Tour 2

Tour 2
Tour 2 will takes us from Market Gate (the 'Skittles') down Bridge Street to Bridge Foot, then into Barbauld Street, Rylands Street, Cairo Street, St Austin's Lane, taking in the Cultural Quarter of the library, museum and Queens Gardens, and onto the Town Hall and Bank Park. We then head back to town centre via Sankey Street and Cairo Street, finishing off in Golden Square.
We begin Tour 2 where we left off in Tour 1 - at Market Gate, the circular area with the Ten Guardians, or 'Skittles', as they are known locally.¹ Market Gate is the centre of Warrington. There are various plaques on the buildings around this circular area describing more of its history. It is described in the Legh Manuscript of 1465 as the place where the town's four streets meet (Horsemarket Street, Buttermarket Street, Bridge Street and Sankey Street). The streets were very narrow in those olden days, and only widened at the beginning of the 20th century, when the now-familiar circus was added - first as a traffic roundabout in 1938 (removed in 1966), and now pedestrianised with the 'Skittles' at the centre.	Market Gate
We now walk south onto Bridge Street, which leads down to the River Mersey. It was originally known as Newgate Street, and renamed Bridge Street in 1580. Back in the 13th century it was very narrow and lined with wooden houses. Look all around you. Coats of arms of important Warrington families are shown high up on the street lights. Most of the buildings on Bridge Street date from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.² They are beautifully constructed. The building occupied by Phones 4 U was known as Boots Corner, literally because Boots the Chemist stood on this corner of Market Gate. The HSBC bank (once the Midland) replaced the previous building in 1914. Previous occupants include a watch and clockmaker, George Blackhurst.³ Hancock and Wood is a long established family business of about 90 years. The building dates to 1857. On the right (west side) of the street Starbucks coffee house used to be a Stead and Simpson shoe shop. The buildings date to 1905, whilst the front of the Peacocks store further down the street has been incorporated into the new block on the corner. The original building dated to 1903.	Bridge Street Coat of Arms
The now-pedestrianised street features the River of Life, a design with a fountain at the centre near McDonald's. A plaque near Market Gate describes the scene. Stephen Broadbent designed the fountain. Notice the designs in the floor. There are twelve plaques, which feature symbols of the months of the year, along with fruit and leaves of various trees and images of Warrington industry. It was erected as a memorial to Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, who were killed in the second IRA bombing of the town in 1993. The first bombing was on the gas works on Winwick Road, north of the town centre, which created a huge fireball, but no casualties. The second bomb went off on 20 March 1993 (the day before Mothering Sunday) on Bridge Street outside McDonald's restaurant. The Duchess of Kent opened the memorial on 14 November 1996 as a symbol of continuing life. There is a plaque featuring the two boys on the former Boots building.⁴ Seven years after the tragedy the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace opened in Old Hall.	River of Life Jonathan & Tim
As you approach the River of Life fountain, notice the two narrow alleys - the one at the side of Nobles Amusements is known as Patten Lane and led to the Eagle and Child, a coaching inn. It also led to the family home of the Patten family before they moved to what is now our Town Hall.⁵We will pass the Town Hall later in the tour.	Patten Lane
Directly opposite is Dolman's Lane which now leads to the market. If you haven't visited Warrington market, take this opportunity to visit the 250 stalls in their modern setting. You can also find the Tourist Information Centre within the market. The town has had a market for more than 750 years, and was voted the best in the UK in 2009 (See the Warrington Market page for more).	Dolman's Lane
Next along is the former Boots the Chemist store. This is known as the Howard Buildings. John Howard (1726-1790) was born in London, the son of a wealthy upholsterer. He was imprisoned in France and later exchanged for a French Officer held by the British, and he quickly travelled to the Commissioners of Sick and Wounded Seamen in London to seek help on behalf of his fellow captives. One of his concerns was for those prisoners who were held because they could not pay the jailer's fee, an amount paid to the owner or keeper of the prison for upkeep. He visited hundreds of prisons in the country during his lifetime. He published his work on prison reform while lodging at a house on this site in Bridge Street. His book was printed by Eyre's Press whose location we passed in Tour 1. A plaque is dedicated to him on the building. Notice the designs in the stonework above. Boots moved into the extended Golden Square on 20 June 2007.	Howard Buildings Howard memorial
Opposite the old Boots are the premises once occupied by JJB Sports, and now Nobles Amusements. In the 1900s this magnificent building was occupied by W Hodgkinson Ltd, Warrington's premier department store. They were described as "General Drapers, High Class Costumiers, Silk Mercers, Linen Drapers and House Furnishers". It remained on this spot until the firm closed down in 1962.⁶	Old Hodgkinson's
As we approach the corner of Rylands Street a brand new building featuring Poundworld greets us. The building in the image right, below, is what it replaced. Argos was here before Brighthouse. Readers may remember that when Argos first arrived in the 1970s, the modern computer revolution did not exist, so information for stock was stored on cards and messages were put in little capsules and sent around the store through long tubes by compressed air, just like your money when you paid in at the Co-op and waited for your change. Ah, those were the days! The Royal Court Hotel occupied this spot until it closed in 1969.⁷	Rylands Street corner
On the opposite corner the black and white building was occupied by the Co-operative Bank, who have since relocated to Golden Square. This has previously been Barclays Bank and Martin's Bank. In the 18th century the site was occupied by cabinetmakers, S.E. and R. Johnson.⁸	Old Martin's Bank
