THE LYNNE MASSEY COLLECTION



Editor's note:
Lynne Massey has amassed a huge collection of Middlewich photographs over the years, the majority of them very rare and unseen for many years. With Lynne's permission we'll be featuring these photographs in this section. As you'll see, progress has been slow so far, but  more of these unique photographs will be added here as time allows. Links to information in relevant Middlewich Diary entries will also be included. It's hoped that the physical collection will eventually find its way into preservation courtesy of the Middlewich Heritage Trust - DR


1: PROCESSION IN WHEELOCK STREET 1920s

Reproduced with permission


This photo is thought to have been taken in the early 1920s and to show children taking part in the Middlewich Rose Festival.

The children are in Wheelock Street outside the White Bear and, in the background, can be seen the row of shops which disappeared in the early 1970s and has now been replaced by the former premises of Betfred Ltd. 

This was the row which once contained, at various times over the years, Cauley's grocery, Drinkwater's surveyors and estate agents, and the Meadow Dairy. 

The decorative, black and white, 'magpie' ornamentation on the building did not survive into the building's later years, but was definitely still there in the 1930s.

On the left is the church tower (note the flag flying from its pole. denoting that this was indeed a High day or Holiday) and the shops in the background have survived to the present day to become Chimichangos, Carrie-Ann Sudlow Ltd, Dragon City and Indigo Hairdressing.

Older residents will remember these shops as Luther Walton's, Reg Taylor's Newsagents, Samuels' Ironmongers and Skellon's Shoe Shop.

Other shops in the same row, further towards the town centre, disappeared at the end of the 1960s to make way for what was originally the Co-op Superstore, now home to Tesco Express and the 'Super Discount' store.

First published 14th March 2022


2: THE RIVER DANE AT RAVENSCROFT

Reproduced with permission

The River Dane at Ravenscroft, near Middlewich

 Captions will be added to the following photos as time allows:











































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