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Old Ashton Restored, Ashton Town Centre, Ashton-under-Lyne (2026)

03/09/2026

ASHTON MEMORIES — DO YOU REMEMBER THE OLD INDOOR MARKET?

Yes, we know Ashton Market Hall is still very much with us and people still enjoy shopping there today. But for this one, we're getting into the Old Ashton Restored time machine and heading back to the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s.

For generations, the old indoor market was at the heart of shopping in Ashton. Before internet shopping and huge retail parks became the norm, this was somewhere you could seemingly find a little bit of everything.

Those who remember the old layout will probably remember just how different it felt. The narrow, maze-like gangways were packed with stalls selling everything from meat, fish and cakes to shoes, cosmetics, records, traditional sweets and much more.

Names remembered from the 1980s include Galaxy Records, Cassons Shoes, Gleaves, The Pantry, R.G. Fish and Donoghue's, among many others.

Go further back and other memories emerge. Ashton locals have recalled the old tripe stalls, Queenie's selling Marks & Spencer seconds and a central newsagent and stationer's remembered as Pickles, where generations of youngsters could spend their money on comics.

It wasn't necessarily polished or modern, and that was part of its character. People remember the uneven and sloping floors between the stall islands, busy little gangways and traders who became familiar faces after years of serving the same families.

Then came 25 May 2004, when the devastating fire gutted the interior of the Market Hall and brought that particular chapter of its history to an abrupt end. Traders continued in the temporary Phoenix Market Hall while the historic building was rebuilt, before the Market Hall reopened in 2008.

But today we're interested in everything that came BEFORE the fire.

Which stall immediately comes into your mind when you picture the old indoor market? Was there a butcher your family always used, somewhere you bought clothes, records, sweets or jewellery, or simply a trader you remember because they always had time for a chat?

And we'd particularly love to hear memories from different decades. What do you remember from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or early 2000s?

Sometimes it's the smallest details — a particular smell, the sound of the market, the layout of a favourite stall or something you bought every Saturday — that bring the old Ashton Market Hall flooding back.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE OLD INDOOR MARKET?

❤️ YES

😡 NO

Select your chosen emoji and share your memories and experiences in the comments!

03/09/2026

THE PETMAN — A FAMILIAR NAME ON STAMFORD STREET

A great view of The Petman at its earlier home on Stamford Street Central, before the long-established Ashton business made its move to Endeavour House.

The shop became a familiar name to generations of Ashton families, with its frontage advertising Water Gardens, Pet Stores and Fishing Tackle. It was one of those shops where there always seemed to be something worth stopping and looking at in the windows, whether you kept fish, had a family pet or were heading off fishing.

The Petman later moved into Endeavour House on Stamford Street Central, where the family-run business continues trading today. More than 45 years after it began, it still sells pets and pet supplies, aquatics and fishing tackle — making it one of the increasingly rare Ashton businesses to have survived decades of changes around the town centre.

While much of the Stamford Street seen in old photographs has changed or disappeared, The Petman name has remained.

Who remembers visiting The Petman at its earlier Stamford Street shop, and what do you remember buying or seeing in those windows?

02/09/2026

Warrington Street, early 50s by the looks of it.
So before they built Woolworths and long before they built the arcades you had the Ashton Hotel, a shop called Woods, you can just make out the old water board building in the far right at the end, there was a street by the looks of it where there were houses and people lived, that is near to where the bus station would have been, We know many of you have mentioned the houses that were around Ashton town centre at this time.
If you can remember Ashton like this let us know your memories in the comments.

02/09/2026

ASHTON MEMORIES — DO YOU REMEMBER THE BLUE & WHITE WOODEN KIOSKS ON ASHTON MARKET?

For anyone who regularly shopped in Ashton during the 1980s and 1990s, these little wooden kiosks were another familiar part of the Market Ground.

Ashton Market looked very different then. The outdoor market was packed with traders selling everything from clothes and shoes to sweets, records and food, with the distinctive little wooden kiosks becoming part of that familiar market landscape.

With their blue-and-white appearance and pitched roofs, they certainly stood out. They weren't enormous shops, but that was part of their character — small independent traders serving customers through an open window, often with their goods packed into every available bit of space.

The Market Ground itself changed considerably during this period, particularly as Ashton town centre underwent redevelopment during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

But it's often the smaller things people remember most.

You might not remember exactly what year a particular kiosk appeared or disappeared, but you remember walking past it every week. You remember what was displayed in the window, the person who served you — and perhaps exactly what you always bought.

That's where we'd like your memories to fill in the story.

Do you remember Ashton's blue-and-white wooden market kiosks? What did they sell, and was there one you regularly bought something from?

❤️ YES

😡 NO

Select your chosen emoji and share your memories in the comments!

01/09/2026

ASHTON MEMORIES — DO YOU REMEMBER GOING ON ASHTON MARKET’S OLD ROUNDABOUTS?

For generations of Ashton children, a trip around the Market Ground wasn't complete without trying to persuade your mum, dad or grandparents to let you have a go on the roundabouts.

They were certainly part of Ashton life long before the 1980s. Local memories recall childhood trips to the Market Ground and the difficult decision of which little vehicle to choose for your ride.

But for many Ashton locals today, it's those colourful roundabouts of the 1980s and 1990s that bring back the strongest memories.