Opposite Rylands Street is the narrow entrance to Halls Yard at the side of Scotts clothing shop. H Wells' book, 'Walking Into Warrington's Past: Bridge Street', says it might be the location of Nathaniel Greening's first wire factory in Warrington at the end of the 18th century.⁹ The firm later moved to Bewsey Road. Continue your walk along Bridge Street. Keep looking at the coats of arms - the ones in this area are at eye level and have descriptions on them. Our next building is Reflex/Babylon public house. It has also been known as Flares, but to many people it will always be remembered as Ye Olde Lion or The Lion Hotel. It is one of Warrington's oldest inns, dating back to 1690. The inn was a very popular stopping place for stagecoaches. Coaches from Liverpool and London changed horses here, with over 50 a day passing through. Notice the passage way called Hart's Place just before the pub. This once led to a courtyard with dwellings.¹⁰	Halls Yard
The two shops immediately next to the former Red Lion pub stand on the site of The Ship inn, which was moved into the yard behind in 1860 (the now-closed entry still stands to the south of the second shop). The yard became known as Ship Yard.¹¹ Ye Old Lion pub is now two separate pubs, Reflex 80s and Babylon 90s. Until the 1980s, buildings occupied the spot where Academy Way meets Bridge Street. They were removed to make way for the inner ring road. One of them was the tutor's house from the new Academy of 1762, where Joseph Priestley lived during his time in the town, hence the name of the road.¹²	Ye Olde Lion
Across the road is The Feathers public house, which has served as a hotel in the past. The building before it dates to 1913. We now approach Friars Gate by The Reef pub. On the corner you notice a metal sculpture. This is described in the Warrington Heritage Guide and Town Trail as the 'pendulum outlines' and are a tribute to John Harrison whose marine chronometers allowed longitude to be measured. In 1714 the British government offered a prize of £20,000 to the first person who could solve the problem of longitude for ships at sea, as latitude itself was not enough to help guide ships. I don't know if John Harrison ever visited Warrington as he was born in Yorkshire and moved to Barrow upon Humber in Lincolnshire. Could it be that it stands here as a memorial to the brief shipbuilding industry in Warrington? Or maybe as a memorial to the clockmaking industry of the late 18th and early 19th centuries? Maybe somebody can tell me if there was indeed a connection with Warrington. Harrison's clock memorial stands on what was the eastern side of Warrington Friary by the gatehouse, hence Friar's Gate.	Harrison's clock
Continuing along Bridge Street, the first set of buildings past Friar's Gate are known as the Priory Buildings, housing the Panama Jacks pub and the hi-fi shop next to it. The name fits the title of a Prior, the superior ranking next to the abbot of a monastery. The last Prior of Warrington is reputed to have been a priest called Sir John Carlisle.¹³ The Priory Buildings were erected in 1889. We will cover more on the Friary later... The next block along was erected a year earlier in 1888.	Priory Buildings
This final section of Bridge Street contains no less than 7 drinking establishments. The most recent being Panama Jacks already mentioned, which replaced Isis hair and beauty salon in 2005. The first pub opposite is 53^o North. Next door, McCauley's pub, which celebrated 15 years of age in 2009, was once known as the Higher Seven Stars. It was built in 1870. A more recent name for it was 7th Avenue.¹⁴	McCauley's
The Last Orders pub further down Bridge Street used to be called The Royal Oak. The Royal Oak name dates back to 1662. It is suggested the pub received its name after the time when the future King Charles II hid in an oak tree at Boscobel when running away after the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651, the last battle of the English Civil War. The modern building dates from just before the First World War when the whole block was rebuilt.¹⁵ In the 1920s it was the scene of a very unusual site - a troop of marching elephants from the circus, as seen in the book 'Warrington As It Was'. On the opposite side are the Darli Bar (previously Hartley's) and The Big Bar (which used to be a showroom for the Co-op). The buildings date from 1885 and 1890 respectively.	The Last Orders Inn The Big Bar
We now approach one of Warrington's most significant locations - The Academy building. Warrington Academy was founded in 1757 by Reverend John Seddon, minister of Cairo Street Chapel, and very quickly became known as 'the Athens of the North'. Famous teachers include renowned mathematician of his day, John Holt, literary scholar Dr John Aitkin, classicist and theologian, the Reverend Gilbert Wakefield, and Joseph Priestley, who discovered oxygen here. The Academy itself was moved to a new location at Academy Place (now Academy Street), and closed in 1786 after 30 years of activity.¹⁶ In the 1980s the whole building was supported on a rolling frame and moved a few feet north to make way for a new road layout at Bridge Foot. The building was, sadly, demolished soon after because it was found to be structurally unsafe. The replacement building has been the home of the Warrington Guardian newspaper since 1987, and features a statue of Oliver Cromwell. I remember a TV documentary where Warrington's Alan Beswick humorously pointed out that his statue had been moved to this spot and he is STILL pointing to a grid!	Warrington Academy
The final building is the pub on the corner of Bridge Street and Mersey Street, Tiger Too (opposite side to the Guardian office). The row of buildings attached to it on Bridge Street dating from the 18th and 19th century were originally houses. Historians of the town will know the pub building as The Packet House inn. In the heyday of the Mersey at Warrington when it was used for river traffic, the pub, it is suggested, served as the ticket office for passenger boats to Liverpool.¹⁷	Tiger Too
