17 Bank Street
A busy Bank Street around 1910. On the left is Preston's, the corner building on the right has by this time got its fake black and white facing. The tram is T for Tonge Moor and is going down the hill towards Folds Road and Tonge Moor.
The top end of Bank Street looking towards Bradshawgate, 1950s?
David Whenlock's picture.
Bank Street was once known as Windy Bank.
Traffic problems in 1961 because of resurfacing on Bank Street cause nose to tail traffic from the Marsden Road (fire station) island along Deansgate to this point.
A good and rather old picture of the Bank Street Unitarian Church and school. The older building lower down Bank Street is the original Unitarian Church built in 1846 though a Unitarian chapel was established there in 1696. The newer building was built in 1856 after which the older building became the Sunday School building. The newer building still stands though the older building was demolished some years ago. (Posted on Facebook by Julie Kershaw.)
December 1968. A broken lorry at the top of Bank Street causes traffic problems.
Shops we can identify include Manor Carpets, John Blundell and Allsops.
A busy Bank Street. The Unitarian school room still stands at this date
A scene so very familiar to ,many people.
Fitted Bedrooms, Samson's Sales, Joe's Umbrellas and handbags. Tetley sign - is that the Beachcomber, possibly two more premises before the Bridge over the River Croal where Manor Street and Little Bolton begin, Manor Carpets, John Blundell, Wallpaper.
Not the most salubrious or beautiful part of the town but would be OK with a little TLC. It deteriorated around 2010 possibly because of expectations of redevelopment and w allowed to get into an awful state. 2020-21 - all buildings on the right except the very top of Bank Street are being demolished.
17 May 2012. (C)WDC
Not as busy as it used to be. The Unitarian School has now disappeared. The street is still reasonably well kept.
A very busy Bank Street in 1970. We are standing in Little Bolton on Manor Street looking across the River Croal the bridge being just this side of the mass of the Unitarian schools. Whitehurst's mill is on the right.
But very quiet one day in 1971
Tots-T-Teens, Seddon's Property Agents, "Bank Street Taxis" though it is on Manor Street. Gentleman John's Wallpapers. The gap between the buildings has a fairly low wall, about five feet high. From time to time young men would scale this wall, to hide from the police or to obey the call of nature, unaware that there was a 30 foot drop on the other side down to the River Croal. No fatalities so far as I know but a few hospital admissions. In later years large warning signs appeared but the wall was not raised.
Manor Carpets have moved down the street to where Gentleman John's Wallpapers were, joined by Bolton Hair Studios. John Blundell remain where he was. We now get a clear view of the narrow slightly set-back building which at this time hosts Carl Angelos Italian Restaurant. To the left of the block is Brown Street leading to Water Street and Well Street.
Picture from Julie Vanion.
A fairly tidy looking Bank Street, probably 1970s, Maxwell’s Plum seem to have taken over a number of adjacent properties and given them uniform frontages,. It looks like uniform whitewashing lower down the street as well.
Over the bridge, Picturesque picture framing, Carl Angelos restaurant.
The night club had these names probably in this order: Beachcomber, Cromwellian, Playmate, Maxwell’s Plum.
The Playmate Club on Bank Street. to the left is the River Croal more than 20 feet below the road. The venue is probably better known by its original name Beachcomber or its final name Maxwell's Plum. In the foreground is a pleasant place to sit on the site of the Unitarian School building. It has recently become a rather less pleasant car park.
The road to the right is of course Bank Street. To the left of the bridge it changes its name to Manor Street. The river is the boundary between Greater Bolton to the right and Little Bolton to the left.
Bank Street, apparently the Croal Bridge but the buildings above are quite different from, (much older than) the ones on the next picture.
Up the hill we see the premises of J W Halley and Wm Blackburn and Co.
At left, below the bridge we have The One Horse Shoe though on rebuilding it seems to move slightly down the street..
