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Tuesday 26 February 2008

Before the Bulldozers Came


The bottom end of Stamford Street, Ashton, in October 2004, before the bulldozers arrived. Every building in this photo has now gone, except the Old Baths and St Peter's Church (the two buildings with towers).
Click on photo to see larger image.

8 comments:

  1. I know it's been said before but I still find this view of Stamford street is so sad. One could never have imagined things would turn out like this from its heyday.
    In the early 1950s, there was a row of shops where the trees are on the right in this photo. In the middle of the row was a shop that had piles of pink and white coconut ice bars in the window. The shop was called 'Williams'. Those bars looked so good and inviting and whenever I passed with my parents, I would ask for a bar and usually they bought one for me. The lady in the shop was slim, grey-haired with spectacles and she always wore a white smock. (I hope you are all paying attention to this because I shall be asking questions later).
    Now you may think that those bars were as good as they looked but I kid you not, they were awful! They were dry and virtually tasteless and I don't know how she had the nerve to sell them. You may think that I learned my lesson the first time but no, I kept asking for them in the vain hope the quality would improve. It never did.

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  2. I was quite sad when I first saw the photo but your comments made me smile S O N. It's funny but I can still remeber the taste of pink and white coconut bars and I don't think they tasted especially good wherever you got them from!

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  3. Just past the yellow building on the left (King Billy public house) is the shop that Granada used for the fire at Dev's Shop in 2004( I had to look it up as I have not whatched it since Leonard Swindley were in it)

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  4. I can't wait to see what it looks like now

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  5. You know S-O-N you are so very very right! You say that "On a Saturdays your mum and dad used to let you have the coconut ice which really never improved" LOL My friend who was on a recent visit here also discussed when we used to go the Baths and always call in for coconut ice. Old and wiser now, we realise it was the colours that enticed us to make a regimented trip into the Coconut Ice shop when leaving the baths. It really was dreadful stuff, as you say dry and bitter!!!! You got better coconut ice that mum used to make. Yet, we would still call in that shop so long ago. Thanks for your opinion on 'taste' ha ha ha.

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  6. yes .very sad pic of stamford st ,going back in time ,there was hardly room to walk on the pavements it was so crowded.many many years ago when my walk down one side of the street and up the other looking to pick up a girl or boy ,it was known as the monkey run , myself as a teenager ,if i wanted something to wear it was always stamford st i would look first ,,

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  7. that should have read when my parents were teenagers ,

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  8. My great Uncle Bert & Aunty Connie Murray owned a tobaconists on Stamford Street, I wonder do they still have tobaconists in UK?

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