Is This Town Beyond Repair?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2023
- / wanderingturnip
www.buymeacoffee.com/wanderin...
The Fourth Episode of the Death of the High Street - BOLTON!
After it being recommended to me so many time in the TH-cam comments, I had to make a visit to Bolton. I was really intrigued heading here, as I felt I had already built up a picture in my head of how bad it was going to me.
I knew it had prospered and been seriously wealthy from the 17th century onwards, and I was greeted immediately by amazing architecture everywhere. I did not think it would be such an atheistically nice looking town. There are over 100 listed buildings in the centre alone.
I followed my feet and definitely came across a lot of boarded up shops and abandoned places, but I couldn't help but feel like this place wasn't as bad as I had predicted. There felt like a lot going on everywhere. A balance between the obvious culprits leaving the high street, M and S and Debenhams. But also there was a lot of positivity about the place. There is also an fantastic market which was great to explore.
I met loads of locals who pointed me in the direction of great stuff and it was ace to see people bringing life back to an old Pub.
As a big chimney fan myself, I couldn't not explore some of Fred Dibnah's past which proved to be absolutely immense.
If you enjoy my content, and feel it brings you worthy entertainment or distraction, you can support me via Patreon, the link is above. Only support if you are in a position where you can. Your support from watching is massively appreciated.
#abandoned #empty #derelict #town #explore #england #beach #property #buildings #invest #levellingup #towns #money #history
As someone born in Bolton. The main issues stem from the fact Bolton's town centre is larger by area than Cardiffs yets population is half and metro area is 1/5th. You have Manchester, Middlebrook and the Trafford Centre which is huge competition. The next issue is that the town centre has very few people living in and around it, whereas 100 years ago 10,000s of people lived in it, now its a few hundred, because most houses were demolished. Since 2010 bus frequency has dropped meaning less people use the town (Trams were got rid of in 1949 before then it had a huge extensive tram network as well). And as with most place we were punished for the bankers in London and the US for the 2008 recession, therefore people have less money, less support and there is less investment in the area. The question of is it beyond repair, the answer is no. It needs a decent amount of redevelopment (which is actually underway Crompton Place for example is to have 250 million pound development), in fill projects on brown field sites would increase the useage of the high street and more grants for local businesses would help. In general for all high streets to stem the decline of the high street Business rate Scrapping / reform would do that in an instant that would reduce costs on average by about 15%, which would open new businesses and releave pressure on most businesses and make them much more competitive with online businesses. An example of how more people within walking distance is very useful is the market as you said it's full of people and full of businesses, well that's because it's right on the edge of town next to one of the most densely populated part of the town, whereas the end of Bradshawgate where it was just boardup and shuttered shops has hardly anyone living within walking distance.
Great answer
@@MamaRebelle thanks
@sadiequinlan thank you
Thanks for the explanation. So basically Bolton needs to convert some of the shopping areas into housing to increase the supply of customers.
@@MarkCW maybe for some, however there is a lot of unused brownfield land in and around the centre that I think would be good for development rather than shops and for many shops converting unused upstairs space into flats rather than converting the shop itself is another option, as most of the upstairs in the centre is unused.
I think Dibnah once said something like 'Britain, built by men in overalls, and ruined by men in suits.' and I can't say I disagree.
When there is a demand it works but Tony blair killed the chicken to take out all the eggs so that is why- THE EU...In previouse years a few came in and so there was a constant wish to come to such places and work the doors were not wide open and also the people in EU stayed in their homes and they had their culture and it was brilliant to visit and see. This worked both way, the important of British cities were not going to be down as tens of thousands wanted to come to anywhere but the door was open enough not to kill the chicken and take out all the eggs, However, mass murdere Tony blair who pockedted 470 million pounds and put them all in his son acount to hid it did not understand or care about such things like the New labour will ruin it even ten time worse than this...They all came in and they all earned it and they all went back and got what they wanted and they all are not going to come back such places anymore because the chicken is dead. So where do you find such a demand in the mind of the people to have a steady flow of people that will alwasy keep your city alight?? In london yes, but others no. because all those who wanted to come and do business from almost everwhere or most europe they came saw it all and got what they wanted and are not coming again but in their countries they have almost the same culture as UK and has the money so it is good by the chicken is dead. The politician did not know this neither do they understand it even now. Then there was another adversity from those who were nourishing the cities , they in their country of Europe has habbit of no kids and the English people in the modren time has the same habbit and when they came here they almost emptied to their own land so bad that Lithuania is on border or extention-their population is back to 1930s and latvia is empty 80 percent. Thus it killed everything. The old good culture that progressed bit by bit in europe and worldwide and at the same time it nourished the cities of UK as they were looking forward to come work and do business but they got it all as Blair opened the door and left and also no kids both ways emptied the land of Europe so bad that there are boarded or empties towns in lithuania , if you saw it you would think the rapture has happened ha ha ha ha. I went there twice before the EU and what I saw was no short of paradise, it was so beautiful, they used to sit like kids all around in every town and that is what life is [People] and in one town where I bought four properties there were six banks, 5 big shopping centers and many discos and all kinds of stuff , the town of around 10,000 people was so alive it looked like a little paradise. The kids running in the streets playing the adult outside the bank busy all days the shopping centres it was a scene from another word, then suddenly Tonly Blair killed the chicken and when I went there again just one year later there was no body in the town, it gave me a heart attack, I thought I am having a bad dream but lo and behold it was true it was like rapture that Jesus took his Church to paradise. What happend to sweet kids in every street those shouts of little heavenly beings? Only dogs roam the streets now, all banks closed, all discos and entertainment gone and after 18 years of Misery the lithuanian Governemnt is now building swimming pool and everything they can for the few to stay, but it will never be the same as it was because the population is only 1500 now from ten thousands in that town and their culture is long gone it is just now westren culture, cold , unfriendly, depressed and lonely, this was the visioin of EU Tony blair who setted fire to Europe but will never know it...
That quote should have been on his plaque., below his statue.
Hey, cool it with the Antisemitism!
@specularverzide9972 what you on about,?
@specularverzide9972 Who is being anti arab jew chaldean Amharic Assyrian madean 😅
As someone who was born and raised in Bolton, I can say the biggest problem with this town is that there is no reliable industry for it to sustain itself. After the mills closed their doors, the town more or less had nothing to rely on any more. The council is currently trying to make this town now a haven for university students, but at its heart, Bolton isn't that type of town. At her heart, she is a working man's town and in my view, she needs a working man's industry to help get itself back on its feet again.