You are now standing at Bridge Foot. Does anybody remember Marsh's college at Bridge Foot? Take care as you cross the road here as our next stop is the War Memorial, via Warrington Bridge. Look at each end of the bridge as there is information about its history. The Memorial has been surrounded by the traffic island since the 1980s. The only way to get to it is via the right side of the bridge and the pedestrian crossings. In November 2005, a letter to the Warrington Guardian suggested it be moved to Queen's Gardens to avoid the noisy traffic. A great idea! It was erected in 1925. You can view the war memorial to the far left end of the bridge as you cross. You will notice at the end of the bridge as you cross there is Marshall Gardens, a quiet spot to rest. These were opened in 1958 and are named after the Mayor and former Labour politician, Alderman Edward Marshall, who opened the Wilderspool Bridge. A plaque on the bridge records the event. Marshall lived to see his hundredth birthday. Before the bridge, there used to be a level crossing over the Warrington to Stockport railway, but even in the old days it became very congested. Can you imagine one there nowadays? The Norton Arms pub used to stand at a point roughly where the foot of the bridge runs close to Knutsford Road. A weekly cattle market used to take place in the yard. There was also one at The Lion in Bridge Street we passed earlier.	Bridge Foot War memorial Marshall Gardens
As you walk back across Warrington Bridge, turn left to view one of the capstones from the parapet of the Victorian Bridge of 1837, which the 1915 bridge replaced. Incidentally, you can view the other remaining capstone in the driveway of Paddington House Hotel, Manchester Road, which used to be the home of Alderman Arthur Bennett.	Victoria Bridge capstone
Ahead of you is Halo nightclub. This used to be the ABC cinema, or the Ritz. Famous visitors in the 1950s include world-famous comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. The club was previously known as Synergy, and before that Mr Smiths. Pete Waterman and Michaela Strachen presented the Granada TV music and dance show, The Hitman and Her, from here in the 1980s. In the time between Mr Smiths and the opening as Synergy in March 2008, it was opened for one night a week, usually for school discos. It became Halo in November 2009, but closed in 2010. A group called Theatre 4 Warrington had been campaigning for it to be converted into a theatre. There have also been discussions in Warrington Borough Council to create a riverside leisure area alongside the Mersey close to the building. At the moment, there is no direct connection between the two schemes.	The former Synergy nightclub, previously Mr Smiths and then Halo
In this same area you will see Warrington's smallest listed monument. Did you spot it? No? Did you walk past the red phone box? Yes? Then you missed it - because this is it! It is a rare K4 combined telephone, post box and stamp dispenser.¹⁸ Made of cast iron, only 50 were originally produced by the Post Office Engineering Department in 1927. However, they were not a success. The stamps got wet in the rain, they were noisy and, in many cases, too big to install in some areas. They were given the nickname "Vermillion Giant" because of their colour and size.
It is believed there are only 5 remaining in the country - I tracked one down to The Cholmondeley Arms pub on Church Street, Frodsham, by the railway station. There is also one at the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings near Bromsgrove, West Midlands.	...and Frodsham
Go back to the traffic lights by the bridge and cross the road, turn left, and walk past Cromwell's statue in front of the Warrington Guardian office. Follow the road round to the right onto Barbauld Street. As you pass, look across to the large white building. This is the Bt telephone exchange on Stanley St. Construction started in 1953 and it was completed in 1955, the year the first cordless switchboard was opened at Thanet in Kent. The Warrington building was extended to a height of six storeys in 1977 and has since been upgraded to cope with the new digital age of cable TV and broadband. The company itself is the oldest telecommunications company in the world and was part of the General Post Office (GPO) from 1912 until privatisation in 1984 (read more here).	Bt Exchange in May 1988 Photo © Albert Hickson
From 1260 until 1539, the area in which you are now standing contained the grounds of Warrington Friary, where brothers preached and cared for the sick (friar means brother). If you placed it on a modern map, the whole site, including the grounds, would stretch from Halo nightclub in the south to Egypt Street and Cairo Street Chapel in the north, and from Bold Street in the west to Bridge Street/Friars Gate in the east. An orchard would be at Mr Smiths with a meadow just to the north. The main building is where the Wetherspoons pub, The Friar Penketh, stands today. It featured a church, cemetery and a gatehouse where Friar's Gate meets Bridge Street. Immediately west of the main building was an outer courtyard (where this section of Barbauld Street stands). In the most northern section there was a cemetery and the friary gardens. Check the inscription on the wall outside the pub (see photo, right). Nearby is St Austin's Lane. St Augustine friars were called Austin friars.¹⁹ The site was last excavated by Lancaster University prior to The Friar Penketh pub being built. So why was the pub so-named? Friar Penketh was one of the most famous members of the friary and is mentioned in William Shakespeare's play Richard III. If you go into the pub you can still see a selection of the friary remains through a glass floor. The museum and library stood on the site of the Postern Gate pub before it moved to its current home on Museum St/Bold St corner.²⁰	Warrington Friary The Friar Penketh Postern Gate
We continue our walk further along Barbauld Street, passing Brannigans night club. In 1907 this building started life as the Hippodrome Theatre.²¹ It has also been The Palace cinema and the Apollo Bingo and Social Club. Friars Court on the left was built in 1870. It features a pub of the same name. At the next corner we join Rylands Street. In the distance we see the town clock (more on this later). Turn left onto Rylands Street. The building opposite is the council's former 'Poll Tax House', named after the local government tax of the 1980s. I wonder why they haven't change the name yet? Anyway, the site has seen many changes. In 1862 the Public Hall was here; a magnificent building which was the main venue for entertainment, with an appearance by Charles Dickens in 1872, for instance. It was later renamed The Royal Court Theatre, and demolished in 1960.²² The building here now was a Lennon's supermarket until the council took it over as their housing office, which has since relocated to Horsemarket Street as Contact Warrington. One reader recalls their gran and granddad taking them to the theatre as an 8-year-old in the 1950s, and remembers being on stage more than once when there were magicians or comics performing. Ah the good old days, the reader adds.	Friar's Court Royal Court Theatre location
