WHISTON'S AND THE CHESTER ROAD METHODIST CHAPEL, 1950s

by Dave Roberts

Here's another one for our growing collection of photographs of Whiston's Garage.
It's one of those pictures which joins together Middlewich past and present, though in this case the building which links the two is not, as is usually the case, St Michael's Church (though that building can just be glimpsed trying to get into the act just above the vintage lorry in the picture) but another place of worship which still exists, albeit in a new guise.
We're back once again at Whiston's Garage which once stood at the junction of Chester Road, Wheelock Street and Nantwich Road.
On the extreme right is the Red Lion Hotel, now home to apartments and re-christened 'Lion House'.
Across the road, opposite the spot where Nantwich Road  comes in from the right, is Whiston's, identifiable by its distinctive sign board  in the Whiston house colours of red and white.
The various departments of Whiston's with its petrol station, garage, car showrooms and radio, TV and electrical businesses stretched from the cemetery lodge (where Lidl's supermarket now stands) all the way to Red Cow Court, opposite  Mococo House.
And right in the middle of it all is Chester Road United Free Methodist Church.
The building still survives as 'Church House', the home to Bomford's Office Supplies, a firm which has been established in Cheshire for over sixty years and was once, before technology moved on, the first port of call for anyone looking for a typewriter.
Nowadays though, rather than hiding away among Whiston's rather nondescript collection of shops and showrooms, the building stands out on its own opposite Lion House with the end-on junction between Nantwich Road and St Michael's Way in between the two.
We were quite hopeful of pinpointing the date of this photo to within a few years because of what appears to be a Ford Zephyr - a classic 'Z-car' - right in the middle of the picture.
Looking up the dates of manufacture of these cars, however, tells us that they were produced between 1951 and 1972 (although the styling obviously changed during that period) so the car, although very redolent of the early 60s in its styling, can't really be the 'clincher'.
But on the end wall of the building on the left is a tell-tale sign - an MOT sign in fact. MOT tests were introduced in 1960, so we can date this picture as no earlier than that year.
Between that sign and the Ford car is one of those revolving Castrol signs which seemed to be almost compulsory outside every garage and petrol station in those days, and a close inspection of the lorry (or truck, if you really must) trundling along Chester Road reveals what look very like Castrol trade-marks on the front of the vehicle, so it may well have been bringing further supplies of the life-giving fluid to Whiston's to keep the cars of Middlewich on the road.

First published 30th March 2014

Revised and re-published 27th March 2023

LILYWHITE POSTCARDS OF MIDDLEWICH

by Malcolm Hough and Dave Roberts

A friend of mine, Maurice Weedall of King’s Crescent, recently brought me six post cards to look at, featuring scenes of Middlewich.
Some we have seen before, but two of them are new to me. 
What I find interesting is that five out of the six are from the well-known Lilywhite series and have the original copyright number on them. They appear to belong to the same set.
I was wondering if it might be possible to track down a full set of these cards? They are all top quality and enlarge well on the screen - Malcolm Hough

Editor's Note: Lilywhite Ltd of Brighouse were only one of many firms producing postcards of thousands of locations all over the world. Malcolm appears to be right in saying that these cards are part of a Middlewich series, as can be seen by the index numbers MDH 57/MDH 25 and so on on all but the last one, which seems to be from a different publisher. Internet searches bring up long lists of postcards from Lilywhite and other publishers, but little about the postcard manufacturers themselves. We'd be grateful for any information about this fascinating source of pictorial history. -Ed.

This postcard shows the Parish Church with the iron railings still in place*, and also showing railings over the river Croco (extreme left, abutting the Town Bridge parapet).
Maurice told me that in this photo, by the Church’s rear gate, one of the two gentlemen in waistcoats, is his grandfather (who died before 1944 when Maurice was born). He is probably the one pushing the trolley, or push chair. The child is Maurice’s elder brother Barry about 1940/41.
The graffiti 'artists' were also about in those days - see the town bridge wall.
Also visible in this photo are the corks on the overhead wires to stop birds flying into them, mainly the racing  pigeons which were, and still are, so popular in this and other parts of the north. Maurice thinks that the mounds in the Churchyard are freshly cut grass left to dry on a hot Summer day, possibly to supply horse feed with it being wartime. - Malcolm Hough