Utter bullshit. Exhibit one - Bury, same history, a whole 5 miles away. They rejected a massive intake of asylum seekers. They bulldozed the crappy parts of the town centre and redeveloped. They embraced the closeness to Manchester, with good transport links. Alternatively, maybe your plan for reintroducing steam engine factories will revive Bolton.
There are no working man’s industries any more. The closest you’ll get now is an Amazon warehouse. It’s what the people of the UK voted for though remember
That's what they've done with Newcastle on Tyne with some success, it's become quite the university town now
@@crayontom9687 now they're no working people there, it's a full Islamic takeover.
Bolton has a well developed academic tradition. I should know, I studied in Bolton. But that is far from enough to sustain a town like Bolton.
I was born in the 80s and grew up in Bolton. Im happy i got to experience the town before its decline. Great place to shop, lots to do. No need to go to Manchester, Middlebrook or Trafford Centre. Nightlife was suitable too, a few pints in Varsity, Man & Scythe, Gypsys Tent and then onto Hawthorns.
I hope someone rescues it. I thought maybe with the redevelopment of the Crompton place, we'd have a sniff but the council is incredibly inept that they forgot to submit the application form before a deadline. Absolute imbeciles.
I met my mates last weekend for a few drinks and tbh im seeing positive signs. The vaults in the market hall are decent, the town centre was relatively busy as well. The place needs a kick up the arse before its all gone.
This guy deserves his own sky or BBC show, with his facts, statistics and historic based narration i think more people should watch him, i also like that fantastic yorkshire accent. Respect.
Nah. Let’s keep him for ourselves!
He's a trooper. Should stay independent though. If he went into mainstream media, he would have to dance to somebody else's drum.
The networks would ruin it. Help the man out by joining his patreon and cancel your tv license 😂
@@srpacific How do you join patreon? Just asking? I just watch the beeb, now and again. I don't think its all bad. Just another screwed up institution. Every workplace is the same.
The BBC would have him say it was built on the slave trade or some other such nonsense...1🤔🙄
The whole country is getting like this. What's happening to the UK is so sad. I grew up in the early 70s when things were bad but this combined with the Tory's destination of the infrastructure and public services. I remember Fred God bless him.
Decimation
It s not just the uk.
Free trade did this to all developped countries.
Be it japan, usa, France, italy etc...
You can t be competitiv with countries where there are no social protections,few infrastructures and no environnemental protections...
So either we all accept to live like Indians or africans, or we start questionning free trade.
I came across this channel on Saturday and kept thinking 'this is exactly what the internet and TH-cam is for'. An interesting, positive, grass roots documentary with a researched narrative delivered in an enthusiastic and engaging communication style. I got so drawn into these short films that I binge-watched all of them. And then felt I had learned loads of stuff I didn't know - the origins of public houses and the Roman roads of Britain, the origins of markets and the architecture of all these former powerhouses of the industrial revolution. It is astounding to think of the growth in these towns from the late 18th century until their (sadly) post-war decline Totally agree with all your points as well, particularly the new shopping centre having just one shop of any interest in the model railway shop and the feeling that markets are great, I love them anyway, particularly when they sell items that you want to buy and / or are useful. Amazing stuff, brilliant work, I have loved watching all of them.
One day all City’s in the UK will be like this 😢
full of snackbars
and bookies@@chipbuttytime3396
Most are like this
Tbf controversially, in a lot of places this is probably kind of necessary. Places like this have too many shops for the size of the area. They were built in the heyday of retail when too many people spent money they didn’t have in 100s of shops. Now people generally have less to spend and what they do spend is online. There are places where the high streets are booming but they are generally smaller niche areas with boutiques or huge shopping centres with everything all in one place. Sad as it is it’s just how society has progressed. Councils and gov in general should be more in control of these areas trying to slowly ‘slim’ down these huge shopping areas and knocking down p/turning unnecessary parts of them into small scale housing developments.
Lots of valid points, just two more to consider, how much is now spent on street drugs and fobts/on line gambling, money that never sees the light of day in normal retailers@@xcf5587
The former Market Hall - the one you went to first - was sold by the council and redeveloped into a bland shopping centre. There was a *massive* petition against it which the council completely ignored! Also worth pointing out is that the cordoned off area where there is construction work going on, until recently was the site of some 300-year-old shops and a pub, deemed by the council to be "of no historical significance". They are being replaced by a block of flats!
Back handers.
There was a massive petition against wrecking the Market Hall, but our masters ignored us.
I remember when it used to be full of little stalls.
@@misscoutts6193without doubt..
@@doublewhopper67 what?
I remember being 8 years old and being amazed by the water fountains in Bolton and my parents taking me to see the free aquarium and mummies in the late 70s. Sad to see times have changed and how modern culture doesn’t care anymore.
I thought Bolton looked great (I'm a southerner)
The museum is still there. I think the aquarium is as well
The aquarium and mummy are still there my kids love em
CULTURE doesn't care one way or the other, culture is something that happens in a society / community and is largely based on art movements, trends etc.
What doesn't CARE, is the Establishment. The bankers, the ruling elite, their pet councillors and local government. If there is no money to be made, then they don't invest. Ordinary people, aka culture setters, do NOT dictate where their tax money goes, or what part of the community is rennovated / invested in. Their tax money goes directly into the treasury and is usually handed out to the MP's chums who have 10-15 businesses, each one there largely to just bid on said public money contracts. Hence the plethora of sudden experts in "mask making" or "screen making" that appeared when Covid happened.
If you want your community to be fixed up, then either do it yourselves OR stop paying your local tax en masse and tell them, when they come calling, that you'll start paying again once the life has returned to the town. They cannot arrest and imprison all 100,000 of you. Trust me.
I remember those water fountains too..
I used to make those pillars, when I was a stonemason. They were the hardest thing to cast. I hated being asked to make them, much prefer to be making sills or keystones or bullseyes or even peak caps. Those pillars had around 40% failure rate. It would take two days to make the base and the first half of the pillar. You would know by 4pm on the second day if your 14 hours hard graft had paid off, or not. I could make a full pillar in a week, didn't get paid any extra money just "You're doing great, keep it up!" by the chargehand. Point is, it took a shit load of energy and effort compared to making anything else.