Walk along and turn left into the southern end of Cairo Street. Our next building is Friars Green Church at the bottom of the street on the right. The first chapel was built in 1802. It is one of the earliest Independent Methodist chapels. In the early years, the publicans' agents would interrupt services by handing out free buckets of beer to the congregation in a bid to stop them opposing public houses. Have you noticed there is nearly always a pub next to a church...	Friars Green Church
Now turn right onto St Austin's Lane. On the telephone exchange side of the road is a brand new pub called The Agency, which opened in early 2007. Opposite is a brand new residential block called Bovey Court (right, below). This stands on what was the site of the Royal British Legion, which had been empty for some years (see picture, right). I went to school with the son of a previous occupant of the Royal British Legion.	Old Royal British Legion
On the opposite side on the corner is St Austin's Chambers, built in 1864, at one time a rest home for soldiers, and now used as offices. Just down Bold Street to the left is Emmanuel Reformed Church of England church, which dates back to 1882. The next landmark is one of the most important - the museum and library on the corner of Bold Street/Museum Street. It was founded in 1848 after Warrington's first Town Clerk, John Fitchett Marsh, took advantage of the new 1845 Museums Act to make it the first library in the country to be funded from the rates. The foundation stone for the current building was laid on 22 September 1855.²³ Inside the museum you can see rare rocks, fossil footprints, an Egyptian mummy, a Roman actor's mask (the only one of its kind in Britain), botany and fish galleries, glassware and pieces of artwork and paintings. Temporary exhibitions and workshops for schools also feature throughout the year. The museum and library are well worth a visit, not only to view the artefacts on display, but also to take advantage of the facilities for your own research. Check out the museum website. The library received a makeover in 2009.	St Austins Chambers Emmanuel Church Museum and Library
Turn right out of St Austin's Lane if you didn't visit the museum (or left out of the museum if that is where you are), and walk straight towards the traffic lights. As you approach the traffic lights look out for the remains of the boot scraper (painted blue) in the lower part of the building on the corner.
Cross the road at the traffic lights and walk straight on until you arrive at the entrance to Queen's Gardens. Enter via the Bold Street (east) entrance (see picture, right).	Queens Gardens Bold Street entrance
As you enter the gardens, look to the right at the rather plain-looking building. The right-hand section is Bold Street Methodist Church, opened on 17 May 1975. It replaced the previous building which was demolished in the summer of 1973. The first Bold St Methodist Chapel opened on the site on 12 April 1850. Before that a Wesleyan chapel was established on Bank Street in 1778 and proved to be too small for the growing congregation. The first organ was installed in 1857. See a photo of the previous building in Memory Lane (Walking Through Time Part 2). The left-hand side of the building are offices of Warrington Borough Council (including Trading Standards and Transport).	Bold Street Methodist Church
In Queens Gardens, the military statue of Lt. Colonel McCarthy O'Leary (right) is dedicated to the memory of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Prince of Wales Volunteers (South Lancashire Regiment), who served in the Boer War in South Africa between 1899 and 1902. The memorial was unveiled in 1907 and features the names of the fallen. The Peninsula Barracks of the South Lancashire Regiment are on O'Leary Street, Orford, and are now used by the Territorial Army. The South Lancashire Regiment formed in 1881 and the museum to the regiment is in Preston (Click here).	Lt. Colonel McCarthy O'Leary statue

The fountain at the east end of the gardens dates back to Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year of 1897. It is a Grade II* listed monument and only the canopy remains - the fountain long since removed, probably on health and safety grounds. It was presented to the town by local businessman, Robert Garnett, and it is made of cast iron. The top section features a profile of Queen Victoria on two sides and a stork on the other two. Notice the inscription, "KEEP THE PAVEMENT DRY". It was manufactured at William McFarlane & Co.'s Saracen Factory in Glasgow. We will see something else manufactured by them when we get round to the Town Hall Gates. If you travel to Hoylake on the Wirral you can view a similar fountain outside the lifeboat station. The Hoylake version was refurbished in May 2008 and is seen here in my combination photo on the right. The differences are that ours does not have the water feature in the middle and Queen Victoria is shown on just one side, whereas Hoylake's version has her on all four sides.	The fountain
Take a quick detour through the exit to the left onto Palmyra Square South and have a look at the plaque on the wall of number 9, commemorating the early home of the first Viscount Leverhulme. Bold Street and Palmyra Square now feature the financial sector of the town with solicitors' offices, but the buildings were private dwellings in the 19th century and the gardens belonged to the residents. It opened as a public park on 17 October 1898.	Viscount Leverhulme plaque
Outside the gardens on the opposite side is the former Holy Trinity vicarage, which has stood vacant since 2006 when the vicar retired. The Georgian building dates back to 1926. In 2009 planning permission was granted to demolish it and replace it with a five-storey restaurant and office complex. Although in a conservation area, it is not a listed building.