* which, obviously shows the photograph to have been taken  during the earliest days of the Second World War when, in common with similar railings from all over the country, they were removed to provide scrap metal for the war effort. In fact very little of the metal collected was ever used for the war effort and a lot of it, particularly in London, was quietly dumped at sea. The exercise was chiefly valuable as propaganda, making people think that they were making sacrifices to win victory. It's a pity the church's railings couldn't have been returned or replaced after the war. However, on a brighter note, Middlewich's beautifully ornate cemetery gates in Chester Road were spared and were recently restored to their former glory. (update (April 2019: Sadly, our beautiful cemetery gates were, almost unbelievably, wrecked once more by an out-of control car not long after this was written. At the time of writing - 26th April 2019 - they are yet to be repaired - Ed) To the right is Middlewich's long-vanished, and still much-missed, Victorian Town Hall -Ed.

This one is very well-known and crops up repeatedly in many a collection of Middlewich pictures. It was on sale in local newsagents right up until the early 1970s for those who had taken the novel step of holidaying in Middlewich and wanted to let the folks at home know of its glories. The picture itself appears to have been taken in the early to mid 1950s.
We're standing on the other side of the Town Hall shown in the previous picture, in The Bullring, and looking along the still very recognisable Wheelock Street, the main points of reference being the now beautifully restored White Bear Hotel on the right,and, in the middle distance, the distinctive facade of the Alhambra Cinema which, despite the vicissitudes of the years, still retains all that ornamental decoration and, almost miraculously, its name.
The building on the extreme right is now the site of the Vaults car park and the building visible between it and the White Bear is now home to two hairdressing establishments and the former home of the celebrated Sharon's Cafe.
The Vaults itself is set back from the road, and lurking between these two buildings waiting for the day, many years later, when it would emerge into the open to be the first building on that side of Wheelock Street.
Out of shot on the extreme right is the start of Pepper Street, meandering away from the town centre to join Webbs Lane and giving access to Henry Seddon's Pepper Street Salt Works along the way.
The buildings on the left have now disappeared to make way for what is now Tesco Express and the former Pineland Shop. - Dave Roberts

We have definitely seen this picture of King Street before, and it has featured in a previous Middlewich Diary entry, which you can see here. This is King Street, Middlewich, either during or just after the Second World War. The car looks to be of 1930s vintage but in those 'make do and mend' days may well have kept running throughout the war and beyond. The large tree, centre right, marks the spot where King Street curves to the right to cross over the railway line and then start its climb up Ravenscroft Hill. The huge poles along the left hand side of the street are part of the somewhat Heath-Robinson style electricity supply to King Street, in which the cables were strung along the street like telephone cables. The lower part of King Street even used to have wooden electricity poles which had street lights screwed to them, Part of this now antiquated system still survives.
We can date this photo as being from the 1940s by the two houses on the right, which were built by my Grandmother and my Mother's cousin Harry  in the late thirties and were the only houses on that side of this stretch of the road until building began again after the war. -Dave Roberts

Another rather familiar postcard view, this time pure 1920s suburbia as Nantwich Road makes its genteel way down to the aqueduct. The entrance to Mill Lane is to the right. Notice the elaborate telegraph pole - just one of millions which used to line nearly every road and railway line at one time - and the small road sign; all that was necessary to control traffic in the days before the world went motor-car crazy. We think this picture dates from the 1940s. Notice how spick and span everything seems. - Dave Roberts

I was looking at this postcard of Chester Road and noticed that  the name of the landlord on the Golden Lion pub sign is  F. A. Egerton. According to Middlewich Hospitality, the new book by Ken Kingston,  he (Frank Egerton) was the landlord from 1929 to 1944. So as with the St Michael's photo, this one was probably taken in  the early  years of the  war, which  may explain why all the roads are quiet. It would be nice to find a full set of these postcards.

