I came across this and thought others of a certain age would like it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw3WwJLJnIo

I came across this and thought others of a certain age would like it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw3WwJLJnIo

I remember seeing this a few years ago. I think the videos were taken form the 'Peeps in the Past' books. I remember my Nana bought them (the books) and it was interesting to see the change in culture from the 60s to the 80s. One thing that sticks in my mind was a 1960s picture of Bank Park (if I've got that right) which is next to Bridge Foot. It was pristine, fulll of flowers and people were using it. Bridge Street in the background looked well-kept and prosperous, with tidy buildings and smartly dressed people going about their daily business. You could be forgiven for thinking it was somewhere like Windsor. If you look the town from the 80s onwards, everything has declined immeasurably. I guess that's partly due to the reality of post-war investment honeymoon and rebuilding period slowly dying down, but it's clear that not all parts of the country have suffered this way. There aren't many towns in the South-East with which you could draw a comparison and say the same. I think Luton is probably the closest example, and you could argue that's almost in the Midlands.

The strange thing is, Warrington isn't a town that's economy has collapsed due to the end of industry (such as mining towns). In fact, it's one of the more prosperous in the North and has been for some time. There is also a disproportionate level of affluence if you consider the surrounding Cheshire villages as suburbs, compared with places like Wigan, St Helens and Widnes. It's a shame we weren't able to regenerate our town centre into something like they've achieved with Stockton Heath. Leeds has done a tremendous job with their city too. We certainly aren't going to get people to take pride in the town without first giving them a few things to be proud of. Hopefully that will start with a Super league title for the RL team next year

Yes, could be. I've lived most of my adult life overseas so I tend to forget places I used to know! I do visit the folks regularly though, just rarely pop into the town centre. I get to about 2 games a year but walk in from Stockton Heath. I've moved to south Cheshire now though so no excuses!

Is Marshall Gardens the one between Bridge Foot and the iron railway bridge? Sort of opposite Mr Smiths (or where it used to be)?

EDIT

Yes, it was Marshall Gardens I meant, thanks Google. Looked nice a long time agohttps://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1367092395821694980/hc9SWWKM_400x400.jpg" >

I like social history like this and there are quite a lot of videos on youtube which show different cities/towns in the 50s/60s/70s/80s etc. One thing which always strikes me is how well dressed people were in the 50s and 60s. Everyone looked smart, or those who were part of some subculture like mods or whatever clearly made a lot of effort with their appearance.

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/ne ... wn-centre/

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/ne ... wn-centre/

Wow some memories there, a lot of that was still the same when I was a kid.

Talking of Marshall Gardens anyone remember the running battles with the Widnes fans in there.

Was that the "Battle of Bridge Street" or was that contested with Wigan?

I disagree with that to an extent. We've seen a big shift from our central shopping hub from Bridge Street to Golden Square. Both the Golden Square and the new Warrington Market square look fantastic. Bridge Street could still do with a bit of a facelift but I think the town centre on the whole is quite nice.

Fair comment. I’m basing my perceptions on walking through town from south to north to the stadium area, which doesn’t take in the small redevelopments.

Since I consider Bridge Street up through the ‘Skittles’ and down the other side as the main ‘throughfare’, I just think it looks derelict and scruffy. It’s a shame it couldn’t be turned into a row of cafes and restaurants with heated outdoor seating and interspersed with the few independent shop types which still attract footfall (the shop types that can’t switch to online only). I guess there isn’t the demand for that sort of stuff like there is in Stockton Heath or Lymm etc.