An information board in the centre of the gardens, right, describes the history of area. It says, for instance, that Springfield House stood here in the past. For even more information, visit the museum and library to do your own research.
The two images below (left and centre) show how the gardens looked from the south east corner (left) and the north west (centre) on 13 February 2003, before they received a makeover in 2004 (plaque).

There are other plaques and memorials in the gardens, including one celebrating a million trees planted in Warrington as part of the Mersey Forest on 29 November 2004, and the Arpley Cannons which stood outside the former Arpley railway station, which was demolished in 1968. The cannons themselves were melted down in 1940 for the war effort. See the Digital Archive at Warrington Museum website for a photo. A plaque also recognises the work of Warrington Rotary Club, which celebrated 100 years of operation in the town in 2005.	Springfield Street entrance
The large open area is for outdoor entertainment performances. When you are ready, head to the Springfield Street (west) entrance (opposite end from where we came in). Outside the entrance to the right is a plaque explaining the reason for the name of the gardens.
You will notice on the north side (Palmyra Square North) a large apartment block. This is called Knightsbridge Court and was built in 2003 on the site of the former post office sorting office, which moved to Milner Street. At the Springfield St end is a restaurant called Le Frog Bistro. This building was the old post office. If you wish, walk over to it to spot the date engraved in the stonework. Now head back to opposite side of the gardens to view our next landmarks.	Knightsbridge Court
Warrington's town centre venues for the performing arts are on Palmyra Square South. This area of town is now known as the Cultural Quarter. The first venue is the Parr Hall, designed by William Owen. Look for the large plaque giving details. It opened in 1895 and was donated to the town by local banker J Charlton Parr. If you went on Tour 1 you will remember Parr's Bank is the NatWest building on Winwick Street.	Parr Hall
To the right of the Parr Hall is what started out as Warrington Technical College in 1902. Look up to spot all the famous names engraved into the brickwork - Socrates, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Galileo, Bacon, Newton, Priestley, Dalton, Joules and Darwin. The building was, until recently, the council's Borough Treasurer's building, but is now up for sale. Any offers?	Old Technical College
Keep walking west past the old Borough Treasurer's to see our second entertainment venue - the Pyramid Arts Centre. The old and the new come together here as the section past the glass frontage used to be the old County Court. Pyramid opened in 2002 and I had the pleasure of performing in the very first production, 'The North Face of Longshaw Street' - my one and only stage performance... The two entertainment venues are promoted as Pyramid & Parr Hall by the council.	Pyramid Arts Centre
Continuing our walk past Pyramid, we now venture onto Winmarleigh Street. The street is named after Colonel John Wilson Patten, who became Lord Winmarleigh. The small building opposite Pyramid is called Patten Hall (see image, right), which used to be another court building. It was built in 1912 and is currently vacant. There is Wilson Patten Street at the bottom end of Winmarleigh Street (to your left). More on the Patten family later. Turn right onto Winmarleigh Street itself and walk towards the large gates in the distance. On the way there have a look at Winmarleigh House diagonally opposite Pyramid. It is also called Masonic Hall - check out the two sets of dates on the two foundation stones.	Patten Hall Winmarleigh House
Further down Winmarleigh Street is the YMCA building on the left. The Winmarleigh Street building was opened in 1931. It was previously housed in a building on west Bridge Street near Friars Gate. (see the Community page for old photos of the building and a bit more on its history).
On the opposite side is the former Warrington Guardian newspaper printing house (white building, right). Read more on the newspaper shortly.