The shop with the Gold Flake sign in the window was also a cafe in those days. I remember it being a shop in the 60’s but not a cafe. - Malcolm Hough

This photo is the 'odd one out' among Maurice's  postcards, as it is not  part of the Lilywhite Series. It does, though, appear to be one of a set of Middlewich cards as it bears the index number MDW4. It's titled 'King Street Schools' which dates it as pre-1920s when the 'deviation' from the original line of the road was developed and this section of King Street became 'New King Street'. The aerial view of the two roads below, which is taken from Google Earth, shows how New King Street aligns perfectly with the top part of King Street (as shown in the postcard above).Presumably the 'New' prefix was given to what is actually the old section of road so that there would not need to be a change of name as the new alignment met the old. Notice the lovely old gas lamps along the street. This scene has not altered very much over the years, although the building on the right, which was St Mary's Primary School, is now St Mary's Parish Hall. - Dave Roberts

The yellow line follows the route of New King Street from St Mary's Church to the foot of the railway bridge to show how it aligns with the 'top' section of King Street. Before the coming of the railway the road would have continued along the side of Harbutt's field and, probably, made its way along the riverbank before turning to bridge the river and resume its northerly course towards Northwich and Warrington. The green cross marks the position of St Mary's Church and the former school, and the red cross is the site of the houses in the 'King Street' postcard above

 

With many thanks to Malcolm Hough and Maurice Weedall.

First published 1st May 2015.
Up-dated and re-published 26th April 2019

THE RED LION 1969

First published on Facebook 29th April 2011

by Dave Roberts

Here's one for owners of the  new apartments at the top of Wheelock Street to hang on their walls. 
It shows the old Red Lion on the corner of Wheelock Street and Nantwich Road as it was in 1969.
Note the CHESTERS neon sign and the off-licence, or 'OFF SALES', department.

Many pubs had these before the advent of...er...off-licences. 
There was, for example, one at The Vaults (or Brown's Vaults) at around the same time as this photo was taken.

Note also, to the right, the long-gone Yeowart's grocery shop on the corner of Nantwich Road and Chester Road and the total absence of gardens and dangerous road junctions in front of the pub.

Here's the other side of the shop, seen from Nantwich Road:

For a full description of this photo, click here

In our drinking glory days we had some epic nights in the old Red Lion, particularly when the legendary Ted Hussey was the landlord.
It was there that I first saw the folk band Cheshire Folk in the early 1970s – twenty years before the Folk & Boat Festival was even a gleam in anyone's eye.
And in 1977 I did a few  Sunday evening discos there after a recommendation from the late lamented Frank Robinson. It was the year Elvis died, and we spent a lot of time crying into our beer and playing his records, along with a new 'waxing' which at the time I thought was dire -  I Remember Elvis Presley by Danny Mirror. Our version was a 12 in coloured vinyl pressing. Time and age has mellowed my opinion, though, and the song now mostly inspires affection and nostalgia, not only for Elvis but for those early 'Dees Disco' days around the pubs of Middlewich.

I REMEMBER ELVIS PRESLEY (Danny Mirror)
YouTube link
(Not for the fainthearted)

It's easy to forget at this distance of time, but 'The King's' reign, from the time he burst on the scene in the 50s to his early demise in 1977 was a mere 20-odd years.

But the Red Lion at that time was not really a place for a disco, particularly on a Sunday evening.
Reg Bunn summed it all up perfectly when he asked me, 'what do they do - rattle their dominoes in time with the music?'
By 1979 I had moved to The Vaults and spent three fraught but basically happy years playing disco music to a (usually) more appreciative crowd. But that's a story for another time...

The Red Lion meanwhile moved on through a series of transmogrifications and failed experiments, aimed at finding a new format.
Most of these involved nailing old doors and other bits of rubbish on the ceilings and plastering the walls with 'jokes' and fake notices. These were, as a friend remarked, mostly 'about as funny as a rupture'.

The pub became the Cat's Whiskers, the Tut & Shive, the Tap & Spile and probably a few more before, briefly, reverting back to the Red Lion and then becoming the rather more successful Cats Bar for its final few years.
Now its pub days are gone, along with all the memories and it has become 'Lion House', a rather unlikely apartment building.

The old stable block (seen to the right of the picture) and the bowling green to its rear have also gone to be replaced by town houses.

