I’m delighted to share some fascinating pictures with you this month. One in the centre of the village that took a while to find out the full detail of, and another of a scene on the canal, which was shown projected as part of his talk by a visitor to the Local History Group. The first picture of Mr & Mrs Frank Jones kindly shown to me by Gill, their daughter, is taken along Village Road and shows the Jones family with a large pram outside the Red Lion (now Ring o Bells.) There is a building at the rear of the picture which is no longer there. It took some searching, but I found on line from the Scottish Library, a map of Christleton Village printed in 1911. This when enlarged, shows a building in the middle of what is now the Ring O Bells Car Park, and I remembered an article I wrote many years ago about Frank Poston’s memories of the Village. It was printed in full in our Christleton 2000 years of History book, when I interviewed Frank about his memories of the Village.

“Our Village butchers were quite successful having two shops in Chester market. They had two or three fields and would purchase a number of cattle and sheep together, and turn them out to grass until required. Mt Joe Mosford was renowned as a judge of the weight of cattle on the hoof. Then the sales of meat were conducted from the slaughterhouses. One slaughterhouse was situated about the middle of the Ring O Bells car park. The killing and dressing of meat went on from Monday to Thursday afternoon. It was then scrubbed down and converted into a shop for weekend sales. You could hear dear old Joe Mosford, the butcher, chopping on the block, and the ring, ring of his brass scales when weighing it, often at 5.00am. Cows would be bellowing and pigs squealing for their breakfast. The handle of the village pump hitting the sandstone trough when operated by the early birds. Later in the day, Charlie Booth with his handcart would come from Chester and with a voice like a foghorn, shouting, “Rags and Bones, bottles and jars, rabbits and skins” Then the cockle and mussel man would arrive all the way from Parkgate, with his pony and flat topped cart, crying Shrimps, cockles and mussels, Dee fluke and samphion.(a type of seaweed) Then Mrs Hewson with her Hurdy Gurdy would arrive all the way from Chester, just for a few coppers.”

What wonderful memories he gave us. I only wish I’d been able to interview James his dad. He had been a gardener at Christleton Hall, and lived until he was 105 years old, at the Old Surgery, opposite what was then the Red Lion. I’ve published below several pictures taken in the centre of the village from about 1900. Cottages appearing where the Ring O Bells Car park is today, seen from the bend in Village Road near the Institute, also some pictures of the winter in 1963, when a water carrier had to deliver water for village houses. There is also a fine picture of a Police House in the snow. I have also printed a few images of St James’ Church. An engraving from 1831 by Chester Artist T Bailey, showing a west doorway and two pictures of the interior of the 1737 church building with box pews. These are extremely early photographs and probably date to around 1860.

The last picture is just an amazing scene at the Trooper Bridge of a horse drawn narrow boat, with almost what looks like a publicity photograph for an event, or even a woollen swimming costume advert. Geoff Taylor from Taylors Boat Yard in Chester found it on “Mail on Line” on the internet. He displayed it at the Local History Group evening when talking about the Taylor Family Firm, building boats in Chester for almost 150years. We can deduce it’s the Trooper Bridge as the number 122 can clearly be seen. The horse drawn narrowboat and operator, looks like those operating narrow boats along the Shropshire Union Canal in the 1930’s, and that is probably the date of the woollen swimming costumes the ladies are wearing. Were they members of Christleton W. I., or just a group of ladies having a great day out.? If anyone has any knowledge of such an event, please let us know, but what an amazing picture to add to our village archives.