Luckily, the orders for pillars were few and far between, by the 2000's when I was making them. Just the odd millionaire wanting to make the front of his house look like the Whitehouse. But every now and then, I did have make a replacement set for some listed building, had to match the exact dye and mix, best we could, to the originals. At least then it felt like it meant something...
The Bolton museum is brilliant and does have history on mills, Fred Dibnah and more. They have Bolton history, Egyptian history, art gallery on top floor and a museum shop. There is an aquarium on the basement floor too.
I like how Weatherspoons knows more about the local history than the museum!
Init 😂😂😂
Lol. You can learn a lot bobbing around.
Tim Martin has done more to save historic buildings than almost anyone else in Britain to be fair.
@@PeacockRhino That is one thing I do love about the Wetherspoons brand, how many historic buildings they've saved, ultimately from rack and ruin.
@@PeacockRhino Yeah, doesn't prevent him from also being a jingoistic cockwomble though.
True, his brand ties into established local pride, but only insofar as marketing goes we can suspect. He's a canny businessman first and foremost.
Its 40 years since I left Bolton to live in the Midlands. I left due to my parents splitting up and following mum with her new partner here. The architecture in Bolton town center is amazing but I also miss the outskirts. I remember the chimneys very well, and Moss bank park, Barrow village, Rivington and the hills that are just on the outside of Bolton. My dad used to have a pint with Fred Dibnah every now and then. But the most thing I miss is the people, so friendly. Bolton is my real home not here in the Midlands. Take care. Steve.
don't forget the great sense of humour :)
I agree, lived in Bolton for fifteen years from Cambridge left and now in Berkshire big mistake northerners are so friendly especially boltoniens. I lived very close to Fred surprised he didn't visit his house as its less than half a mile from town centre.
People who move away always romanticise the places they came from. There is a reason you moved away
@@taylormade2826 not sure you can put romantic and Bolton in the same sentence.
Moss Bank Park! That was my local park; I lived off Moss Bank Way. I left aged five, but there are such vivid memories.
Fred dibnah is a absolute legend lm 47 and love watching him still know same when l was a kid. Brilliant video and appreciate you giving him a shout on your video pal watching this in Carlisle Cumbria ❤❤❤
Even a pound shop was closed in that high street.
If you go into a £ shop these days you have to ask the price.
That pub , "The Alma Inn"... The Alma is over 170 years old and has some varied and interesting history behind it. In 1907, landlady Mrs Sanderson noticed the pub canary had gone missing, police were summoned and it was found to have been given as a ‘gift’ to watch maker Herbert Hunt, by pub regular William Holden. Holden was arrested and sentenced to one month’s hard labour, with the canary being returned to its rightful perch.
He did bird for the bird
Played a gig there years ago!
Stu Allen August 2019 rip 🙏
It's a shame when pubs get renamed. The Alma, or the Sevastopol etc., are kind of a memory to the soldiers of the Crimean War.
Good on the owner of Prince Billy's. (He should invite the new Prince Of Wales for a drink to his health!)
Though it's a sad period for Britain, this was an excellent presentation! 👌
yup, great reset is coming, research klaus schwab, the man is guilty of it all
as are our politicians, im not lieing
Greater Manchester is the fastest growing metro area in the country, the uk is the better had the best recovery from covid in the g7 meanwhile dealing with brexit and got it done, the pound sterling is steady we have the cheapest price of fuel petrol and diesel in developed europe currently, we did not have a recession Germany is, we have the lowest debt to gdp ratio in the g7 after germany I can keep on trowing fact, the uk is has been and hopefully always be a powerhouse
at 15:10 he actually explains fool
@@Cerberus0088 Only naive halfwits voted for Brexit, believing all the nonsense they were fed, blindly following like sheep to the slaughter 🐑🐑🐑🐑
@@Cerberus0088lol, Tory propaganda. Nowhere is safe from their lies
❤❤❤❤ I was staying in Bolton about 40 years ago and at that time it was a very beautiful and busy town. Its really sad to see the state of decline of the whole UK. Nowadays UK is run by a group of jokers, comedians and foreigners whose main interest is not in enhancing the people's living standard but spending billions of dollars in Ukraine and sending warships to patrol the South China Sea. All these billions of dollars should have been spent locally on the homeless and helping the local small traders. Even BBC standards has declined drastically and is now 😅 jokingly known as Bombay Broadcasting Corporation ! 😂😂😂😂
i used to love shopping in Bolton but thanks to the council messing up the roads and failing to keep it looking nice, i slowly stopped going, which is a shame, as it really does have some fantastic history.
It’s sad to see Britain so broken I grew up in Halifax and it was bustling with loads of work when I go home now it always makes me sad to see it BUT the renovation of Piece Hall has been a positive for the town… keep up the good work I enjoy your videos
Halifax has been getting better not worse the town centre is actually really nice
@@llanieliowe794 that makes me happy I haven’t been home for over 2 years and it was very sad then
It's not the whole of Britain. Visit Scotland.
@@albin2232 You mean Edinburgh? Because the rest of Scotland is literally the same
@@ShadowCastPro The same as what? You forgot to specify a reference object. English is hard, and logic even harder.
Fred used to come in the club just down the road from his house showing off his miners lamps he so happily obtained that day , I will always remember his stories , his huge smile (not very often) and the man who was content holding up an old miners lamp like a prized posession he' never let go of and like he'd been given his favourite toy for Christmas.
Dibnah was a paedo
From a town that bred Fred Dibnah it’s shocking to see the hearts of these towns being ripped out..Out of town malls or modern shopping centres are a joke, soulless and every town in England are becoming the same ..Just look at the various shops brands , destroying the town centres and huge swaths of farmland for concrete jungles..It’s like pubs like Weatherspoons cheap beer and plastic food , exact portions and staff that couldn’t add up 17 and 24 without the till doing it for them…
Bolton feels like another country, driving through it feels like you've just teleported somewhere else
yeah teleported straight to syria
@@nk-ve2drI drowned in my chips with this one 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@king_of_gaming6754I was same 😅😅😅
Grew up around Atherton and Leigh (worthy of a video on its town centre decline). Bolton used to be a fantastic day out with so much shopping to do around it's town centre, it felt like a real bustling metropolis. The Trafford Centre killed it off coupled with de-industrialisation, Middlebrook just hammered a nail in its coffin. It's heartbreaking to see what these towns in the north have become....