We now walk on to view the Golden Gates and the Town Hall. Take care when crossing the road. The gates were made by Messrs Kershaw and Crook at the Coalbrookdale Company at Ironbridge, Shropshire, for the International Exhibition in London in 1862. So how did we come by them? It is believed that they were originally presented to Queen Victoria, but she rejected them because a statue of Oliver Cromwell (the one at Bridge Foot) was on display behind them. They were returned to the Coalbrookdale Company where Frederick W. Monks, a member of the council, and a director of the Monks Hall Foundry, saw them and donated them to the council. They were officially opened on Walking Day (an annual religious walk of witness in the town) on 28 June 1895. In 1978 the council decided to beautify the cast iron gates by having them painted with real gold leaf, costing £33,000. They are now known as The Golden Gates, and were valued at £500,000.²⁴ John Bell designed both the statue of Oliver Cromwell and the four figures on top of the gates, which are said to represent Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The lamp posts, right, were manufactured by William McFarlane in Glasgow, as was the fountain in Queens Gardens we saw earlier.	The Golden Gates Town Hall Lamp posts
We also bring back the Patten family. Earlier in the tour we passed by Patten Lane off Bridge Street. From here the Patten family moved to a new home - Bank Hall. This was built in 1750 during the reign of King George II. It was designed by James Gibbs, who also built St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in London's Trafalgar Square. The house was set in open fields which went right down to the River Mersey. The first owner was Thomas Patten. It is said that Sankey Street came into existence because the common people were allowed to cross his land at this location. The house stayed in the family until they put it up for sale. The town council bought it from them in 1872 for £9,000 and the 13-acre grounds for £13,000. It has been the Town Hall ever since, and the grounds are known as Bank Park. (A booklet, Warrington Town Hall, is available from the library.)	Town Hall 2003 Date of building
At the back of the Town Hall you will find a fountain dedicated to the Reverend Phillip Pearsall Carpenter (1819-77), Minister of Cairo Street Chapel, who campaigned for public health reform in the 1850s. Notice also the stone memorial to Warrington's industrial past. Other features of Bank Park no longer in existence were the Walker Fountain (which stood behind the town hall gates - see the Digital Archive at Warrington Museum website for a photo), and a zoo (which was relocated to Walton Gardens and still gives adults and children enormous pleasure), plus a bandstand. At one time the whole estate was surrounded by railings, but these were sacrificed for the war effort. I recently found out that most of the metal collected across the country was simply dumped in the North Sea by the government. What a waste. And they have the cheek to tell us about recycling! If today is a nice day you might wish to relax in the grounds of the park. There are swings and slides for the children at the rear. When you are ready, make your way back to the Golden Gates...	Carpenter fountain Memorial to our industrial past
Our journey now take us back towards the town centre. Stay on the Town Hall side of the road and look across from the Golden Gates. The building on the left corner of Winmarleigh Street and Sankey Street began life as Warrington's first purpose-built post office in 1875.²⁵ The post office had previously been on King Street near Market Gate (King Street no longer exists).²⁶ The building has since served as the labour exchange (job centre), tax office, passport office and now as an information point for young people. To the left of it, The Gateway building was once home to the Warrington Guardian newspaper; offices at the front, printing presses on Winmarleigh Street we saw earlier. The newspaper was started by Scotsman Alexander Mackie, with the first issue published on 9 April 1853. The paper is now printed in Glasgow. The Gateway is a base for various community groups, including the Citizens Advice Bureau and Warrington Housing Association. It was officially opened by Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, on 27 February 2006. On the opposite corner is Hilden House, once the site of the Park cinema. Next to it is the former Priestley House, now revamped into Bank Quay House.	Town Hall in the snow, 2009 The old Post Office
With the Golden Gates behind you, walk to your left past The Gateway. The next building along before the pedestrian crossing is Bank House, now used as a council office. It was originally two houses built in the Georgian period - the first was shown on a map of 1770, whilst the second was built later. It was once the home to William Allcard, railway engineer on the Grand Junction Railway, which came through Bank Quay a quarter of a mile to the west. Allcard became the town's second mayor.²⁷There is a plaque dedicated to his memory on the building.	Bank House
Look across the road at the white single-storey building. It was formerly one of Warrington's many town centre cinemas - The Cameo. It was previously known as the Picture Drome (Picturedrome) and in 1913 had an ornate appearance. However in 1951, this facade was removed to give it the look of today. The cinema closed in 1956 and the building has served as various estate agents since then, with Tellyhire (Visionhire) occupying it for a while. In 2008 it was converted into JoJo's restaurant, which became Sinatra's on 23 May 2009.²⁸	old Cameo cinema