The space is too wide for the bridge. From the appearance of the gable one property adjacent to the river has been knocked down (or fallen down).
All the buildings on the left are the ones that remained until the Church Wharf redevelopment of 2020-24.
Bank Street being widened, Whitehurst’s being built, the One Horse Shoe is on the left behind the lamppost. Picture from Lost Pubs of Bolton
Whitehurst's corn mill.
You can see where Bank Street was widened.
Whitehurst's corn mill.
The writing on the lorry says "Crownall Products".
People talk about the smell of this place - not in flattering terms.
Bank Street, which was previously called Windy Bank, stretches from the Preston's corner down to the River Croal. You can see the bridge parapet between the dark building on the right hand side (Unitarian Chapel Sunday School building) and the white building which is Whitehurst's corn mill. This side of the bridge we are in Little Bolton and the road is called Manor Street. To the left off the picture is Folds Road, to the right is Bow Street, behind us is Kay Street.
This picture looks up Manor Street and Bank Street towards Deansgate in 1950. The squarish building, above the barrow, behind the policeman is the Dog and Partridge pub.
Similar view in 1959. Picture posted on Facebook by Edward Thompson.
1999 Manor Street and Bank Street from the Bow Street junction. A pleasant, tidy looking picture unlike a dozen years later. The Dog and Partridge seems to have been painted quite recently; The bridge over the Croal is visible. What at some time was the Beachcomber seems to have no name at this time but is in its renovated form. There used to be shops on this corner but they disappeared many years before.
Top left we see the huge bulk of the Stone Cross building on Churchgate.
Much busier in 1966.
Number 44 Tonge Moor bus
9 May 2013 (C)WDC
Not too much different but we can see temporary carpark where buildings on the corner of Bow Street had been demolished.
In November 1998 the Bolton News reported that the pub had looked into its history. Regulars had found plans and 18th century documents including a last will and testament in which the pub was bequeathed on a 900 year lease at £50 per year.
PC103 Scoble on point duty
The bus is going along Bow Street with Crown Street off to the left at the Digger and Lido posters and up behind Whitehurst's.
ACDO is a Bolton firm.
LANRY (on the back of the bus) a bleach made by a firm in Nelson
29 October 2014 a Land Rover ploughed into the side of the pub. Craig Durham who owned and ran Clyde’s Gents Stylists in Higher Market Street, Farnworth who had problems tried to commit suicide by causing this crash. He caused substantial structural damage and a number of people were lucky not to be killed. His parents said that he had not intended any harm to anyone else.
The pub has never reopened and is likely to be demolished. It sadly put the Licensee out of work and deprived a number of local bands of their place to play.
Pictures posted on Facebook by David Whenlock.
Bow Street into the picture, Kay Street up on the right. Picture posted on Facebook by Vince Wayne.
Very likely the same policeman and the same bus.
(C) David Whenlock
View from roughly the same point but now Argo is being constructed on the left and the building on the corner of Kay Stt has disappeared giving a view through to Haslam Moon's on the corner of Bow Street and Back All Saints Street.
1951
Bow Street, a summer’s day. The drains had been unable to cope with a thunderstorm and water coming up from the drains reached a depth of almost a foot.
The building to the left of Taylor's must be the original Dog and Partridge pub whose address was 22 Manor Street.
We are looking along Brown Street from Manor Street looking towards Water Street. (The street name is easily readable on the original but the R is missing from Brown.) Notice the hoist up to that first floor door.
Bolton Archive Is00528
Water Street and the Grapes Hotel from Brown Street. This building was originally owned by a wine merchant called Robert Barlow and it became the first bank in Bolton circa 1818. The pub closed 1952.
The far end of Brown Street looking across to the Grapes Hotel and a surprisingly steep Water Street.
We have a typical corner shop, main merchandise tea and cigarettes, with the vitreous enamel iron plate signs. Just shows how long they expected things to remain unchanged.
