Looking Back: Great photo shows Bolton's Churchgate before war

As archive photos go this one’s a real cracker, showing Churchgate in Bolton in 1938. Some familiar landmarks still remain today such as the parish church and the market cross.

But the days of tram lines and gas lamps have long gone. On the left you can see the sign for the Capitol Cinema and you might be able to spot the Derby Arms Hotel sticking out on the right. Also look out for the sign to Manchester on the lamppost on the right.

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It's a bit weird to look at photos like this the realise that my parents were alive at the time to have been in the picture when it was taken!

In fact they got married at the Parish Church just a few years later.

Its not changed that much looking at that picture which is also weird.

The Duckworth lads went to our school so I was looking for the "Preston's of Bolton" sign on the corner but couldn't make it out however I found this article from a few years back which shows photos of the same scene from different angles including the one below which I think was taken at the same time i.e. 1938.

Nah, that picture is a lot more recent.

There are no overhead tram wires down Churchgate for instance and look at the cars in the two pictures - different generations of development from each other. The gas lighting has gone also.

We were probably knocking about by the time that picture was taken.

You're  right although the trams didn't go down Churchgate. The 1938 picture is taken on Deansgate and the trams turned right onto Bradshawgate so you wouldn't see lines on the second photo taken from Churchgate anyhoo.

Looks like the 60s from the vehicles? Memory plays tricks but I used to catch the bus home after school from outside Preston's - well a bit nearer Woolies. In November you couldn't see the bus until it was 10 yards away the smog was that thick.

wanderlust wrote:You're  right although the trams didn't go down Churchgate. The 1938 picture is taken on Deansgate and the trams turned right onto Bradshawgate so you wouldn't see lines on the second photo taken from Churchgate anyhoo.

Looks like the 60s from the vehicles? Memory plays tricks but I used to catch the bus home after school from outside Preston's - well a bit nearer Woolies. In November you couldn't see the bus until it was 10 yards away the smog was that thick.

Thank you, I clearly had meant to put Bradshawgate as the trams clearly didn't go down Churchgate as can be seen from the initial picture that neither the tram tracks or the overhead cables carried on along that way (I would imagine the gradient was always too steep for then to go that way or Bank Street either?).