Thus does poor old Middlewich pass from glory.

At least the building itself survives, albeit shorn of most of its interesting adornments and character.

Originally published 13th July 2011
Revised and re-published 17th August 2015

Facebook Feedback

When this Diary entry was re-published in August 2015 there was a great reaction from many people who remembered what we like to call the pub's 'glory days' - the days when, if you had a Saturday night out at the Red Lion, you knew you'd had a night out...

Anita Jane Keal I grew up on Nantwich Road, not far from the Red Lion, where the flats are now. I have such wonderful memories of this era, and  pictures like this bring a tear to my eye. In one such picture I saw Dad's old car parked outside our house. Now that did make me cry!

Dave Roberts I lived in Nantwich Road myself, at number 53, from 1952 to 1959. My sister lives just a few doors away from there now.

Anita Jane Keal It was such a wonderful era when we were kids - so carefree! Mind you, I did escape to play footie one day when I was five and got hit by a car outside our house, number 25. I still have the scars too! Dad worked in the Red Lion as a waiter for Ted. Then, as I got older, I worked there too, from 1986 to 1988

Debbie Fox My Mum still lives in the same house as I grew up in. I have very fond memories of playing on the park with the massive slide. Had a few fab nights in the Red Lion!

Dave Thompson Happy Days! Our first house was number 25.

Christine Ruscoe Yeowarts! I'm glad others remember this shop too!

Dave Prince Not as old as you, Mrs!

Jacqui Cooke I used to go in there for a quick one with my friends on a Friday and Saturday night while waiting for the bus to Mr Smith's Club in Winsford.

Craig Whitney What does the red sign say?

Dave Roberts The one at the top, underneath the attic window, says RED LION; the other one says CHESTERS - by then part of Whitbread.

Craig Whitney Was Chesters a pub chain or brewery?

Paul Stevens It's a brewery:

'Back in 1959 mild accounted for 42% of beer brewed. Twenty years later it was down to 10%, and today it's probably much less than that. Initially this steep decline was largely the result of selective advertising on bitter beers, but until the late 1970s most brewers still produced at least one mild.
Its last strongholds now are the Midlands and the North-West, especially the Manchester area. Its popularity there is perhaps typified by Chesters 'Fighting' Mild as it was endearingly known. Once a delicious dark mild - so dark that the first time you walked into a pub selling it you would be convinced everyone was drinking draught Guinness. The 'fighting' tag seems to be derived from typical scenes inside and out at the average Chesters House! Chesters was, sadly, closed by Whitbread in the 1980s.'

Colin Dutton I was born and bred at number one Nantwich Road, right next door, and I'm sure I was fed Whitbread bitter as a baby! They had a fantastic bowling green, as I remember. Chesters was a beer - bitter or mild.

Bernie O'Neill I remember it well, living there for 18 years and being crossed over the road to got to Yeowart's shop. Good picture! Dave, I must sort through those old films. There are lots of scenes showing trips to the races etc. from the Red Lion in the good old days!

Dave Costello (August 2017) Fond memories. I was born next door at number 1 Nantwich Road. At that time Mr Garner was the licensee. The pub and bowling green were my playground as my mate, Peter Gallimore, was the grandson of the landlord. Upstairs there was a billiard room. In the early days of the Ted Hussey era the pub had no music licence, but the lounge and bar were packed ever night. The lounge had table service, the waiters wearing very smart white 'Chesters' jackets. Sunday lunchtime, Tom Ryan, Ted's brother-in-law, would have twenty or thirty pints of mild ready pulled for the queue outside awaiting the mid day opening!
From Nantwich Road we moved across to Oddfellows Passage and from there to Cemetery Cottage in Chester Road where my dad was sexton. Three houses in a few years, and we'd hardly moved a hundred yards! At least I kept the same friends!

Delia Smith (August 2017) We used to go round as kids to the 'off sales' to get pop. There was always a lady in there with her dog, with a half of something.