Fantastic a slight over statement... Worse than ever wud b more accurate
@@matthewtaylor7355 he said "used to be" and so it was up to the 80's
@@matthewtaylor7355Why did you write 'wud' ffs 😂?
@@pyeriotsquadcuz e’s a twat 😂
Also grew up in Leigh and saw Bolton in the 90s pre Trafford Centre and Middlebrook and even online shopping too. Such a shame.
Your channel is the best by far! You have such respect for all the places you visit and for locals. Shocking how fast our industries, towns and cities have changed. Its like we are going backwards in some ways.
Nice one for this 😀😀
Got ourselves to blame? We embrace online shopping, Stuff you haven't seen except a glossy photograph in a magazine, Haven't physically touched on handled it and rely on some ignorant jerk who worships money, Clueless about the quality of the stock, Happily send you rubbish and often won't give you your money back, In a shop i handle the product, No handling no purchase
@@Johnketes54 completed agree John. I am doing all my Christmas shopping from local small independent shops up here in Cumbria. No big corp's in my house! I tried Amazon when I was pregnant and it was COVID time. The quality is shocking and yes bugger all refund. Never again! I'd risk the COVID next time .
Not in some ways, in every way. Its like Rome falling, 456AD 😢
I was a student in Bolton at what is now Bolton Uni...and, I lived for a year in the town centre frequenting many of the pubs and clubs...I was there on three separate occasions as my studies progressed, and
The memories came flooding back Deane Rd, Chadwick Street and Eagle Campuses all taking their place in my memory-vision...
Bradshawgate where I lived teemed with life, and Crompton Place Shopping Arcade literally just 50 yards away from my bedsit above a shop.
And the people... Real Lancashire Salt of the Earth folk, No nonsense folk, who told it like it is but have warmth in their hearts and English blood in their veins.
Loved it.
Many thanks for your video, I too was impressed by its industrial heritage and its passed glory...But what stands out is that those with money, bavk in the 1700s to 1900s didn't just use it to buy super yachts, Fancy Car Collections and Mansions with blue roofs ..They invested back into the towns and cities that made them their money...They CARED about the well being of its people funding hospitals, colleges, schools, libraries and even Museums...
Todays super elite have no sense of place and no obligation to ANY nation or people save their own... SELFISH beyond belief.
I'm British-born but have lived in Australia since 1985. I used to live in Leeds and I came across these videos by accident. Places I've been - Scarborough, Bolton etc - it's so sad to see. Just watched video on Blackpool, where there are a staggering number of empty/derelict houses, hotels, boarding houses etc whilst there are homeless people. I love these videos - no prior agenda, just reporting what you see. Good on yer.
Thankfully Scarborough is still thriving.
@@HA05GERplaces on the coast will always thrive, as long as everything else is so miserable. It's a break from reality to sit by the sea.
@@mydogeatspuke I totally agree and compared to down here in Suffolk people are far more friendlier than around here. Stuff also tend to be a bit more reasonably priced aswell.
@@HA05GER Yorkshire people are overall a bit more friendly than Southerners, but only because Southerners are reet miserable barstuards lol. Prices are definitely lower the more north you go, but so are wages.
@@mydogeatspuke yup right miserable down here. Lovely bloke that runs the rides next to the Whitby pier and used to give me and.my sister rides for free as we went so often and become friends with my dad and stepmum. Even let my dad stay in there air BnB for virtually nothing don't get peoplemlike that round here.
My Dad knew Fred a truly wonderful man with such normality of a simple hard working common life that the new World he just battled with & sadly those around him & close never truly looked out for him, just a quid to be earnt off when was a house hold name in away, Thank you Fred for all you have shown us like a Brunel an ENGINEER.
He was a paedo
The biggest damage to town centers, is online shopping. That's not going to change, infact its gonna get worse. I live in a medium size town in Ireland and the town center is reduced to vape shops, bookies, charity shops, eurosavers, and a few coffee shops. Even most of the pubs are closed down 😢
Mps looking after big business and not re-investing in towns and infrastructure. Sucked dry
Greetings from England I remember the days when the pub in Ireland was the hub of the town or village.people gathered the shop was in the back of the pub. Many happy memories of being a kid in the pub making friends drinking strong shandy and eating tayto crisps. The smell of turf burning. Happy memories in kilmihil co Clare. I'm 42 now but would love to go back
I think it was out of town shopping centres as well.
Not true. If you speak to shop owners they will list rents, business rates, electricity bills, supply chain issues, parking and fuel costs discouraging shoppers, the lockdowns, and their kids not wanting to carry on the business.
Online shopping has been around for 20 years now and definitely has an impact. But it’s not been the critical factor of the last few years.
You are right.
Town centres need to have people living in them. I live in a city centre, as do many other people here, and the local residents help local business to thrive. A lot of young people ( students) live in the centre too, as well as families..The public transport ((tram and bus) is excellent and cheap and even free on weekends which brings lots of people into the centre where there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, bars, as well as shops, cinemas, theatre, night clubs schools and green spaces, with big old trees.
I noticed in the vid... not many restaurants or cafés or anything interesting to attract visitors nor any signs of public transport.nor any big trees and grass..and really not many signs of life.
You may have guessed... I am British ( Scottish ancestors) , but I don't live in the UK or Ireland. Guess where I do live!
As a 13 year old teen in 1991 bolton was fanstaic, Saturdays with friends .. £16 pound got us a pair of jeans from taiblsa, a Mac Donald’s, and bus there and back it was brilliant times…. NO idiots, no drugs, no phones … just simplicity…
Incidentally I discussed with the late landlord at the Man & Scythe who was something of a local historian too- and we both came to the conclusion it was probably the oldest CONTINUOUS pub in England. The Bell and Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham are only evidenced as occasionally open for servicing sandwiches and cider to departing crusaders, whereas the Man and Scythe was open day in day serving customers.
My Great Grandad was an industrial chimney builder in Bolton who worked on building Barrow Bridge chimney. It has a special place in our hearts. Ironic that he died not from a fall from one of the chimneys but from the CoOp building that used to be near the town centre.
The most hideously miscalculated "improvement" to a town I've seen has to be Hemel Hempstead - a massive new retail centre added when the writing was already well and truly on the wall when it comes to the decline of the high street. I saw the new development a few years ago and it was like a ghost town - but obviously a new one without the deteriorating buildings. It felt really odd to be in something built for a customer base that had long since gone.
