PEPPER STREET , EARLY 1969 (2)

Once again we find ourselves in Pepper Street in 1969 with a picture which should help to make the layout of things clearer.
(The white 'flashes' to the left, by the way, are caused by damage to the original Kodachrome film, illustrating all too clearly why we need to preserve this collection wiihout delay). The houses to the left are what now makes up modern-day Pepper Street. For the first time, at the end of the row, we can see the side wall of Seddon's office building. On the right of the picture is the end of the row of cottages which have been replaced by our famous 'grass verge'. What's the building to the left of them with the tall, central chimney, just above the Robin Reliant?


This photo was first published on Facebook on 26th April 2011. 

The original Facebook feedback is below:


Geraldine Williams Oh yes! that side wall of the Seddon's offices was the perfect place to hone one's twosie, or even threesie, tennis ball skills! Not sure about the other building. Some demolition had obviously taken place where the chain-link fencing stands (and the forlorn figure sits!) so it's a bit out of context for my recollection.

Dave Roberts I've been waiting for someone to tell me it's not a Robin, but a Regal Supervan or something.Colin Derek Appleton Is that building the pub that was called the Lord Hood ?

Geraldine Williams Yes, according to Google.

(Editor's note: In fact subsequent research indicates that the Lord Hood actually stood on the waste ground where the Reliant car (can be seen).

Colin Derek Appleton Cool! cant take all the credit though, my dad told me the locations of all the vanished pubs when i was a boy !!

Geraldine Williams I understand that the pubs near the salt works used to open at 5.00am to enable nightshift workers to re-hydrate after working on the open pans.

Colin Derek Appleton That's very possible. My Grandfather worked on the pans in the Pepper Street works as well as working for Seddon on his fleet of boats.

First published 10th July 2011

Reformatted and re-published 3rd November 2018

DEWHURSTS BUTCHERS EARLY 1970s

It's the early 1970s in Middlewich Town Centre and the end is nigh for Dewhurst's Butchers Shop (not, you will note, 'Butcher Dewhursts' in this case. That form of address for such Middlewich shops is from an earlier era).
Vernon Cooper's shop which stood close by, as seen here, has already gone, its position marked by a Road Works Ahead sign, and the sad remnants of what might be called the 'town end' of Pepper Street linger on, soon to be absorbed into the short section of road which joins St Michael's Way to the end of Wheelock Street.
On the extreme right, partially hidden by the No Entry sign at the end of Hightown is Henry Seddon's office building and the only section of Pepper Street to survive to the present day is immediately to the left of it but hidden in our photo by the large bulk of the building at the rear of Dewhursts.
To the left of the butcher's shop, waiting to come out of hiding, is The Vaults with  its sign just visible. A larger 'Vaults' sign on the Pepper Street side of the building also indicates the presence of the pub..
When the butcher's shop and the large building behind it were demolished to be replaced by a new pub  car park that large sign was rescued and stuck on the side of the now exposed side wall of The Vaults, as can just be seen here.
Next to the Vaults, all present and correct, are Johnson's the Cleaners and Pimlott's (destined to become Sharon's Cafe in 1977) and the White Bear.
Note the bus stop sign and layby on the extreme left where North-Western and Crosville buses would pick up passengers for Northwich and Winsford and take them there via Wheelock Street and Chester Road in those pre-St Michael's Way days.

PEPPER STREET, EARLY 1969

Another of our Instamatic memories, this time of Pepper Street in early 1969. To the right is, of course, Seddon's Salt Works, which had closed in 1967 and was awaiting demolition. An achingly familiar view for many of us and, even after 42 years it's hard to believe we'll never see it again. Why was the Salt Works in Pepper Street? Where else would you put it? If we had to describe the present day vantage point for this picture, we'd have to say it's taken from the middle of the dual carriage way, probably right in the middle of the junction with Wheelock Street and to the left of the 'amphitheatre'. The works site is, of course, now taken up by The Moorings. Around the corner was Seddon's offices (of which more later) and the row of cottages which still exists and includes Sherry Hill-Smith's house. What was behind the wall on the left? We know that a little further along, on that side of the road, were, among other things, the now-demolished cottages where the grass verge between Pepper Street and St Michael's Way stands, Powell's Clothing Factory and the telephone exchange.


This photo was first published on Facebook on 25th April 2011 and the original feedback is reproduced below:

• Geraldine Williams 
  
  
  
  

  Behind the wall was a rather grand house, set well back from the road, which in the 1950s was owned by the Griffiths family. I don't know whether there was some connection with Seddon's (manager's house?). The house was screened from the works by a row of wonderful trees - possibly limes - and as Pepper Street was our shortcut to school we used to love it in the Autumn when it was knee-high in leaves from these trees!

  
  

  
  
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  Dave Roberts Wonderful! There's an addition to our knowledge base for you. I didn't know about that particular property, and had more or less assumed that the land belonged to some of the businesses in Wheelock Street.
  
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  Colin Derek Appleton There was also a small P O W camp in Pepper Street housing German prisoners who were put to work in the salt works. This is not to be confused with the Italian P O W camp in Brooks Lane, the prisoners from which worked in Seddons' factory there.

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SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (3) 1974

Another view of the yard at Henry Seddon & Sons Pepper Street works in 1974. Just to the right of the salt warehouse on the left can be seen the company's offices, which were, as we have seen, close to the present day entrance to The Moorings.

See  also SEDDONS YARD PEPPER STREET (2)
SEDDON'S YARD, PEPPER STREET (1)