aerial Walton/Orrell

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emma
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Location: New Zealand

Yrs ago I used to know all these streets very well except where Reads Tin works used to be (middle left) there are now houses. HM Prison Walton at top, Orrell Lane runs across from top left cnr to bottom right. I knew the area at bottom of photo as the International Harvester plant where they assembled farm machinery. And up above that there's some waste ground - does anyone else remember the tennis club that was there? (think it was Bibbys?)
Last edited by emma on Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Bernie R
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Emma

Another cracking pic!!

The buildings across the bottom are (L to R) the Royal Mail depot where you need to go to collect the mail they can't deliver (and charge you £1 admin fee if something is 6p short on postage - rip off Britain strikes again!), then Peoples Ford/Mazda dealership.

Moving up, the next 2 are also Peoples then there's the warehouse near Orrell Lane that has the Netto supermarket and used to house MFI furniture (think that's now closed as MFI went bust but if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will tell us).

The green space just to the left of MFI is the site of the old BAT Social club - later known as Leisure Time (which burned down in somewhat suspicious circumstances a while ago) - could that the one you remember as Bibbys?.

Hope this helps

Bern
Born and raised in Romeo Street, later Lambeth Walk, Jersey Close, Garden Place, Hawthorne Rd, Gonville Rd now Netherton
rivermersey
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I remember the building that's now Netto making farming machinery combine harvesters I think and then it having somthing to do with Morris cars, as they had the first "Morris Marina" car I'd seen on displayed on the back of a lorry parked outside.
Remembering further back my uncle Tony Lloyd (who worked for British Railways) took us to see some old engines (Being broken up I seem to recall) a big engine shed and a giant train turntable in the area that became the Bootle container base and is now the Royal mail /Peoples site.
Born in Bootle 1960 lived on Bailey Drive then the old roan.
PETER CRAIG
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Last edited by PETER CRAIG on Mon Dec 01, 2014 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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emma
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Location: New Zealand

Sorry, I realise this pic is a bit big so you have to scroll L to R. Thanks Bern for the update on all that is now in the area of the former International Harvester plant - time sure has changed a lot :shock: And it sounds like the Bibby tennis/sports facility later became the "Bat Social Club". Question - What is "Peoples" and is the Orrel Park Ballroom still there?
Eddy Lloyd
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Peoples is a Ford Car dealers Emma and yes The Orrel Park Ballroom is still going strong. :wink:
daveowe
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Emma -Bernie

Obviously Bernie does not go back as far as you do Emma understanding the Social Club was the Bibby's club before the British American Tobacco Co acquired it. They had a very fine football pitch at the rear of the site and many local football finals were held there. The Orrell Park Ballroom is now also a Social Club.
A coincidence the steward (manager) of the Bibbys/BAT club after the sale to Leisuretime became the steward at the OPB, Bob Wright, his daughter posted on the site last year now living and teaching in Sicily. I responded to her post previously knowing her father.

Dave
Peter W
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The engine turntable was part of Aintree M.P.D. (Motive Power Depot)

During Grand National week especially on Grand National Day, it was the place to be for us (Anoraks) train spotters. There was always a "Steamer" pulling cream and brown Pullman Coaches which came from Londoin via Edge Hill, Olive Mount Cutting, and branched of onto the line that passed over the bridge at Broadway, and branched off again at Alexanda Dock junction, and emerged at Bedford Road bridge and joined the main Liverpool to Southport Line. After Bootle Oriel Road Station, it branched off to join the line which crossed Akenside Bridge and continued past Ford Station, past Aintree M.P.D. and around to Aintree Sefton Arms Station. other lines also converged to Aintree (Central) Cheshire Lines, and the Racecorse Station. All engines Collected Water and coal at Aintree Sheds.
ScouseJohn
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Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 5:35 pm

Hi, long shot but does anybody have the image that the original poster put up at the start of this thread?
Can view the picture anymore as the post was from 2009!