They weren't sophisticated rides with computer-designed vehicles and flashing screens. Their charm was in their simplicity. Colourful canopies and beautifully painted panels surrounded a collection of wooden vehicles that seemed absolutely fantastic when you were five or six — buses, fire engines, police cars, tanks and all sorts of other designs.

And every child had a favourite.

You'd arrive determined that you were getting in that particular vehicle, only to discover another child had beaten you to it. Then came the agonising decision: wait for the next ride, or reluctantly choose your second favourite and spend the entire journey keeping an eye on the child who had stolen your prized seat!

For parents, those roundabouts probably provided something equally valuable: five minutes' peace.

After walking around the stalls with children in tow, there was an opportunity to sit on one of the nearby benches while the youngsters happily went round and round. For many families, it became part of the routine — behave while you're being dragged around the shops and market, and you'll get your ride on the roundabout afterwards.

The Market Ground itself could feel like an adventure to a child. There were the toy stalls to investigate, food kiosks and treats to pester your parents for, the noise and bustle of the outdoor market and, waiting among it all, those roundabouts.

Rain or shine, the children's rides became part of the landscape of Ashton Market and remained there in one form or another for many years.

Perhaps that's why something so simple remains so fondly remembered. They weren't grand theme-park attractions. They were just part of an ordinary shopping trip into Ashton — but when you were a child, that was more than enough to make them special.

Do you remember going on Ashton Market's old roundabouts? And which little vehicle did you always try to get?

❤️ YES

😡 NO

Select your chosen emoji and share your memories in the comments!

01/09/2026

Who remembers Karparts in Ashton?
Looks to be around the early 1970s.
The information provided with this photo was that this is Henry Square viewed from Ashton Baths.
If you have any memories of the shop and the area during this time period, feel free to let us know in the comments.

31/08/2026

ASHTON MEMORIES — DO YOU REMEMBER STEWART ELECTRONICS?

For many people who grew up in Ashton during the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s, Stewart Electronics on Penny Meadow was one of those shops you never forgot.

Opening in the mid-1980s, Stewart Electronics remained part of the Ashton town centre landscape for around 30 years. This was the era before ordering virtually anything you wanted online, when independent electronics shops were places you actually went for advice, repairs, components and those all-important new gadgets.

But for a generation of younger Ashton shoppers, Stewart Electronics also meant computer games and consoles.

Ask around and you'll find memories of people getting some of their very first home computers and consoles from there. The Commodore 64 generation, followed by the likes of the Sega Mega Drive, Super Nintendo and eventually the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation — these weren't simply pieces of technology. For many of us, getting one was a massive event.

There was something completely different about buying games back then too. You'd stand looking through the window, studying the boxes and deciding what you wanted long before you had the money to actually buy it. Birthdays and Christmases could mean finally getting the console you'd been pestering your parents about for months, while a new game could swallow up weeks of saved pocket money.

And that's where shops such as Stewart Electronics became part of people's childhood memories. Some Ashton youngsters walked through those doors and came back out carrying their first-ever games console. Others remember going in with their parents, buying games, looking at what was new or simply staring through that window at something they desperately wanted.

Stewart Electronics wasn't solely a games shop, of course. It built its reputation supplying electronics, components and spare parts and providing the sort of knowledgeable, personal service that independent shops were known for. It survived through enormous changes in the electrical retail industry and remained on Penny Meadow long after many other independents had disappeared.

Sadly, the eventual closure wasn't simply a story of another independent shop losing out to changing shopping habits. The condition of the building itself had become a serious problem. The rented premises had reportedly suffered from years of inadequate maintenance, with essential repairs not being carried out by the landlords responsible for the property. Problems continued even after ownership of the building passed to members of the landlord's family.

By the time Stewart Electronics closed in 2014, the deterioration was said to have become alarming. There were reports of bowing ceilings, significant cracks and water getting into the building, including electrical wiring becoming saturated. After around three decades of running the business, the owner ultimately decided that remaining in premises in such a condition was no longer worth the risk and retired.

It makes the loss of Stewart Electronics particularly frustrating because this wasn't simply a once-popular shop naturally reaching the end of its life. Years of poor maintenance and landlord neglect appear to have played a major part in making the premises increasingly unsafe and ultimately unusable.

After Stewart Electronics closed, the building and neighbouring property continued to deteriorate. They stood derelict for years and were eventually sold at auction, but the problems weren't resolved. With the structures ultimately considered a danger to the public, the council intervened and the buildings were finally demolished in October 2024.

So another little piece of old Ashton disappeared completely.

But demolishing a building doesn't demolish the memories attached to it.

For some, Stewart Electronics will always bring back memories of components and repairs. For others, it'll be Commodore 64s, Mega Drives, Nintendo 64s, PlayStations and that excitement of getting a new game or console home for the very first time.

So let's hear your Stewart Electronics memories.

Did you buy your first computer or games console from there? What was it — and can you remember the first game you bought for it?
♥️Yes
😡No
Select your chosen emoji and let us know your experiences in the comments.

31/08/2026

MARGARET STREET — WHEN THE CORNER SHOP REALLY WAS ON THE CORNER

This wonderful old photograph takes us back to Margaret Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, probably around the early 1960s, and to the sort of little neighbourhood shop that was once found on streets all over the town.

The shopkeeper's name may have disappeared from the readily available records, but the photograph tells plenty of its own story. