THE MIDDLEWICH TREE OF LIGHT 2013 (ARCHIVED)

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The Middlewich Tree of Light Ceremony, 3rd December 2013. Photo: Geraldine Williams

NOW & THEN: LAWRENCE AVENUE/GARDENS

We're back once again in Lawrence Avenue, that unadopted thoroughfare (or former thoroughfare)* which once connected Wheelock Street and Webbs lane, until the intervention of St Michael's Way split it into two dead ends called Lawrence Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue West.
Our Now and Then picture shows us once again that charming, almost rustic, scene  as the Avenue (then known as Lawrence Gardens) basked in the warm Edwardian sunshine, together with a shot taken in September this year which proves that, although places change over the years, they perhaps do not always change as much as we might think.
Our musings on this photo can be seen here.
In 2013 we can see that the doorway where the happy Edwardian family were standing all those years ago has been bricked up, the approximate edge of the former door being marked by the red and white No parking sign.

Something about the rather haphazard brickwork suggests that this was done not too long ago, probably in a bit of a hurry.
Quite possibly this was done as part of the conversion of the premises into a shop.
As late as 1937 this large building, on the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Wheelock Street, which is now a kebab shop and the premises of Brooks & Bostock,appears to have had large bay windows at the front. Was it originally a large family home, with servants' quarters at the rear, to which the bricked up door was an entrance?
The basic outline of the rear of the building is still very much the same, with its sloping lean-to roof leading the eye to the rest of the north side of Lawrence Avenue which, again, looks remarkably unaltered, externally at least.
The first house in particular, now the home of a dental surgery, appears to have weathered the years remarkably well.
Here's a larger version of the 'now picture':

*actually, even before the coming of the Inner Relief Road, Lawrence Avenue had not been a thoroughfare for many years. There were bollards at the west end of the road preventing access to vehicles from Wheelock Street.

SEE ALSO NOW & THEN: LAWRENCE AVENUE 1969 and 2011

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW...

THE BIG LOCK RE-OPENS (MARCH 2012) (UPDATED MAY 2013)

(This Diary Entry was first published on the 14th March 2012, and re-published in updated form on the 31st May 2013)

The Big Lock in Webbs Lane  reopened in March 2012 following a major renovation and just in time for the tourist season. This old canal pub, which we've featured several times before in A Middlewich Diary, takes its name from the nearly Trent & Mersey Canal lock.

THE BIG LOCK circa 1875

THE BIG LOCK 1970s

Many thanks to Cliff Astles for supplying the above photo of The Big Lock illustrating how the building of the new housing next to the pubs has restored the look of the area to something approaching what it was when the old condensed milk factory/silk mill stood in its place.

Whoever designed that new housing rightly concluded that the Big Lock building needs another tall building next to it to make it fit into its surroundings.

Take a look at the Big Lock in former days here (follow the links).

UPDATE (MAY 2013): On St Valentine's Day 2013 the Big Lock changed hands once more and was taken over by previous owners Ken and Jackie Pickles, who also ran it from 2008 - 2011.

The website for the pub can now be found at:

www.thebiglockpub.com

MIDDLEWICH DIRECTORY ENTRY FOR THE BIG LOCK

'SHAPING MIDDLEWICH' PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 2013 (ARCHIVED)

ARCHIVED

'The environment in which we live and work in has been shaped by our ancestors for thousands of years. 

Cheshire is a landscape steeped in history; it has been an industrial and agricultural land with established 

route-ways dating back to the Iron Age and engineered waterways from the Industrial Revolution. Each part 

of Cheshire is distinctive and unique. 

Brief: To capture an image of Cheshire, exploring the landscape both natural & worked and historic built 

environment. We also have a ‘general’ category that will allow more scope in terms of having a prize 

winning photograph that does not fit into an existing category. 

This exciting opportunity exists for young budding photographers, enthusiastic amateurs and semi– 

professional photographers to take part in the Annual ‘Your Heritage’ exhibition. All Photographic entries 

received will be displayed at the Folk and Boat Festival on 15th and 16th June 2013'. 

(from the Town Council 'Heritage' pages)

A RELIC OF MIDDLEWICH'S FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH

A familiar sight to parishioners of St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in New King Street is this old cross, originally from the town's first Catholic Church and School in Wych House Lane, as featured in a recent diary entry by Malcolm Hough.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN WYCH HOUSE LANE

The cross, which dates back to the 1860s, was placed in the porch at St Mary's as a reminder of the Church's early days in Middlewich.

An explanatory plaque tells of the origins of the cross:

"This cross stood above the High Altar of the old School - Chapel in Wych House Lane. It is placed here to remind you to pray for the souls of the pioneer priests and parishioners of Middlewich"

KINDERTON STREET - TWO ALTERNATIVES

We've been considering this early 20th Century Kinderton Street scene a lot lately, particularly since an alternative to our original interpretation of it in this diary entry was put forward. Thus we now have two contenders for the site of this picturesque thatched building and we bring you present day views of both to enable you to make up your mind.

This was our original suggestion; that the old postcard shows Seabank running off down to the River Croco and the Trent & Mersey Canal to the left of the picture with the present-day Kinderton Hotel on the extreme left. The thatched building would have been somewhere in the region of the shrubbery separating the car park from the main road.

The alternative suggestion was that the scene showed Mill Lane, just off Town Bridge, and that the thatched building was approximately where the bungalow, part of which can be seen in this April 2013 shot, is now.
This would mean, assuming that the original picture was taken prior to 1931, that the building on the extreme left was the old Navigation Inn which stood immediately next to the old Town Bridge, somewhere near the location of this fine display of blossom in the long-delayed 2013 Spring sunshine..

What do you think?