Thanks in advance
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BOBHAMO
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bobhamo
bootle born altcar road
ScouseJohn
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BOBHAMO wrote:Image
bobhamo
Thank you very much. Been looking everywhere for pics of the Netto/MFI, Parcelforce depot, old Leisuretime site where Stantondale used to play but I don’t think a single picture exists!
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Dan
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October 10 1952. Different view, from above Walnut Tree pub.

Image

Image

Upper left in the photo, Bridle Road prefabs.
Upper left in the marked rectangle, Sefton Junction signal box.
Upper middle left, allotments at the end of Orrell Pleasure.
Behind the factory, Aintree sidings. Used to fall asleep listening to the shunters working into the night.

Regards

Dan
bongoali
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Hello

First time posting on here - and a bit late to the party regarding the original photo in this thread - but I had to comment. There are three houses (well six actually cos they are semi-detached) opposite the Bibby's club house in the picture. They are between Jonston Avenue and Alexandra Drive on Orrell Lane and I grew up in one of them.

Moved there in 1969 when I was 4 years old and lived there until I was 18. Some time after we moved in, the Bibbys became the BAT Sports and Social Club. There were regular football matches played on a Sunday and if I sat in the bedroom at the front of the house I could see both ends of the pitch/goals although the main parts of the pitch were obscured by the (much larger than in this photo) club house. I would sit there for hours watching the goals go in at both ends.

There was a lot of building going on next to the BAT site, on part of what was Reads; we used to play on that building site - I think we just called it the ''rec" or similar. I remember once there was a major fire at Reads and the whole neighbourhood gathered to watch. There were tins of paint exploding at the site and shooting up in the air like fireworks. It was spectacular.

As kids we used to play on the railway at what was the old Ford Station I think - just the other side of the road from the sidings in this picture. By then it was The Container Base - we had dens all over the place up there - guess it might have been dangerous but that never really crossed our minds.

Thanks to the OP for the original picture - brought back so many happy memories of my childhood.
Cet animal est mechant. Lorsqu'on l'attaque, il se defend.
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Dan
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Welcome to the site Bongo.

Now all you need do is mention (a) schools attended, (b) any sports played (c) lifelong enemies left behind in Bootle.

One of these houses Bongo?

Image



"Cet animal est mechant. Lorsqu'on l'attaque, il se defend."

There's really no call for language like that.
bongoali
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The very ones Dan. And thanks for the welcome.

Went to Roberts Primary and then Warwick Bolam - both since demolished! I loved school although I know a lot of people have bad memories of at least one of those places.

As for sports...played footy and got cold in the Winter, and played footy and got hot and sweaty in the Summer - we weren't allowed to use the pitch(es) at Bibby's/BAT so used to go to Silcocks (??) up by Robert Bellarmines and sometimes kicked about on the grass at the Giro - also not allowed. No wonder we played on the railway. And of course we had the usual 26 a side games in the street - mostly in Alexandra Drive and around Gardener Avenue area because they were both relatively quiet in terms of cars in those days.

No lifelong enemies that I can think of - honestly I only really have happy memories of living/growing up there. Sure, we had bother among the local kids from time to time - but nothing out of the ordinary. The bus journey home from the Bolam (56 or 57) was always a challenge because I had to get off at the stop on the bridge at the top of Orrell Lane where all the lads from the Salesian got on. Could get a bit rough - but definitely not lifelong enemies.

How about you Dan...you know that area?

BTW...the little tag line was something one of my old French teachers taught us and it kind of became a personal motto - stood me in good stead over the years that has. :D
Cet animal est mechant. Lorsqu'on l'attaque, il se defend.
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BOBHAMO
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Welcome Bongo :D :D :D :D :D
looking down from Osterley gardens i used to deliver papers
on orrell lane :D :D :D
i can give you a look up on who lived either side
if you give the number
got loads of orrell park
P S waited a long time for your first post :D :D :D :D
bobhamo
bootle born altcar road
bongoali
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Oh wow Bobhamo – it hadn’t changed that much from this picture even when I lived there. I used to ride my bike up and down Osterley Gardens, Wembley Gardens, Edgeley Gardens, Burwen Drive, Redvers Drive. If you delivered papers you’ll have been up and down all of those a few times I bet.