Cross at the pedestrian crossing and walk along until you reach the two-storey building set back from the road at an angle. No 73 is called Holly House and was built in 1790. It once featured a garden, which stretched to the corner of Springfield Street.²⁹	Holly House
Now look at the two large buildings across the road, 84 and 86 Sankey Street. Number 86, on the left, is called Garven House. The Garven family sold it to the Corporation, who made it their Health Office.³⁰ Number 84 used to be the Holy Trinity Vicarage (which was later moved to Palmyra Square North). The Corporation purchased it for its education offices. The first chairman of the Education Committee was Frederick Monks, who donated the Golden Gates to the town. In 2006 it became known as Mayfield House. Garven Place is the access road between them. The building at the back is a dentist and clinic, which is set for a revamp by the council.	Garven House & old vicarage Sankey Street
The row of buildings containing Jeniric's restaurant (up to the corner of Legh Street), were built in the early 20th century and designed by local architects Wright, Garnett and Wright. They also designed the buildings around Market Gate. Thomas Birtles had his photography shop here, as did WH Smith and Hewitt's furniture and antiques store.³¹ Above Hewitt's was the Central cinema where admission for children was 2d or two clean jam jars. And you thought recycling was a new idea! Legh Street itself is named after the Legh family from Lyme in Cheshire, prominent landowners in Warrington in the 1400s.	Legh Street Corner
The photos below show Legh Street on 12 August 2003 and on 14 August 2008

Walking along the street past Legh Street and Dawsons we eventually come to number 61, old Horobin's newsagents. The shop closed in 2004 and was later found to be structurally unsafe. It has since been rebuilt. It is now Johnson’s hair salon. The picture, right, top, shows the rebuilt shop between the estate agents and Help The Aged charity shop. The delightful photo, right, below, was sent to me my Sarah B and shows the shop exactly as it was during its lifetime. I remember from my days working at Lowes across the road in 1979-80 how there were piles of old newspapers stacked inside the shop, with the floor being olde-worlde, i.e. nothing flash, almost how my work colleague described Lowes itself. Many thanks to Sarah for the photo of Horobin's.	Old Horobin's as it is now... ...and as it was in 1999. Photo Copyright © Sarah B
Across the road is The White Hart pub. It, along with most of that block, was built out of brick and Portland stone in 1929, apart from the one occupied by Home estate agents, which was added later to blend in with the rest of the row.³² It features a sculpture of a hart (a male deer). Lowes (Warrington) Ltd was two shops away from the pub.	The White Hart in 2003.
We now approach Bold Street. Just before the junction there used to be a jewellers, Eustance's. It featured, for many years, a large 3-sided clock on the front of the shop. The clock is no longer on display. When Eustance’s moved, the clock was offered to any business willing to display it. Nobody offered and nobody seems to know where it went after that. The shop is now a pawnbroker. H Wells, in his book 'Walking Into Warrington's Past: Sankey Street', shows that the white building in my photo, right, below, was once the home of Thomas Percival, the first enrolled scholar of Warrington Academy. His front door was where the entrance to Jobsearch is now.³³ In July 2010 I was contacted by Ian, who informs me that his wife's great-great-grandfather, Cornelius Hayes, lived here at 47 Sankey Street with his wife and family from 1855 to 1861. During this time he operated a saddlery business from this address, but it is believed he relocated to Salford around 1861-1862 due to bankruptcy. If you have any further information about this Hayes family or their saddlery business in Warrington, please get in touch with me here and I will pass it on to Ian. You will also notice Waterfield's bakery on the extreme left of the photo. On this spot stood the Woolpack Hotel, which was rebuilt in 1871.³⁴ It looked much nicer than this 1970s replacement - buildings with character changed to square blocks of concrete, but that was the 1970s for you. This is the point where the western boundary to the ancient town of Warrington ended. The area we have just walked was fields as far as Whitecross (half a mile away).³⁵	Sankey Street in August 1995. In 1979 I started my first job at Lowes bookshop and stationers (the green Cornerstone estate agent in this photo). Between Lowes and The White Hart was Gladys Berg fashion shop. The Warrington Guardian office moved into the former Gladys Berg shop from its base on the corner of Sankey St/Springfield Street in the early 1990s. Percival's House
Next we come to Hilden Square, alongside the White Hart pub. Until 2008 this was the last surviving section of Golborne Street. It was renamed Hilden Square to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the town's twinning with Hilden in Germany. Town twinning, also known as 'sister cities', is a concept whereby towns and cities in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links between their inhabitants. The town now has two other twin towns: Nachod in the Czech Republic and Warrington, Pennsylvania, US. The village of Lymm is twinned with Meung Sur Loire in France.