First published 17th August 2015
Updated and re-published 22nd August 2017

• 
  

CHESTER ROAD, CORONATION DAY 1937

by Dave Roberts

On the 12th May 1937 Middlewich joined with the rest of the country in celebrating the Coronation of King George VI, and we assume that this picture was taken, if not on the day itself, on a day very close to it..
The Coronation marked the end of a turbulent time for the British Monarchy. Edward VIII had reigned for less than a year before he was forced to abdicate rather than give up his relationship with Mrs Simpson.
He was never crowned  and  by 1937, when Edward had been succeeded by George VI, the Monarchy was keen to mount an occasion to remember, in order to restore Royalty's somewhat tarnished reputation.
The town rose to the occasion, as it traditionally did when it came to Royal occasions.
Middlewich had always considered itself to be a 'Royalist' town, from the days of the civil war, although by 1937 this will have been more a matter of custom and practice than of any deep-seated emotional attachment to the Crown.
Nevertheless, for the 1937 Coronation, Middlewich pulled out all the stops. Among the many events were no less than three processions through the town, a bonfire and firework display, and sports on the football ground in Seddon Street.
All these things, and more, were recorded on film for posterity by members of the Mid-Cheshire Amateur Cinematography Society (MCACS) and the films subsequently shown to the public in the Alhambra Cinema.
The Coronation 1937 film is now preserved in the North-West Film Archive at Manchester University, as part of the Roberts Collection.
The film, with the original opening titles restored, can be seen on the Salt Town Productions YouTube channel. Please follow this link.

MIDDLEWICH CORONATION CELEBRATIONS 1937

Another feature of Middlewich's  celebrations for this momentous Royal occasion was the erection of arches bearing patriotic messages across some of the streets.
There was one in  Kinderton Street, one in Kitfield Avenue, and one in Hayhurst Avenue. ICI built one in Lewin Street close to the White Horse
And there was the one shown here, erected by the Independent Order of Oddfellows, who were based at the Golden Lion, just out of shot to the left, proclaiming

LOYAL GREETINGS TO THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN

This arch also features in the Coronation 1937 film and, fortuitously, when the MCACS cameraman (in all probability Clifford Ridgway) came along to film it, he did so from the other direction, and so we know what it says on the reverse  side:

MIDDLEWICH HISTORY READS: 'ALL THE MEN ARE LOYAL THERE'

 a quote which is attributed to Charles Frederick Lawrence, Clerk to the MUDC, historian and poet.

He was, of course, alluding to that old Royalist rhyme from the days of the Civil War:

Middlewich is a pretty town,
Seated in a valley,
With a church, a market cross,
And eke a bowling alley.
All the men are loyal there,
Pretty girls are plenty;
Church and King and down with the Rump,
There's not such a town in twenty

In the background Middlewich Motors can be seen, draped with bunting for the occasion, and with another of those superb vintage cars parked outside, complete with spare wheel carrier.
Under the arch itself a gentleman who looks very much like a postman is passing the time of day with a local resident.
(with acknowledgments to Middlewich 1900-1950 by Allan Earl (Cheshire Country Publishing 1994)

First published 10th March 2012
Updated and re-published 2nd February 2017

MIDDLEWICH AUTOS AND BOOSEY'S GARDEN CENTRE JANUARY 2012

ORIGINAL DATE OF PUBLICATION:20th JANUARY 2012

by Dave Roberts

Paul Greenwood has been out with his camera to capture some aspects of the present day Middlewich scene for posterity, for the very good reason that some parts of it are, by all accounts, due to disappear soon.

We're saying 'by all accounts' because it appears that matters are by no means settled.

This picture shows Chester Road as it was in mid-January 2012, with Boosey's Garden Centre and Middlewich Autos in what should be their last few weeks before demolition to make way for a new Morrison's supermarket.

According to the local press work should begin on this in March, so it should naturally follow that the removal of these buildings is imminent.

However, other sources are saying that Morrison's, despite having obtained planning permission for their new store, are 'not yet committed' to building it (see 'UPDATE', below).

The theory is that uncertainty over plans by Tesco to rebuild, and greatly enlarge, their premises in Southway are causing Morrison's to delay a decision on actually going ahead with their plans.

Can a town of this size support two major supermarkets?

If they're both built, will people travel here from out of town to shop?

What will be the effect of these developments on the shops in Wheelock Street?