There used to be a little entry between the corner of Victoria Drive (just off Albert Drive) and Orrell Lane so when I first started riding a bike I used to be allowed to do a little circuit from my house round all those side roads and back home. What a sense of freedom!

There was a post box on that stretch in the photo more or less outside the Orrell Park Hotel I think, maybe not quite that far up. Often when I got in from school my Gran would be waiting at the door for me to go and post her letters for her.

It was a real community when I was growing up there – everyone knew everyone else and we all looked out for each other. My dad drank in The Warbreck most nights or sometimes in the Cuckoo on Moss Lane and we did most of our shopping in the shops opposite the Warbreck (Tesco and MinKel??) or on Moss Lane. You didn’t really have to go anywhere else for anything– everything was there on the doorstep.

I lived at number 15 and of course I can still name the neighbours in all of those houses you can see in Dan’s Google photo.

Happy days!

Thanks for the welcome BTW – and yes, never thought I had anything to say on this site really; but seeing that aerial shot made me pipe up.
Cet animal est mechant. Lorsqu'on l'attaque, il se defend.
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Dan
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About 1960. Ye Olde Brown Cow on the right, opposite the Rice House pub.

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Gardner 180
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Dan wrote: Sat Jan 27, 2024 6:31 am About 1960. Ye Olde Brown Cow on the right, opposite the Rice House pub.

Image
Thank you Dan for this great picture. Walton Hospital is at the rear of the picture, where I was born in 1944;
Buchanan Road, just off Breeze Hill is where I spent some time toward the end of WW2 on the left of the image,
I imagine that many of the Bootle Forum followers, because of their younger age, only recognise the location
because of the huge flyover crossing the busy junction of four major roads, County Road, Breeze Hill, Rice Lane,
and Queens Drive.

Cheers, Ray.
J.F.G
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bongoali wrote: Wed Oct 07, 2020 6:14 pm Oh wow Bobhamo – it hadn’t changed that much from this picture even when I lived there. I used to ride my bike up and down Osterley Gardens, Wembley Gardens, Edgeley Gardens, Burwen Drive, Redvers Drive. If you delivered papers you’ll have been up and down all of those a few times I bet.

There used to be a little entry between the corner of Victoria Drive (just off Albert Drive) and Orrell Lane so when I first started riding a bike I used to be allowed to do a little circuit from my house round all those side roads and back home. What a sense of freedom!

There was a post box on that stretch in the photo more or less outside the Orrell Park Hotel I think, maybe not quite that far up. Often when I got in from school my Gran would be waiting at the door for me to go and post her letters for her.

It was a real community when I was growing up there – everyone knew everyone else and we all looked out for each other. My dad drank in The Warbreck most nights or sometimes in the Cuckoo on Moss Lane and we did most of our shopping in the shops opposite the Warbreck (Tesco and MinKel??) or on Moss Lane. You didn’t really have to go anywhere else for anything– everything was there on the doorstep.

I lived at number 15 and of course I can still name the neighbours in all of those houses you can see in Dan’s Google photo.

Happy days!

Thanks for the welcome BTW – and yes, never thought I had anything to say on this site really; but seeing that aerial shot made me pipe up.

Bongoali mentions the " Orrell Park Hotel " in his memories, this was a pleasant little place with its own bar that my girlfriend ( now wife ) and I used to frequent in the mid seventies, the owners, Harry and his wife , only knew her as " Ginger " were extremely hospitable and because it was a Hotel, the licensing hours were a lot longer then normal pub hours.

One afternoon some guests were sat in the lounge when two men wearing brown overalls walked in and said the TV was going for repair, the television was a huge white coloured circular thing, they switched it off unplugged it and walked out with it, the TV was never seen again !!!

Regards

John
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