http://www.boldstreet.org.uk/blog/2007/07/24/bold-street-in-the-40s/ The Bold Street Project Blog; The Street, The Art, The Research, The exhibition, The Community. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:29:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.boldstreet.org.uk/blog/2007/07/24/bold-street-in-the-40s/#comment-176 Denys Owen Wed, 01 Aug 2007 10:47:58 +0000 http://www.boldstreet.org.uk/blog/2007/07/24/bold-street-in-the-40s/#comment-176 In my original comment I forgot to mention that my parent's shop at 118 Bold St,traded under the name of "Hawker Owen". It is interesting to read the comments of younger bloggers (i.e under 60!) who think that the street hasn't changed. They perhaps don't realise that in pre-war days Bold St really did only have high class shops, of the kind that are rarely seen in the city today (by comparison with Manchester that is!) and that was why it was known as the Bond St of the north. The downward trend in quality started after Blacklers was destroyed by bombing and relocated to Bold St. Nothing wrong with Blacklers of course except that it was definitely not an upmarket store and didn't try to be.The decline of the street followed the pattern set by the city , meaning the emigration of a high proportion of the middle classes, a pattern which now thankfully appears to be going into reverse. In my original comment I forgot to mention that my parent’s shop at 118 Bold St,traded under the name of “Hawker Owen”. It is interesting to read the comments of younger bloggers (i.e under 60!) who think that the street hasn’t changed. They perhaps don’t realise that in pre-war days Bold St really did only have high class shops, of the kind that are rarely seen in the city today (by comparison with Manchester that is!) and that was why it was known as the Bond St of the north. The downward trend in quality started after Blacklers was destroyed by bombing and relocated to Bold St. Nothing wrong with Blacklers of course except that it was definitely not an upmarket store and didn’t try to be.The decline of the street followed the pattern set by the city , meaning the emigration of a high proportion of the middle classes, a pattern which now thankfully appears to be going into reverse.

]]> http://www.boldstreet.org.uk/blog/2007/07/24/bold-street-in-the-40s/#comment-170 Denys Owen Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:47:12 +0000 http://www.boldstreet.org.uk/blog/2007/07/24/bold-street-in-the-40s/#comment-170 In the 1930s my parents owned a "high class" soft furnishings shop at No.118 Bold St, but by 1941 all they had available for sale was blackout material. At a lecture a few years ago in Liverpool the lecturer stated that Bold St was one of the only city centre streets which had not been bombed. I gently pointed out the (awful) modern buildings covering No's 118 and the adjoining property upon which he commented that he had always wondered why these seemed so poorly constructed compared with older shops. Of course they wwere rebuilt after the war but much had happened in the meantime so my parents never renewed the lease which was owned by Cheshire Lines Railways. The destruction was not through a direct hit but was set alight by flames and sparks from St Lukes church. At 80 years of age there are many more memories of my upbringing in Liverpool (I left in 1956) which would be boring to others. In the 1930s my parents owned a “high class” soft furnishings shop at No.118 Bold St, but by 1941 all they had available for sale was blackout material. At a lecture a few years ago in Liverpool the lecturer stated that Bold St was one of the only city centre streets which had not been bombed. I gently pointed out the (awful) modern buildings covering No’s 118 and the adjoining property upon which he commented that he had always wondered why these seemed so poorly constructed compared with older shops. Of course they wwere rebuilt after the war but much had happened in the meantime so my parents never renewed the lease which was owned by Cheshire Lines Railways. The destruction was not through a direct hit but was set alight by flames and sparks from St Lukes church. At 80 years of age there are many more memories of my upbringing in Liverpool (I left in 1956) which would be boring to others.

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