Excellent and interesting video as ever.
The 'town' managers have no understanding or imagination do they? I can think of thousands of towns where the same stupidity occurs. If these people would only think: people people people .... and amenities and things which attract people.... you know people even like trees... the lovely park with big old trees
very near the city centre where I live is always bustling with people... there's a tram stop ( free on weekends , cheap otherwise) just outside... two stops further on you are at the 'centre' where there are plenty of restaurants, cafés, bars, as well as food shops, clothes shops local shops, and the rest , cinemas, theatre, night clubs schools and green spaces, with big old trees. People young and old families with children and singletons all live in the centre and they use the shops of course. They shop locally. People first.
The city has invested invested in imaginative "attractions" which attract large numbers of people to the town... and the excellent low cost tram and bus system helps.
It was an old industrial town but tourists come now.
I live in Ellesmere Port and I find it interesting comparing markets across towns. Chester recently had a market revamp and it no longer contains affordable everyday shopping, similar to the second market you went to in Bolton or the one here in Ellesmere Port. With plans to revamp the EP market, I worry that the regular everyday folk will be priced out in favour of flashy selling points for the council. Love your videos man, keep showing what online shopping and council mismanagement have done to our high streets!
I was born in Little Lever but moved away 40 years ago. It’s tragic to see that amazing town in such a state. This is a great video, it highlights the issues but it’s respectful to the town, it’s people and it’s history. Great job.
Fred Dibnah was a legend, they don’t make them like him anymore, when I worked in the town centre you used to see him passing through occasionally on his steamroller. Sadly missed. 😢
I never really comment but just want to say I really appreciate your videos mate. I'm from Penshaw in north east but I live in Canada nowadays, and they're a great way of reconnecting with my homeland. Love all you do for representing forgotten parts of England, our histories are too rich to get wiped away.
Great comment.. 👍
Great video fella, good to see someone shining a light the way so many areas that are dying. Keep at it! I check out some of your older videos
So glad you found a chimney and one Fred had climbed.Really enjoyed your video spent a lot of time years ago in Bolton you brought back memories for me , thanks.
I grew up in Bolton in the 50's, what they have done to the Market Hall is sheer vandalism, thankfully I moved away in the early 70's nothing there to draw me back, good luck to those hanging in there.
If only they still had the crappy stalls selling knock off clothing and mobile phone covers, the town would be the greatest in the Western world. Proper Bolton thinking that.
I don't understand, please explain@@spacemanclips
I'm not sure when the market hall was built but I seem to remember my gran saying they filled in a valley so the river runs underneath it.
I don't know who you talked to in the Bolton Museum but they have an entire room on the industrial history of Bolton, it's quite good qnd the Egyptian part is amazing too.
Oh what really? That’s well annoying. I should have ignored him 😂
@@wanderingturnip what might also be annoying is they also have an exhibition on the town Hall as it's celebrating it's 150th anniversary.
@wanderingturnip I've lived here 5 years now, never knew we had that old market and food market haha I'll be making a visit soon then!
Y
My great grandad was in the SAS in WW2, and he was in the African campaign. He stole an Egyptian artifact and gave it to the Bolton museum later in life. It's still there. Only a small statue
Great video, loved this! I was born in Bolton and not been back into the town centre for a long time, but all my extended family still live around Bolton (in Westhoughton). I knew that Trafford and the Middlebrook park around the football ground had an effect on the town centre, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear you say there's some hope for the town :) Also, I think the bloke working in the Museum might need to consider a new line of work!
Great video. I used to chat to Fred on my way home from school at Barrow Bridge chimney, he did a lot of work on it. I also used to work in the Prince Bill in the early 2000s but it was called Crompton's Mule at the time. Also a lot of the boarded up shops are closed because they are being demolished but unfortunately will be mostly replaced by apartments. There are quite a few little gems in and around Bolton if you ever choose to retun.
Even though I have never considered an industrial chimney a thing of beauty the last chimney was stunning and your enthusiasm has made me want to research what it was used for (not something I ever learnt about in school). The state of the UK high streets are depressing and just today The Guardian had a shocking article on organised shoplifting in the UK which is leading to more shop closures. Another of your commentators mentioned bank closures and I notice closures every time I visit Sheffield.
Chimley's are great. Built with sweat and graft. They are a testament to our ancesters, who were just trying to make a living and descendents should take note.
Shoplifting as always been a trade in its self, for decades in my town. More went out of door in Woolies, than was bought at the tills in the 80s. Meanwhile the stock they didn't sell, such as baby clothes, was shredded and thrown in a skip. Madness all round.🙄
The chimney with the advertising on was the Richard Threlfall chimney. He built a huge factory back in the day and powered it with electricity. When it was completed he wasn't happy and said it didn't look like a factory without a chimney so he built one, that one. It was completely ornamental. 😮.
What was his name?
@@leethrelfalllt Richard Threlfall. The clue is in my comment 🤣. The company Richard Threlfall Group is still operating in Bolton after about 175 years although not at this site. It's now in Lostock, Bolton.
I am a Bolton boy. The town is in terminal decline from when I was a child 50 years ago. It was a fabulous shopping centre and a town with real personality and atmosphere. Tragic
I’m originally from Bolton but now live in Australia, thanks for the video it brought back some great memories but also sadness at the state of it. Love how you narrate with history of the places you visit. How annoying that the person in the library said there was nothing on Fred Dibnah, I think they just couldn’t be bothered to take a look! Anyhoo, we are loving your videos and story telling.
Bolton is quite impressive. Beautiful architecture and has great renewal potential.
'great renewal potential', you mean the great 'levelling up' lie?
He has a point, It's boarded up not vandalised as much if investment was pushed into the area I'm sure it could probably have a glow up.@@lezzliea
The great levelling up lie, or build back better was only intended for the migrants. @@lezzliea
Even the historical buildings are battered... it does actually need levelling.
I find the history of the industrial revolution fascinating. Sir Richard Arkwright, the first great industrialist, moved to Bolton in 1750 when just a teenager. He opened a barbershop in Churchgate where he also invented a waterproof dye for the wigs he produced. Arkwright made enough money from this venture to fund his prototype cotton spinning machinery (which later lead to Crompton's invention of the 'spinning mule' you mentioned).. intriguing history!