Opinion is divided on this. Some say that two large supermarkets (or even one greatly enlarged one) will kill off trade in the main street.

Others, on the other hand, are saying that the increased number of shoppers in the town will give a boost to Wheelock Street trade, as people will stay in town and buy all the things they can't buy in the supermarkets from the Wheelock Street shops.

Whatever happens, this may be a momentous year for Middlewich and large parts of the town may change forever.

Which is why, to return to the real point of this Middlewich Diary entry, Paul has gone out and about to record the 2012 Middlewich scene.

Middlewich Autos has been in business in Chester Road for over thirty years, replacing a firm with the pleasing name of Middlewich Motors (shame they couldn't keep the name).

Middlewich Motors in the 1950s

MIDDLEWICH AUTOS WEBSITE



Boosey's Nurseries, of course, is much older and pre-dates even the arrival of the Boosey family in Middlewich in the mid-nineteenth century.
William Boosey was an Essex gardener who came here in the late 1850s and took over an existing nursery business.

William Boosey and Family

According to Allan Earl in Middlewich 1900-1950 (Cheshire Country Publishing 1994) Boosey leased land in Holmes Chapel Road, Webbs Lane and Pepper Street as well as in Chester Road and Holmes Chapel.
Allan also makes an interesting point which has a bearing on this entry in the Middlewich Diary:

...' The area of woodland along the Wheelock Valley which can be seen from Coal Pit Lane and Chester Road is overgrown nursery stock which was never cleared after the 1914-18 war, partly because of the fall off in trade in the late twenties and thirties, but also because the land falls away quickly to the river and was therefore unsuitable for agricultural machinery.'

So that great profusion of trees along the river, which I had assumed to be a fairly recent phenomenon, is actually much older than I thought, and now we know why it's there.
Right up until the 1950s and 1960s Boosey's nurseries owned a lot of land in the Nantwich Road area, where Glastonbury Drive and associated developments now lie.
The extent of the nurseries even in those days can be appreciated when you consider that the driveway which runs alongside the fine old Victorian house just where Nantwich Road makes a sharp bend to run down towards the aqueduct, once led into the nursery fields.
And if you stand in the car park of the present day Boosey's premises (while you still have the chance) and look in the direction of Glastonbury Drive you can imagine how things used to be, with many acres of land given over to the cultivation of all kinds of flowers, plants, trees and shrubs.
The change of name from Boosey's Nurseries to Boosey's Garden Centre gives an indication of how the  business has changed.

UPDATE: September 25th 2014. In actual fact the name didn't change, as we had assumed. Boosey's Nurseries and Boosey's Garden Centre were separate businesses and continued for a time on different parts of the site (see comment below). We're glad to correct this misunderstanding and also to know that the original Boosey's Nurseries business is still thriving in Antrobus. Many thanks to our anonymous contributor for putting us right on this point -Ed

The coffee shop mentioned is run by Helen Ireland and is one of the town's 'hidden gems':

 Boosey's Garden Centre would probably never win any architectural awards, but the buildings are attractive enough and it is an amenity which will be greatly missed when, as seems likely, it disappears (sooner or later) from the Middlewich scene.

Our advice is to enjoy it while you can.

Many thanks to Paul Greenwood for the photographs.
Will he be able to return in January 2013 and take more photographs of Boosey's and Middlewich Autos?

Or will a new era for shopping in Middlewich, for better or worse, have begun by then?

UPDATE: At the end of February 2012 it was announced that Morrisons' planned to start work on the site in May, and were still aiming to be open for business at Christmas 2012.
Meanwhile Tesco's original plans were also expected to be passed by Cheshire East's planning department on the 29th February.
Update: This, of course, never actually happened as Tesco withdrew its plans at the last minute.

See: BROKEN DREAMS

Facebook comments:

Andrew Tomlinson with living in Croxton Lane for many years and being friendly with the Morrises I have many memories of this site. I will have to sit down and thumb through some old photos to see what I can find/remember. I do remember the garage being a petrol; station as well as car sales/repairs - owned and run by Bob Williams?