Continue walking down Sankey Street. Golden Square shopping centre is on the left. The large department store opposite Marks & Spencer is now T.J. Hughes (TJ's) and was, for many years, the Co-op. The building was erected in 1908.³⁶
Turn right into Cairo Street and look for Cairo Street Chapel on the left. It has stood here since 1745. However, this is not the original building, the first was built c.1703.³⁷ It was formerly called Sankey Street Chapel (until 1846) and is also known as the Unitarian Chapel.Phillip P Carpenter, whose fountain we saw at the Town Hall, officiated at the chapel between 1846 and 1861.³⁸ It features a Garden of Remembrance. Buried in the grounds are my namesake, Mr and Mrs William and Margaret Gandy, who died 20 March 1758 (aged 77) and 6 August 1764 (aged 82) respectively. I have not yet researched my family history so I don't know if they are related. Thanks to the church for permission to photograph the gardens. The observant ones among you might have noticed three streets in this area with Egyptian names: Cairo Street, Egypt Street and Suez Street. These were named in the 1840s to remember the South Lancashire Regiment's campaigns against Napoleon in Egypt.³⁹	Cairo Street Chapel Garden of Remembrance
Head back to Sankey Street. The Barclays Bank building on the corner stands on the site of a 17th century smithy. The bank started out as the Union Bank, later becoming Barclays. The local Observer newspaper office stood on Cairo St corner in 1891 with its printing house alongside.⁴⁰	Barclays Bank
Next to it, the NatWest building started out as the District Bank in 1857 when The Manchester and Liverpool District Bank built the premises, having moved from Friar's Gate.⁴¹However, the bank started out on 25 July 1831 as an office of Manchester & Liverpool District Bank Co, celebrating their 175th Anniversary in 2006. See the Events page for more on that anniversary.	NatWest Bank
Next building along is Woolworth's. This was originally the showroom for Garnett's furniture store. Garnett's was founded in 1824. The building dates from 1864, seen on a stone high up on the building. Behind the store on Barbauld St you can see the workshops of Garnett's⁴² (you can get to it via an entry after Gregg's bakery further along the street). Woolworth's began when American Frank Winfield Woolworth set up his first store in 1878, selling items for five or ten cents each. The first British store opened in Liverpool in 1909, with the Warrington branch opening in 1912. In the 1970s and 1980s the company was famous for taking up the whole of the TV advertising slot for its Christmas promotions. When I was a youngster the Woolworth's store traded on two floors, but it was later reduced to just the ground floor. In late 2008 the Woolworth's company went into administration. No buyer could be found and so in January 2009 the company was wound up and the Warrington store itself closed for good on 6 January 2009. Speaking to some of the staff, they tell me that on the third floor there are still refrigerators in place from the days when meat was sold there. The Woolworth's name is to be kept alive though as an internet company. A new store, Asco, opened on the site in 2009, but that has now closed down, too.	Woolworths 2003 (above) and 2009 on the final day of trading Asco 3 Dec 2009
Our last building on Sankey Street is Holy Trinity Church. It was founded by Peter Legh of Lyme [Legh St] on 20 September 1709. A 'Chapel of Ease' was erected on the site to take the pressure off the Parish Church of St Elphin and to make it more convenient for people who were settling in the town centre at that time. It was known as Trinity Chapel but by the 1750s it was too small. The current building was started in 1758 and it is said James Gibbs, who styled the Town Hall, was the architect, and it was finished in 1760. The stone wall outside used to be adorned with iron railings, but like the Town Hall railings, they were sacrificed for the war effort.⁴³ A ramp has since been added for access. At one time there was also a drinking fountain outside, but modern health regulations now prohibit this. It stood from 1860 to the 1930s.⁴⁴ Visitors can enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in the church on most days. A plaque outside shows a scene of Warrington in 1762. The clock above is the town clock, serviced by the Council. The church and the town jointly own the tower, whilst the bell dates from 1855.⁴⁵ Link to the church website here.	Holy Trinity church Stained glass window. Photo © Albert Hickson 1998
A final word on Sankey Street itself. It was known in the Middle Ages as Sonkygate Street, and takes its name from the settlements of Great and Little Sankey to the west of town.⁴⁶ This eastern section has always been narrow, so narrow in fact that two buses could not pass each other. In 1965, the bus company decided to purchase some Leyland 'Titan PD/2/40 Special' narrow-width buses to cope with the situation.⁴⁷ Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Why didn't they just re-route the buses... Well, later on they did and the street was made one-way. It is now pedestrianised.	Leyland Titan PD/2/40 Special
We are now back at our starting point of Tour 2, but there are still some things to show you. At the green 'skittles', make you way into Golden Square shopping centre between Perfect Home and the T-Mobile phone shop to the left. The area was known as Golden Square back in 1855, and probably even before that. Through the walkway you will be greeted by an open area with the Old Fish Market iron structure in the centre - the outer shell is all that remains, and with good reason. It was decided to keep this area for events and activities. In past summer holidays it has been turned into a seaside scene - Warrington By The Sea.	Golden Square entrance at Market Gate
This is where the old Warrington Market stood. The market was split into 3 sections - meat market, fish market and general market. All of it was moved into a new building on Bank Street in 1975. In front of you is Ask restaurant, opened in June 2009. The building is a replica of the old Town Hall, which stood on this spot. On your right you can see the granite sculpture that is the Mad Hatter's Tea Party from Daresbury-born Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, officially opened by Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana on their visit to the town in 1984. The £25,000 eight-tonne sculpture was designed by Edwin Russell who was picked from 200 hopeful artists.	Golden Square Old Fish Market & Mad Hatter's Tea Party
In the far left corner there is a plaque on the wall of Rhode Island coffee shop dedicated to William Beamont, the first Mayor of Warrington, who practised as a solicitor on this spot for 50 years. Read a brief profile of William Beamont in Warrington People.
To the right is the wonderful black and white Tudor building that is the Barley Mow pub. It has stood on the same spot since 1561. The passageway at the side used to lead to the old general market. Inside the Barley Mow you can view a Jacobean chimney piece with fine carved panelling. It is one of the oldest buildings in the town centre and a fitting place to bring my two tours to an end. Why not treat yourself to a refreshing drink there, or in one of the many coffee shops in the square, and reflect on the journey you have just completed?	The Barley Mow
The names of all the fallen in the Two World Wars at the Bridge Foot Memorial This brings the second tour to an end.