Friday, November 13, 2009

Market hall

These are a couple pictures I took today in Market hall in central Bolton. It used to have many "islands" of little shops, but over big protests and petitions it was changed last year to a modern shopping centre. It took a while.
I don't think they have used the space very well, there are much fewer shops than before, even though it's now in two levels.
At least they've been smart enough to let some of the charming old building stay visible, even if it's pretty much drowned out, not the least this time of year, the Christmas decorations do it no favors.



I was questioned by a female guard by the way, you need permission to photograph. She was pretty relaxed about though, maybe because I was using the diminitive "tourist" camera, Canon S90, and maybe because I was only photographing the old round windows at the time.
At 400 ISO and with stabilization, the camera handled the indoors situation quite well.
And every exposure is perfect, despite the great contrasts in lighting.
I don't always feel I need wideangle, but with the great wall there, the wide 28mm-e setting on the S90 came in handy I must admit.


Alex, old Lancashire "lad", said:

I vaguely remember the old market hall. I seem to remember a tea rooms or shoppers cafe upstairs.

Manchester's market was in the scrag end of the Arnie, and Stretford had their Arndale as well. I remember Liverpool's market was modern as well. Longsight and Stocky have outdoor markets. Chester's was indoors in the Forum, a 60's brick slab. There are so few Victorian Markets around. Sure Covent Gardens is an excellent example, but it's all flowery tourist stuff, and not an honest to goodness market (mercado for our American friends) any more.

I remember markets from my younger days, dressing rooms made out of tarps, that old stoner selling second hand records and those orange labelled cassettes of concerts. There was the sweet stall with trays of toffee to buy by the pound. The second hand book store where you could by two books for three old ones. There were bolts of fabric, habidashers, butchers with game hung in the window, grinding their own sausage. Green grocers which smelt of gardens and produce, piles of boxes and lived in look.

Add to the noise and excitement of the bazaar the ornate intricacies of Victorian iron work and fussy patterns in the brick. Taint the brick soot black, and paint all the iron in corporation green, and there you are in nameless Britain of anywhere between 1945 and 1975.

At least now they have a tendency to slap a grade two or three listing on these buildings, and the survivors are guaranteed.

There are places where it has worked well, the 1980's modernization of the warehouses at Albert Dock for example, or is that St Catherines Dock, just opposite HMS Belfast in London.

How's the market hall in Wigan holding up? Oh, please, get a bus pass and do a tour of Wigan with your camera. It's like Bolton, but it embraces it's history.

Great now I really want to eat some good toffee. Nearest Thonrntons is about 3,000 miles away. Hmmph!
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6 comments:

Alex said...

I vaguely remember the old market hall. I seem to remember a tea rooms or shoppers cafe upstairs.

Manchester's market was in the scrag end of the Arnie, and Stretford had their Arndale as well. I remember Liverpool's market was modern as well. Longsight and Stocky have outdoor markets. Chester's was indoors in the Forum, a 60's brick slab. There are so few Victorian Markets around. Sure Covent Gardens is an excellent example, but it's all flowery tourist stuff, and not an honest to goodness market (mercado for our American friends) any more.

I remember markets from my younger days, dressing rooms made out of tarps, that old stoner selling second hand records and those orange labelled cassettes of concerts. There was the sweet stall with trays of toffee to buy by the pound. The second hand book store where you could by two books for three old ones. There were bolts of fabric, habidashers, butchers with game hung in the window, grinding their own sausage. Green grocers which smelt of gardens and produce, piles of boxes and lived in look.

Add to the noise and excitement of the bazaar the ornate intricacies of Victorian iron work and fussy patterns in the brick. Taint the brick soot black, and paint all the iron in corporation green, and there you are in nameless Britain of anywhere between 1945 and 1975.

At least now they have a tendency to slap a grade two or three listing on these buildings, and the survivors are guaranteed.

There are places where it has worked well, the 1980's modernization of the warehouses at Albert Dock for example, or is that St Catherines Dock, just opposite HMS Belfast in London.

How's the market hall in Wigan holding up? Oh, please, get a bus pass and do a tour of Wigan with your camera. It's like Bolton, but it embraces it's history.

Great now I really want to eat some good toffee. Nearest Thonrntons is about 3,000 miles away. Hmmph!

Robb in Houston said...

Oh, in Bolton, eh?

When I lived in Europe, I had a friend from England who nicknamed me Notlob. Aye, Notlob - let's make a rum & Coke, he would say.

I asked him why he called me Notlob, and his reply was "that's easy, it's Bolton spelled backwards. It's where I'm from!"

Alex said...

To quote Monty Python "The palindrome of Bolton is Notlob! It don't work"

Alex said...

When did I become a Lancashire Lad? I'm a Cheshire Chap.

Seriously, Manchester was no longer in Lancs when I lived there, it was in GMC. Bootle was no longer Lancs when I worked there, it was Merseyside.

Eolake Stobblehouse said...

Manchester is not in Lancashire??

Damn, my grasp of Geography is weak.

Alex said...

To quote Wikipedia

Historically, most of the city was a part of Lancashire, although areas south of the River Mersey were in Cheshire.

I believe as a Metropolitan Borough it is outside county jurisdiction.