Great vlog, David.. really enjoyed it.. 👏🙋🏻♀️
The North of England spawned the industrial revolution, the conditions were right for spinning cotton, picked by slaves. Manchestum, or something like that, was adopted by Germans as "middle class". Basically , invention , venture capitalists. But on the bright side, a workforce who complied , but ultimately fought back.
Arkwright, who ended up in Cromford, was hated by his workers.
@@SuzanneO707 Funny because Bradford, one of the biggest successes of the industrial revolution used home grown wool. The only slaves involved were English children in work houses.
@@DamnDealDone well Arkwright got knighted.
Whilst there's much controversy surrounding Arkwright, it's somewhat unjust to state that his workers "hated" him. Many resented the arrival of machines, which took away manual labour. Many refused to think of it as "progress", but more of an invasion of the manual workforce which took away their jobs!
Of course, it was the rich who owned the factories and mills.. The workers often had an extremely tough life under strict control with no slacking tolerated..
In Arkwright's Cromford mill, both adults and children worked grueling long shifts which was normal for the era.. BUT, unlike many, Arkwright actually built houses for his workforce.. those houses still stand today.. Knowing Cromford very well, I find the history (albeit controversial) truly fascinating. Life was never easy back then for workers, but Arkwright pratically created the village of Cromford, providing employees with shops, pubs, chapels and a school.. there's no denying he played a massive role in the industrial revolution..
That's such a shame you didn't explore the museum. I've lived here all my life and have been going for years, they actually have quite a lot about Bolton's history and they have an amazing Egypt exhibition on, as well as an aquarium. You would have found a lot that would have interested you, what a shame.
Cheers mate. Grew up in Bolton in the 70's & 80's. Not been back for decades cos it just breaks my heart. Your positivity about the place cheered me up no end. Let's hope you're right!
My Dad knew Fred. He persuaded my dad to climb the chimney of the Tootals cotton mill. When my dad got half way up he chickened out (don’t blame him) because he saw the overhang near the top. Fred just scaled it like a monkey. I miss dad and have a lot of respect for Fred. A lot of people called him stuck up when he got famous, but that was only because they all wanted to scrounge something off him for free. My grandad was convinced we were descendants of the 7th Earl of Derby but could never prove it.
Aha no way that’s ace. Even half way up is impressive to me 😂😂
@@wanderingturnipThe first ‘market’ was the Market Place shopping centre - not a market. The second inside shopping centre was the Crompton Place shopping centre and its emptying because its in bad structural shape so they are demolishing it and rebuilding. Thankfully you found the real market. Lots of filming happens in Bolton - Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley and lately Fool Me Once.
Bolton must have been really spectacular 100 years ago, still looks good.
Love the accent.
I am a Manchester born girl….82 now ,and I find it very sad to see the way our country is going down hill….The internet has a lot to do with it…people buy on line and never ever go shopping…Many of the youths today are total disgrace .I JUST WANT TO RUN….HELP PLEASE.
You'd be naive to think that it's just about shopping. There is no reason to go to the high streets anymore. Look to other countries to see how they've continued to sustain the appeal of a high street.
So glad I came across your channel. I was born and raised in Bolton. Buy I emigrated to canada back in 1978. Watching this video had brought so many memories back to me. It has been several years since I visited home. I am so surprised that many of the shops have closed down. But it is the same in Canada. I look forward to watching more of your content. The blackpool vid brought back memories of when I was a little child riding the donkeys. Thanks. For filming.
Was just thinking that low cost housing needed to be built in the town centre to bring back foot traffic to that area. Love this. I had to go check out Fred. Looks more like mini malls, not markets in the new build. Love that old markets you found. Thanks for letting us know about Fred. His videos are so interesting.
Low cost housing in the center of town ruined the town. They potential big customers all moved away, and low income can't sustain a business.
Hey pal. At 8:14, the building used to be accommodation for those attending Bolton University called 'The Cube'. In November 2019, a fire broke out within the building, with the cause determined to be a cigarette that had been discarded on the balcony. The fire progressed very quickly, and highlighted serious underlying design flaws. Luckily, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue reacted quickly, and thankfully, there was no loss of life. The initial building has been in a state of decay since, however, another accommodation block has since taken on the name 'The Cube'. As for future plans for the building, I am no too sure. There are articles online about the incident should it be of interest.
That was a mental day tbh, I was working at Britania Hotel and they started like rehousing the residentd their in buses was scary hearing about this as it happened
I remember hearing about that. I was on honeymoon in the Caribbean but because I studied at Bolton and worked at Middlebrook I have a lot of Bolton based friends.
Just loved the sound of your excitement at seeing the huge chimney at barrow bridge.
Another amazing video . I am watching from the West Coast of the USA but was born in Liverpool. I am fascinated by industrial history and applaud your insightful analysis and presentation
Dibnah rebuilt his mum’s chimney on the terraces house to make it more efficient. I think the house is now listed! If you want chimneys, check out a classic picture of the Weavers’ Triangle in Burnley!
Yep... The house is in a row of terraced houses, just past where Burnden park was... You can see the chimney from manny Road .
You heard of Yeovil? That is a dying high street.
The yeovil refresh is a massive joke, is it really going to do anything? The bottom half of town is so sad, much like other places. 😢
I lived in the centre of Bolton in my childhood in a pub called the Boar's Head on Churchgate which stood where Hogarth's is now (10:37 in the video). Seeing the decline is depressing to say the least. So many great buildings with so much potential waiting to be realised. Thank god the pastie shop is still there (yes I have some in my freezer even though I now live in the midlands) so something from my childhood memories remains. Excellent video.
I was born in Horwich a biggish village 5 miles north of Bolton. My Mum used to go shopping in Bolton on Saturday mornings and I was dragged along with her when I was young. So I remember the centre and the two markets which were nice. One was the grand central market which you walked around. It was not like that when I was young, it was more like the Victorian era with lots of separate stalls. I remember the one we got our meet from ! A further traditional basic market about 1/2 mile away. I worked there on a cheese counter on saturday mornings for a while. Went to Bolton technical college for a year. Steam trains still ran to the Rail station (I'm 67 now). Also loved Bolton museum. Boltons architecture shows that the town was tremendously wealthy back in the Victorian era.
Just walking past one of the oldest pubs in Britain like it's nothing. Love it!
