Looking Back: Remember when Morrison's was on Newport Street?

Today we are used to having Morrison’s supermarket on the edge of the town centre.

But do you remember when there was a store even nearer?

This photo is from September 1986 and shows Newport Street in Bolton looking towards Trinity Street.

The Morrison’s then wasn’t as large as the current store. The queue of shoppers outside was made up those waiting for the next bus home.

Source

I never knew this shop was a Morrison's at one time. I always knew it as Argos. I think Kwik Save was there after it with Iceland next door?

I don't remember a Morrisons being there either! I was still at school then maybe didn't venture down that way very often?

My brother served his mechanic apprenticeship nearby, mainly servicing the BEN newspaper Morris delivery vans and every day he and his boss went to Morrisons and got a litre CARTON of red wine (£2) to have with their lunch - which was usually baguettes, french cheeses and pickles. Quite a sight when I dropped by to see two blokes in grease-covered boiler suits and welding gear washing down with Swarfega and then laying out a table cloth on a work bench and breaking out the posh glasses.

wanderlust wrote:My brother served his mechanic apprenticeship nearby, mainly servicing the BEN newspaper Morris delivery vans and every day he and his boss went to Morrisons and got a litre CARTON of red wine (£2) to have with their lunch - which was usually baguettes, french cheeses and pickles. Quite a sight when I dropped by to see two blokes in grease-covered boiler suits and welding gear washing down with Swarfega and then laying out a table cloth on a work bench and breaking out the posh glasses.

A bit alfresco that Wander!

karlypants wrote:

A bit alfresco that Wander!

TBH (no?) thanks to our kid, I developed a fondness for Morrisons £2 vino tetrapacks - the wine was a lot better than a lot of stuff they sold in bottles back then. Bear in mind that was in the days UK shops majored in Liebfraumilch, Blue Nun, Lambrusco, crap Chianti wrapped with straw and Mateus Rose. And Yates's South African plonk of course

wanderlust wrote:

karlypants wrote:

A bit alfresco that Wander!

TBH (no?) thanks to our kid, I developed a fondness for Morrisons £2 vino tetrapacks - the wine was a lot better than a lot of stuff they sold in bottles back then. Bear in mind that was in the days UK shops majored in Liebfraumilch, Blue Nun, Lambrusco, crap Chianti wrapped with straw and Mateus Rose. And Yates's South African plonk of course

I do remember the Sunday trading hours for booze where they used to block the alcohol aisles off with little fences. I used to scratch my head and think why when I was a kid until I got old enough to know why.

They currently have the same stupid laws in Thailand!

Found this video of kids playing this game - a restored film from 1900. We used to play this at school and was wondering if anyone else remembers it. We called it fingerthumbericky...

wanderlust wrote:Found this video of kids playing this game - a restored film from 1900. We used to play this at school and was wondering if anyone else remembers it. We called it fingerthumbericky...

https://twitter.com/i/status/1786320039458570520

I think you will find that it was 'finger, thumb or icky, Lusty.
The team being jumped on had to guess whether the hand signal shown by the captain of the jumping team was finger, thumb or icky.
They continued to be jumped on until they guessed right.
IIrc the 'icky' was a hand with the thumb tucked in.
I try jumping on Sluffy when he goes off on his fairy tales and flights of fancy but he keeps giving the wrong signal.

There's been a few over the years that have jumped on me, most ended up landing badly.

The thing in common with them all is that none of them liked to have been proved wrong by me.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that you are also another one of those trying to prove me wrong about something in order to feel yourself self righteous again.

I guess people like you who need to feel superior to everyone else must be lacking something (maybe you weren't loved as a child perhaps?), and if so probably I should feel sorry for you - but if you act like a dick (and you do) then I just laugh at you and think to myself how lucky I was not to fall foul of Philip Larkins poetic observation...

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.  
   They may not mean to, but they do.  
They fill you with the faults they had
   And add some extra, just for you.

Anyway 'finger, thumb or icky' (you are right about the 'or' - although I suspect Wanderlust simply made a spelling mistake), yes, I remember that game as a kid but even at such a young age, I didn't play it as I though how stupid it was!

Why on earth would I want to be bent double with three fat kids sat on my back when someone is playing a guessing game with the odds stacked in favour of the other team?

As for the original post, yes I do remember the store, although I never went in.

I never really went down that end of Newport Street much until my drinking days but on the times I did, I preferred to use the footbridge from Great Moor Street (behind the New Zealand Chief) that led to the back of Morisons, and connected to a second footbridge to the Trinity Street (exiting across the road to where the train station then was).

It meant going out of my way a bit, but it was something different to do (at least for me) - and when I was younger you could see the steam trains going by (although I've never been a railway enthusiast).

I can't recall any other footbridge in Bolton - maybe there was/is - but certainly not of that size, which was the total length of Newport Street from what is now the Olympus chippy to the train station.

I remember thinking back in those days as to WHY there was such a need for the bridge in the first place as walking from Great Moor Street to the station via Newport Street itself was hardly that much longer?

I guess there must have been a reason at one time?

The BEN has published an article on supermarkets of Bolton that have long gone.

Here are a few of them for you all...

Safeway in Harwood (1994)



Kwik Save in Churchgate



Hanbury's on St Helens Road (1991)



Iceland Newport Street



Normid Superstore at Burnden (1988)

I've been in the Hanburys quite a few times, when visiting my aunty who lived around the corner to it.

Tbh I'd forgotten all about until you posted this picture.

I also remember the fishmongers shop nearby by on St Helens Road run by an old bloke called Albert.

Do they have fishmonger shops anymore, I suppose they do but I can't recall seeing one for years.


The Iceland on Newport Street is the same shop as the Morrison once was (the one this thread started about).

And I've actually taken my daughter to Normid (well the Big W as it was called at the time) when she was little - for some reason she used to like going there a lot and wasn't much bothered about Toys R Us nearby.

Happy days.

Used to be a Hanburys on Chorley Old Road (facing the Victory pub) as well.

I never knew there was a Kwik Save in Churchgate but went to the Normid Superstore as a kid once or twice.

I was always fascinated by the escalators in there as no other supermarket had them as it was over two floors.

I remember there was a local fishmonger who sold from his van and used to park up on the corner and get his bell out and ring it to let customers know he was here.

Now you don't see that anymore!