rebuilding so far on the right of Newport Street.

(C)WDC May 2013

The Shannon's store has since had a number of owners including Bees Knees, a frozen food store; Cash Store is its final occupants.

The "new" shops are now empty and the whole block will shortly be demolished for the construction of the new Transport Interchange.

The bridge over the Preston line out of Trinity Street Station was old and unsafe. It has now been replaced by the state of the art bridge - Gateway into Bolton - though it has been pointed out that as far as vehicular traffic is concerned Newport Street has been made one way OUT of Bolton.

There are pictures of the final demise of the Shannon store and the building of the interchange on the Great Moor Street page.

Now we step back in time again as we explore the rest of Newport Street.

Bolton News picture date unknown.

The Wheatsheaf is recognisable and of course we are clearly looking across Great Moor Street and along Newport Street to the Town Hall. Greenough's clock is visible.

There seems to be some sort of procession emerging from GMS on the right, Whit Walks? On the left the newsagent is advertising News of the World and on the right we have an advert for Colman's Mustard and the premises of a clogger and boot repairer.

Newport Street looking towards Wheatsheaf and Town Hall, Burlington Hotel on the left. c1900 electric trams so no earlier. Picture from Bolton Museum Archives.

The newsagent is now advertising the Evening News.

Quite a few ladies are about in floor length black dresses, four of them are getting on the tram. There are lighter coloured dresses but all are long, at least mid-calf length.

December 1955. Bolton Evening News >>

Newport Street with none of the more recent alterations.

Direct Raincoat at the left end of the block and Ault's gentlemen's outfitters at the right (still there in 2021).

1902

We continue along Newport Street and go on towards Trinity Church. The shop at the far end of the block has been a post office for many years but on this picture the PO is closer to us. The large sign on this block says Lees Dining Rooms. We see the railway bridge under which the Preston line passes (it goes under Great Moor St and Moor Lane then up Deane and the Croal valley to Lostock).

Newport Street, Proffitt’s in new building on left, SIGNS shop has been useful in locating a couple of pictures to here. Note the block to the right with seven shop fronts and five multiple chimneys at the left end.

Picture from Denis McCann.

Newport Street

The street name-plate says Bk Newport Street which could be slightly confusing since the frontages of the shops are Newport Street. "SIGNS" comes to the rescue along with the corner of Proffitt's overhang. The wooden board on SIGNS proudly proclaims "Member M.S.M.A."

The shop on the corner has fancy writing which says "StockingS" and indeed that seems to be what is in the window.

From Bolton Museum Archives, probably Spender 1937

Newport Street

We see SIGNS again, Lees Dining Rooms have become Lees Cafe. The Post Office is still in that block, there is a postbox on that corner.

That block from the opposite end.

From the collection of Angela Thompson

Newport Street: SIGNS .... Avery Scales, Hindley Knight, Post Office, the side streets at both ends of the block are labelled Back Newport Street.

c1970 copied from Gordon Readyhough book

Newport Street, Battersby’s This building is to the right of Proffitt's. It has replaced the SIGNS shop and the four premises at the end of that block. The remaining three premises with the Post Office on the corner are still there. It is Battersby’s final home built in 1958. After the closure of Battersby’s this shop was briefly Morrison’s, then Kwik Save, then before demolition a sunbed studio.

The block to the left had Bolton’s first Argos which later was Salvation Army until demolition.

The Newport Street / Great Moor Street corner has now been entirelyreplaced by the new transport interchange.

Bolton News 2/4/2013 reported that 16 businesses are now subject to Compulsory Purchase Orders of which five (Salvation Army, B&M Bargains, Sunshine Dance Studios, Smart Parking) will close because other premises have not yet been found. Salvation Army have indicated that they may eventually open elsewhere.

24 September 2009 (C) W D Collier

Salvation Army, B&M with Sunshine Studios upstairs, newsagent, post office. The yellow sign warns of a temporary ban on turning right into Trinity Street. The new bridge eventually opened after lots of teething troubles.

The scene in 1998

Aults, one of the oldest businesses in Bolton still existing is on the right.

Olympus fish and chip restaurant has been rebuilt by this date.

At left we seem to have some sort of renovation to the Shannon's building.

The arch bridge has not yet been built but work is being done on the old bridge.

Probably 2006, the bridge had been built not much behind schedule but was still not open because of a string of problems, like when a vehicle was in the middle, the ends lifted up a number of inches! The cost had increased to £4million. “How could it be a gateway into Bolton?” people were asking, “when the road was one way so that only vehicles leaving Bolton could use it!” Pity also that this way into Bolton has been allowed to get so run down.

A look back through the new bridge to the Town Hall.

Newport Street, last stretch to the Railway Hotel and Trinity Church.

1960s, 70s

From collection of Edward Thompson

We reach the far end of Newport Street close to Trinity Church. The Railway Hotel is on the left and we see a tram and two buses. The date is probably early 1940s shortly before trams were discontinued.

Newport Street looking back from the Railway Hotel towards the Town Hall.

Picture posted on Facebook by Edward Thompson.

Bolton Archives

Newport Street / Trinity Street junction, Railway Hotel

This may be from the Spender collection which would date it as 1937. Certainly before 1947 as trams are still running.

The British Queen opposite the Railway Hotel, on the curve leading to Crook Street.

Trinity Street, Newport Street, Crook Street junction before realignment, and rebuilding of the bridge. Railway Hotel. c1960-65

Picture from David Whenlock's collection.

No 123 - NBN 431

A fantastic picture from 1966 posted on Facebook by Gene Watts. (My notes)

Air view of Crook Street, Sweet Green, Trinity Church, Railway Hotel, Trinity Street, station still has its canopy, old road alignment.

A- the remnants of the Bolton-Leigh railway sweeping off the picture to the right to Great Moor Street Station

B-Hick Hargreaves

C- Crook Street

D-Sweet Green Tavern, the realigned road now passes behind the pub.

E- Newport Street

F- the footbridge beloved of trainspotters and schoolboys from Trinity Street to Johnson Street and Great Moor Street opposite Mawdesley Street.

G- Trinity Street going down to Manchester Road and Bradshawgate

H- Thynne Street still being used as a bus terminus for the Manchester No. 8 and others. Above Trinity Church is Thistlethwaites Tyres before rebuilding.

I- Bridgeman Street.

Hick Hargreaves, famous and historic Bolton engineers on Crook Street at its junction with Newport Street. Trinity Street and Thynne Street.

1985

Crook Street, Hick Hargreaves, Sweet Green Tavern. The front of the pub is on Crook Street. Since the nearby junction was realigned traffic passes by the back door and the front faces a quiet back-water.

Bolton News picture

The Sweet Green Tavern.

The pub seems to occupy what had been two houses of a row of four. The third premises appears to be a pie shop by the name of Schofield's. At the present time the pub seems to occupy three with the rightmost house demolished though some rebricking of the front makes that slightly difficult to ascertain.

Thistlethwaite’s on Thynne Street before rebuilding. It is now part of the ProTyre group.

On the next page we have pictures of Trinity Street and the station.