We live about 10 mins drive from the centre and guilty of driving out to the Trafford or nearby Middlebrook to shop. I was in the town centre last month though for the food and drinks festival and it was great to see the town full of people again from all walks of life, so there is definitely potential to revive this town to its former glory. I’d say there are around 5 other mills with chimneys that you missed out on but they are scattered around, so each one would be quite a drive. The barrow bridge chimney is some structure, it just has the power to stop you in your tracks doesn’t it. Some man our Fred!
Right- under Gordon Brown the two biggest growth industries were a) Pound shops b) Charity shops- says it all.
Aww love Bolton, remember catching the bus to Bolton with my grandparents to go shopping in the markets. Great video!!!
Come to St Helen's town centre, it's like a miniature model village that's been shat on from a great height, full of chavs, misfits and mobility scooters, Bolton lovely by comparison.
Another fantastic video David! It's truly commendable how you highlighted the positive aspects of Bolton and paid tribute to the legendary Fred Dibner. Looking forward (eagerly) to your next vlog 🙂
I’ve been watching your TH-cam posts for a while now and I like and respect what you do
I’ve got a massive interest in what’s going on around England
And you save me a ton of trouble
Good luck and keep posting your stuff
Best wishes
Mark
Hey mate nice one, I appreciate you watching👍👍
@wanderingturnip have you looked into the mudfloods? John Levi's channel is amazing
@@wanderingturnip
Mate keep doing what you’re doing
You definitely have a nice way of getting to the point
I’m interested in property renovation although my Mrs
Wishes I’d stop
So your opinion on different towns and their people and historical sites is one of my main interests
So many thanks
Best wishes
Narthen youngman,
what a breath of fresh air..
just this morning come across you here in NE Thailand.
Interesting vid, i went my lads graduation at Bolton uni and had pics by the dibnah statue..
Was lovely to hear the real bolton accent from the first chap u were with..
Gonna watch some more of ya stuff
Cheers
Big Cee
Bolton born and bred. Seeing Gypsy's tent brought back memories. Whenever I've taken people that are not from the town to see around it they have the same reaction as you. Especially around Le Mans Crescent. There is something unique and some potential there. Maybe start with converting the shops to good affordable housing for the young professionals. Now that we live in a remote working environment it's the opportunity to generate a local community full of vibrant restaurants, bars and places to hang out. Play to the strengths of the architecture and history rather than plonk another River Island, Next or Primark. Thanks for the video.
Has it occurred to you people don't stay young forever.
@@misscoutts6193 true, but one of the issues that places like Bolton have is the flight of young people from the town to live and work elsewhere, particularly graduates.
The Food and Drink Festival is great when that's on in the summer, I believe it's the largest in Europe with over half a million people going. I think the town centres just too big for it's own good. Making it a bizarre contrast as you walk through it.
I spent 8 years in Bolton before moving abroad. Shocked how rapidly UK urban areas have declined.
I used to live in Bolton some decades ago. It was a lovely little town, plenty of shops, an indoor Market which sold everything & an outdoor one three times a week. Bury seems to do OK now because people still visit the outdoor market from far & wide.
I think five major reasons you were told of a Bolton that is much worse than it is, is because 1. Quite a number of the people who say it's all boarded up barely ever or never go into the town and it's based on word of mouth 2. Is the town centre was quite successful all the way up until the 90s, including bus tours to the Marketplace (the one that's no longer a market) therefore although compared to other town centres it is not that bad, to them this is seen as devisation. 3. Is Bury Town centre which is close by and does relatively better therefore they compare Bolton to Bury. 4. Is Politics the council was Labour run and now Tory run and therefore both sides will be hyperbolic about how that has effected the centre. 5. it used to have a lot of quite impressive independent businesses, such as Prestons of Bolton jewellery store and Whitakers Department Store, both had other branches across the country however both went bust after austerity was introduced.
@@AndrewParkerGB I think I got confused because the person in charge of the council was a Conservative up until as you say the latest local elections and there are now more Conservative MP's
@@AndrewParkerGB It was de faco Tory run until this year, even though there was no overall control. They basically dominated it with the votes from independents and the other parties and were able to form a minority council of sorts.
Bolton is going through a tough period, but yes I think many, especially older Boltonians paint a very bleak picture, which doesn't really accord with the reality of the town. The comparisons with Bury really drive me up the wall. Bury is a very different town to Bolton. To begin with Bury is effectively a commuter town for Manchester, so its economic prospects are very much tied to the success of that city. It has lower levels of deprivation and higher average incomes than Bolton, being home to a high number of professionals and (strangely) public sector workers who tend to have more stable employment. So no wonder Bury has not seen the same decline as Bolton, its population has more money to spend in its shops. But people don't see that, so they conclude that it must be because Bury council lays on Bury in Bloom every year or something...
If you are interested in Chimneys in the town next to bolton called Darwen they have India mills and the chimney there is very grand and it's over 300 foot tall and there is a video of Fred Dibnah doing repairs on it.
Oh yeah I’ve read about that and seen pictures. I’ll have to come see it 👍👍
Yeah come on WT we have india mill , Darwen tower and loads of old buildings , you'd love it ere !! 👍
I love chimleys. As they say in Manchester👍
I had tears running down my cheeks watching the footage of all those closed down shops and, oh my god, what have they done to the old Market Hall!
I was born and grew up in Bolton. Moved abroad years ago when the government decided that the country doesn't need manufacturing industry anymore. Most of my friends followed suite as jobs started to disappear in their field of work. Many ended up in the US, Canada and Australia.
BTW, the museum in my days used to have an amazing ancient Egypt department. They once even had an unwrapped mummy there. And as far as I can remember, the art gallery was also worth a visit with it's collection of classic paintings, many in the style of Rembrandt. I think they also had a Turner there, but I could be mistaken.
Great video. Many thanks. Loved the real market.
There is no Great in Britain anymore 😢🇬🇧
There is, im here.
Ya fookin lettuce
11:00 you walked passed the church where Dibner was buried. I worked in the building opposite and we all went out to watch.
I have a really soft spot for Bolton, I worked there from 1998/99 to 2005 and loved it. There was nothing you couldn't get in the Town Centre shopping wise and every year, I did all my Xmas shopping there at lunchtimes.
We used to go to Rice n Three a few times a week, play darts after work in the Old Man and Scythe each week and go out on the beer around town most Fridays before catching the train back to Manchester. I've got to admit, before I left that job in the mid-2000s, the Town Centre had started to go downhill with more '2 for 1 drinks' bars popping up and Yates even got to a point where they took the carpets up and removed all the seating downstairs. I still like the place and the Town Centre main shopping area has been improved immensely by the Council but it's suffering like most high streets. Great video.