Typical also is the chap standing there to get on the picture.
Straight across is Well Street leading to Bury Street which terminates at the Church Wharf / Craddock Street railway sidings.
Bernadette Ward posted on Facebook - The shop on the left was my granddads shop it shows my granddad in the doorway and my mum on the steps.....here is his business card.
(with permission)
<<<< Water Street as it approaches Folds Road.
May 1970
the building of the Folds Road dual carriageway. The Co-op bakery is for sale. Folds Road School is still in place.
Picture by Adrian Drummond-Hill
Folds Road corner with Kay Street, the dual carriageway now complete. The Co-op bakery now Cearns and Brown, beyond it a pleasant cluster of buildings (a very unpleasant wasteland in 2015) and Folds Road School. Prominent on the sky-line is St John’s Church, Latimer Street.
Kay Street from its corner with Folds Road.
T Moscrop & Co - a bit of Bolton history.
On the stonework behind the Red Rose Loaf truck, perhaps too pale to see here,
BAKERY / BOLTON COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD.
The smaller van says "Best Bread" with what might be a Sunblest logo.
Now we will return to Deansgate via Crown Street.
August 1998 (C)WDC
Crown Street from Bow Street. The main features of this picture are the Unitarian Chapel on the left and the Bow Street Car Park on the right but you might notice the dome of Martin's Bank on the skyline.
This car park was regarded as really quite ugly when it was built but before this picture it had received a face-lift which made it not too bad for a car-park.
Around 2014 it was found to be structurally unsound (concrete cancer?) and was closed. The cost of bringing it back to a suitable standard together with the recent building of newer carparks at Topp Way and Deane Road led to a decision that it would be demolished.
In 2016 a group of people said they intended to buy it, renovate it, and create an indoor market / emporium, "The Link" with office space and a hotel. 7th January 2017 the Bolton News reported that building renovation work had started.
(C)WDC September 2013
very little change.
(C)D McCann
extreme left - low building associated with the Unitarian Church. Then the Millstone Hotel and Whitehead's at the top of the street. Buildings across the picture are on the other side of Deansgate including Laidlaws. On the skyline is probably Crompton Place (Arndale Centre).
On the right side of Crown Street are some quite popular shops before Martin's Bank with its dome.
1st May 1961 we had a disaster in the centre of Bolton when the Top Storey Club in Crown Street caught fire in which 19 people lost their lives. The old warehouse building was of three storeys as it fronted onto the street but was eight storeys high as it overlooked the River Croal.
The owners of the building were unhappy about its unsuitability for a club with up to 200 in attendance and on the very day of the fire asked the club owners to close down and vacate the building by the end of the month.
On that night it was fortunate that no more that 25 people were in the club. There have been various theories and accusations about the start of the fire but no final definitive explanation.
The fire travelled up a narrow wooden staircase, the only access to the club. (There was another possible exit but it was not known about by those there.)
The fire did not actually reach the top floor club room but 14 people died from smoke inhalation. Seven or eight people jumped down to the river of which five died from their resulting injuries. Two are known to have survived and it is believed that one more survivor was able to leave the scene but he has never been identified.
This disaster resulted in questions in Parliament and changes to the Licensing Acts and the checking of premises by the Fire Brigade.
Emphasises the height of the building. Sadly some people jumped to their deaths trying to escape the fire.
The Bow Street multi-storey car par covers the site now.
May 2012 (C)WDC
Looking along the Croal from Bank Street to Crown Street and the multi-storey car park
1978 The Millstone Hotel in Crown Street with Whitehead's next door to the right.
July 2017 (C)WDC
September 1970
Top end of Crown Street.
See caption
May 2013 (C)WDC
The top of Crown Street and the recently opened Elephant and Castle from Deansgate.
Martin's Bank is now Betfred.
The refurbished Bow Street multi-storey is seen lower down the street
On the next page we begin our journey along Deansgate.