Boosey's Garden Centre finally closed its doors on the 26th April 2012. Click here for our valedictory tour of the premises

Originally published 20th January 2012
Re-published 25th September 2014 following the receipt of the comment below telling us that Boosey's Nurseries lives on not too far away in Antrobus.


Text re-formatted 9th April 2020

10th APRIL 2020

WHISTON'S GARAGE EARLY 1970s

If you own the copyright on this image, or know who does, please let us know

This photograph from Paul's collection was taken, as far as we can ascertain, around 1970, or perhaps just a little later, just before the existing three way junction between Wheelock Street, Chester Road and Nantwich Road disappeared to make way for the northern end of St Michael's Way which now sweeps away in a broad curve through the site of the buildings on the left,  runs  through what were once gardens and orchards and  past the town centre, to join up with Kinderton Street at the Town Bridge.
By this time Whiston's Garage had lost its memorable 'house-style', as seen here and taken on a corporate look, courtesy of the Ford Motor Co (still a dominating force in the district courtesy of  Fords of Winsford, who even sponsor the local weather forecast on Granada TV)*.
The brick wall on the left belongs to the Chester Road Methodist Church, which still exists as 'Church House' and houses a computer and stationery business standing on the corner of Chester Road and St Michael's Way.
Middle right is one of those enduring symbols of 'old' Middlewich, a single decker Crosville Bus. Out of shot to the left of it is the former Whiston's radio department, by that time serving as a car showroom as part of the Ford franchise. This building can be seen in the background of this picture,
On the right can be seen part of the Victorian Red Lion pub (now an apartment block called 'Lion House') and to its left is the present day Acorn Surgery, a breakaway enterprise from Oaklands, the town's main doctors' surgery in St Ann's Walk. In 2014 preparations were being made for the practice to move from here to Lex House, adjacent to Middlewich Town Wharf. Ironically, this was the base for Middlewich's Doctors from 1967, after the Wheelock Street surgery down the road from here closed until the early 2000s when Oaklands in St Ann's Walk opened.
This building had a former life in the 1950s, in very much the same line of business, as the Cheshire County Council Clinic where babies were taken to be measured and weighed and issued with National Dried Milk and orange juice.
At that time the building, in common with all such NHS establishments of the period, reeked of a mixture of cigarette smoke, nappies and Dettol.

* Diane Russell (see comments below) tells us that the 'Ford' in Fords of Winsford is nothing to do with the Ford Motor Co as seen on Whiston's old signage. A look at the FOW site does indeed reveal that there doesn't seem to be any connection. They could have chosen a less confusing name, but they're obviously doing well if they can afford to sponsor Granada's weather forecasts. Many thanks to Diane for the info - Ed.

MORRISONS COMES TO MIDDLEWICH

28th January 2013

A PHOTO FEATURE BY BILL ARMSDEN

with commentary by Dave Roberts

The opening of a new supermarket in other towns is usually a matter of fleeting interest to most people. A few lines and a display ad or two in the local newspaper  and a leaflet drop to let everyone  know the new store is in business are usually the only indication of a new addition to the local shopping scene.
This, it hardly needs to be said, is not the case in Middlewich where anything new on the (metaphorical) High Street, and in particular anything which adds to local choice is welcomed with great enthusiasm (leavened, of course, with the usual moans and complaints).
Middlewich's shopping woes date back to the late 1960s when towns all around had caught the Supermarket bug with a vengeance. Crewe, Northwich and Winsford (though not, oddly, Sandbach) all climbed aboard the supermarket bandwagon and the shopping pattern for the next forty or fifty years was established.
For Middlewich this meant travelling to a nearby town to do a weekly, or monthly, 'big shop' and picking up a limited number of other items in our town's smaller shops.
The nearest thing that Middlewich could boast to a 'supermarket' until Somerfields came on the scene was the 'Co-operative Superstore' in the town centre which replaced several shops around the town owned by the Winsford Co-op. Part of this enormous building is now a Tesco Express store.
It's important to remember that one of the main problems which Middlewich has faced over the years has been  relatively low population growth compared with other towns in the area. The 'magic figure' of 15,000 which has been quoted as the trigger-point for major chain stores and High Street retailers to look at establishing themselves here has still not been reached, despite all the house building which has gone on in recent years, so things have remained static, save for the take-over of the Somerfields store by Tesco and the building of the cut-price Lidl store on Chester Road.
The predicted 'Store Wars' which were supposed to have erupted when Morrisons built their store fizzled out in the very week of the new store's opening, with Tesco announcing that it would not, after all, be building a massive store in the centre of town - a store which, for once, would have merited that often misused 'superstore' tag.
So is it any wonder that when Monday 28th January came along all eyes were on the gleaming new Morrisons supermarket in Newton Bank/Chester Road which would herald the dawn of a new era for shopping in Middlewich?