Seeing a genuine outsider view of Bolton was refreshing. You managed to see through the mess and accurately describe what it once was. Never been so interested in someone’s opinion before. Brilliant video
I'm not that far away from Bolton but I never thought to visit (probably the Manchester problem as you mention!). This video actually makes me want to go see it. It looks like a really nice, friendly town. I know each place has its downsides but you really showed Bolton in such a good light in this video :)
Another brilliant, balanced video with some great history information - thank you. Used to go to Bolton a lot 20 / 30 years ago and it's sad to see the decline in its vitality.
Thanks for the tour David! I watched one of Fred Dibneh’s steeple jacking videos on here by the BBC recently- what a legend.
I’ve never been to Bolton but hope to visit one day.
Been wondering how this country can simultaneously contain so many empty (often beautifully designed) buildings and continue its awful social housing crisis… I know it’ll cost a lot of money to make them liveable and update surrounding infrastructure… I guess that’s the problem…
It feels like all the money lies with people who would never spend on properly helping these communities…
I lived in Bolton 23 yrs ago
Was amazing buzzin town & if didn't move to another country
Would still be there
Was lovely place to live
& Really hope it continues to be
As a young boy in Bolton, aged around 8 - 12 years old, I well remember trips to the Bolton market where my brothers and I were able to buy a “ bag of broken bits” from a biscuit seller on one of the stalls. The old chimney that was featured at the end of the video was very close to my Great Grandfather’s house in Smithills Dean Rd. I attended Sunday school a few hundred yards from the chimney which was located in the old canteen of the Lime Works. Very large glass urns could be found outside the building which were used to store and transportation lime user in the process of whitening fibres or fabrics . This is brought about by using various bleaching-agents. Generally chlorine.
Your excitement of everything is so endearing!
I have a business in Gilnow Mill in Bolton, the mill is mostly abandoned now but it is one of the most beautiful mills still standing and has a nice chimney, only 10 minutes out of Bolton town centre. Fred Dibnah used to maintain the chimney and told my dad Gilnow Mill was built in the 1850s and idential to a fort in India. The chimney is still standing but has had a good few feet off the top removed for safety reasons.
You should collaborate with turdtowns he does something similar but with towns in the South West of the country.
A few points.
The crompton place shopping centre is being demolished, that’s why the stores have left and there is a separate Fred Dibnah museum located at his old house.
Also The Old 3 crowns is a great pub where some of the best dj’s in Bolton work 7 days a week 😅
They tried to make it into a museum but the council allowed it to be actioned off and it's a car garage now! All the old stuff is gone
Brilliant video, absolutely fascinating.
It's criminal that the vegetation is being able to grow on the Bleach Works chimney, it'll quickly undermine it. But that's probably the local councils intention.
Love that you're bringing Fred a new audience, he'd be really chuffed I'm sure. 😊
Hi passion was in remembering the history and sharing that with those who wanted to listen.
That chimney is privately owned as far as I'm aware. It's in the grounds of a rather splendid house which was once two cottages linked to the old bleachworks.
Visited England last year from Ireland and I was shocked at how run down everything had become. Apart from London which seems to be kept well for the tourists I can say I'm in no hurry to go back again. Such a shame
It’s really shocking, believe it not but we are being destroyed as a nation deliberately by the government, Ireland is the same but is further behind. But the change will happen to Ireland faster because of the smaller population.. they are doing away with nation’s states so are destroying the old ways. Very scary what is happening
Is Ireland much better?
@@noire1001 like anywhere it's got its bad parts. Some areas around Dublin and to a lesser extent Limerick and Waterford are regularly on the news, but there is investment and you can see urban areas are being improved. We do have a problem with buildings being left derelict just so they can be sat on by owners waiting to sell at a higher price later. But in general I don't think it's anywhere like how far the UK has gone. I was struck by it unfortunately. People I met while over in Swindon and Bristol were lovely though.
@@noire1001I’m from Ireland, I think because our towns are smaller we don’t have such an obvious issue, our biggest Town is probably Kilkenny and it’s fairly thriving, tourism and stag/hen parties sustain many places like these. Online shopping and working from home spells future disasters though for here and the U.K.
@@bid84Agreed. That and completely removing borders to allow anyone in.
Well done and thank you. To see a proper Market was wonderful.
If you like old industrial towns, Preston is probably a good shout. The last remaining couple of mills hide the fact that there used to be dozens upon dozens of cotton mills and other works with their chimneys once upon a time just like Bolton. Unlike Bolton though, a lot of the great architecture and nice buildings of yesteryear have been hidden or demolished, with the exception of the Miller Arcade and the Black Horse pub. Should also add that St. Walburge's has the tallest parish church spire.
Well worth looking at old maps as well as old photos of these places you visit because you get a real sense of "this is how it felt" from them.
You're getting better with each video, love the drone shots too, well done!
Lived in Bolton 30 years ago, the place was bustling, night life brilliant, that old Pub The Man and Sythe has an history room you would have liked, and about 5 minute walk past that 1st chimney was fred dibners house! Enjoyed the Vid
I left the Bolton area 20 years ago, I was fortunate enough to get a relocation package to South Wales when the factory I worked in closed down, so much better here for many reasons.
Ten years before I left Bolton was a in a state of decline, the streets were neglected and gangs of youths roamed intimidating regular visitors who soon stayed away myself included. Looking at this vlog I'm saddened to see what Bolton has become as I recognize the buildings and shops that are now closed down when thirty years ago they were thriving.
We all know one of the main reasons for there being so many shops closed down, yes it's the massive retail sites like the Trafford Centre and Middlebrook with free parking and of coarse Amazon and others similar on the internet, how can the town centre compete? Well it can't but the old type of market towards the end of this vlog does look promising, I remember the original fish market very well.
Regarding the museum, I remember as a kid I could spend a whole day wandering round looking at the exhibits and then I think it was down into the aquarium, good times.
You missed the walsh family pie shop "The ye olde pasty shop" over 100 years old and still going, it on Churchgate where you were before, thanks for visiting pal.
Over 400 years old - established 1667! I lived a few doors down in a more modern building from 1721, the Boar's Head - the history on Churchgate alone could fill a documentary series.