CYNTHIA'S CAKE SHOP 1987

We travel back twenty-five years again for a couple of glimpses of that popular Middlewich institution 'Cynthia's', variously known over the years as 'Cynthia's Patisserie' or, simply 'Cynthia's Cake Shop'. For some reason something went a bit wrong when Diane was taking the picture above and the top part of the shop is missing, so we're unable to see what the shop sign looked like in those days. Perhaps it's a simple case of 'itchy trigger finger'. In the digital age Diane would have simply taken the picture again, after checking it on a little screen, included the shop sign and left out the chap in the white shirt. There's a lot to look at in the picture as it stands, though. If we study the above picture, in conjunction with the interior shot below, we can see that Cynthia's in those days was run on rather more traditional lines than it is now. The window display is festooned with old fashioned paper 'doilys' and the pendant lights also appear to be from an earlier era. This is, perhaps, a little misleading - the shop was only around a year old at the time.

In front of the shop is a 'Chopper' bike*, more usually associated with the 70s rather than the 80s, and the child's trolley outside the babywear shop next door  looks rather quaint when compared with its modern counterpart.

* Actually, as pointed out by John Capper and our most prolific contributor 'Anonymous'(see comments below) it's more likely to be a Raleigh Shopper than a Chopper. An important distinction, of course. No self-respecting 70/80s kid would ruin his street cred by riding around on a Shopper. 

Looking at the interior of the shop, we get a better look at those light fittings and also the heavy duty glass cases housing a selection of 'cakes and fancies' and pies. At the back of the counter are racks holding loaves of bread including some long-lost proprietary brands wrapped in greaseproof paper.On the telephone in the background is, we can now tell you, Andrea Astles (see Facebook comment below).

This picture was taken in November 2012 in order to provide a contrast to the ones from the 1980s and you'll notice that, like Diane, we have managed to exclude the shop sign from the picture (although it can be seen in Bill Armsden's picture on The Middlewich Directory (link below)).

UPDATE: To save you the trouble, here's Bill's photo, showing the sign:

The shop sign proudly proclaims the fact that Cynthias was Established in 1986

 The awning which hides the shop's name in our own photo has been opened out to protect the tables and chairs beneath from the Autumn weather (during the Summer it acts as a sunshade). The twenty-first century Cynthia's has embraced the idea of the 'cafe society' and is now a pleasant place for people to stop and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with the tasty pies and cakes sold within. If Middlewich's main street is ever pedestrianised Cynthia's will, deservedly, be ahead of everyone else in providing this kind of service.

UPDATE (1st December 2016): And now, four years on, even our 'NOW' picture is out of date. Peter Forshaw's Funeral Services, which occupied the premises to the left of Cynthia's, can now be found in Leadsmithy Street. Forshaw's former premises are now occupied by one of the town's many 'beauty' shops
You can find out more about the modern day Cynthia's on our sister site, The Middlewich Directory.

THE MIDDLEWICH DIRECTORY - CYNTHIA'S

Facebook feedback:

Paul Greenwood: Before that it was a hairdresser's called Headhunters, run by a friend of mine called Lisa Ducket

Geraldine Williams: I think the shop sold Roberts' bread and the shop next door (Margaret's) sold ladieswear. Wasn't it formerly a ZAN shop?

Cliff Astles: Yes, from what I can remember.

Andrea Astles: Great memories of Cynthias - I worked there in 86/87, and that's me on the telephone in the photograph of the interior! I used to make and serve fresh sandwiches in there at the time.

Gemma Collins: Cynthia's - the heart of Middlewich! Couldn't imagine Wheelock Street without it!!!!

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Geraldine Williams: Ha! It will always be 'Cnythia's to our family, Dave - homage to a 'Two Ronnies' sketch in which Barker was a local butcher who stepped in at short notice and so had to read the leading actor's part in a local am-dram play. The leading lady's name was Cynthia, but Ronnie B hilariously kept misreading it!

Dave Roberts: Yes, a memorable comic milestone which, at the time, led to many a Cynthia throughout the land being temporarily renamed 'Cnythia', among them being my sister. The 'Cnythia' soubriquet still surfaces occasionally to this day.



First published 1st December 2012
Up-dated and re-published 1st December 2016

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WHEELOCK STREET 1989

by Dave Roberts
This photo, taken in 1989 by Daniel Preston, is a good example of a picture which captures a moment in time and illustrates how small changes can 'creep up' on us almost without our noticing.
It's one of those photos where everything  looks familiar and yet, somehow, not quite the same.
Daniel took the picture because he was interested in that unusual red and white car (described by him as a 'pram car') and in the process captured, in the background, a little piece of Wheelock Street which has altered over the years, but not beyond recognition.
On the left is Cynthia's Patisserie, at that time simply that. A cake and pie shop.Always very popular and serving high quality food to passing customers
In 2013 Cynthia's is still going strong and many of those customers now linger awhile and take advantage of the tables and chairs on the pavement outside, allowing them to have a snack and a coffee and pass the time of day.
Next door is  Prudential Property Services, now a branch of Reeds Rains and fulfilling the same function in 2013.
This shop has a long history, dating back at least to Victorian times and can be seen in this classic Middlewich scene with ornate gas lamps attached to its walls.
And then comes the Alhambra, dating back to 1920.
Originally a cinema (universally acknowledged to be one of the best in Mid-Cheshire throughout its 40-odd years of service to the town) and now a Chinese Restaurant with a Spanish name.
The ornate art-deco frontage has survived intact throughout the changes the building has seen over the years.
At the time of the photograph the front section of The Alhambra was, controversially, the home to an amusement arcade (the building also catered for bingo and snooker players) and, long before the term 'anti-social behaviour' was invented, people were expressing alarm at the 'great harm' this was doing to the young people of the town, who were liable to run amok because of the licentiousness and decadence brought about by habitual playing of Pinball and Space Invaders.
One councillor felt constrained to point out that Wheelock Street was 'not Blackpool Prom'.
Which, of course, it isn't.
Apparently, playing on slot machines and video games automatically turns any young person into a hardened criminal overnight, meaning that we all run the risk of being murdered in our beds.
Somehow the town survived this threat to our safety and well-being and now the slot machines and video games have been replaced by the entrance to the Alhambra Chinese Restaurant, memorably captured in this night scene by Bill Armsden.
Why don't you take a look through your own photo albums and see if you have. perhaps unintentionally, captured a similar background scene showing Middlewich as it used to be?

SEE ALSO: CYNTHIA'S PATISSERIE 1987