Bill Armsden was there bright and early with his camera to capture the opening of Morrisons where Boosey's Garden Centre stood until only a few months ago

A NEW DAWN - Chester Road on the morning of January 28th. The finishing touches are being applied to the new road layout, designed to keep through traffic heading for St Michael's Way and Nantwich Road well away from the supermarket traffic. Rather surprisingly the entrance and exit to Morrisons are both exactly where the old Boosey's entrance and exit were, Cheshire East Council having decided that an exit on Chester Road, (behind the camera in this shot) would have been too close to the mini-roundabout at the end of Croxton Lane for safety. On the right of the picture it can be seen that the retaining wall for the supermarket car park is also not quite finished. There's a pleasing Victorian feel to this end of Middlewich with the gothic bulk of 'The Limes' on the left and the cemetery behind  it. To the right is the Golden Lion with the little alleys and cottages of Newton Bank and Newton Heath beyond.

ALMOST THERE: The retaining walls for the car-park, decorated with Middlewich Town Council's 'Roman Middlewich' design are almost complete. The stairways from Chester Road would not be open to the public until a week or so after the opening day. Middlewich Autos, and before it Middlewich Motors, occupied this part of the site for many years.

GETTING READY: The car-park starts to fill up as people arrive for the store opening

STANDING BY: Twenty minutes to go by Morrisons new clock, one of only two public clocks in Middlewich (the other, of course, being the church clock), although Boosey's Garden Centre did boast a rather attractive turret clock in its later years. Not immediately apparent from this photo is that the new Morrisons clock is actually in corporate colours of green and yellow on a white background.

NEARLY THERE:  It's nine o'clock and Store Manager Andrew Whelan (right) and John Roberts of Save The Children prepare to cut the tape which will mean that Morrisons Middlewich is officially open.

WE'RE OPEN! And a new era for Middlewich shopping has started.

CHECK OUT: The self-op tills which are a feature of all modern supermarkets

SPACIOUS: Morrisons Middlewich is a 'Morrisons Local' store and smaller than the company's main stores such as Winsford, but has been designed to give an impression of space.

CHOICE: The opening of the Morrisons store brings a far greater choice of goods to the town for the very first time

FRESH: Morrisons' innovative 'misting' technology ensures that vegetables are moist and fresh looking at all times.

MORRISONS PUBLICITY, JANUARY 2013

NOW OPEN: MORE MORRISONS PUBLICITY FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW STORE

So there we are - Morrisons comes to Middlewich. Will it herald a new dawn for Middlewich shopping?

Will future historians be able to pinpoint the start of our  renaissance as a shopping town at  9am on the 28th January 2013? 

You may have gathered that we're unequivocally and unashamedly in favour of this new development. 

Tesco's abandonment of its plans for a giant store in the town centre has given us  an opportunity to develop the town in a much more attractive and positive way and the refurbishment of the existing Tesco store will mean that we have three medium-size supermarkets each catering for slightly different sections of the community, within a short distance of each other, something which not many towns of this size can boast.

For the first time in many years it is now possible to do that weekly or monthly 'big shop' entirely in Middlewich, and that can be no bad thing.

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Geraldine Williams We paid a State Visit to the new Morrisons last time we were in Middlewich and were suitably impressed. The layout is very clever - and we're Morrisons (Crewe) devotees!

SEE ALSO:

THE MIDDLEWICH DIRECTORY: MORRISONS SUPERMARKET

MORRISONS WEBSITE

SAVE THE CHILDREN

FAREWELL BOOSEYS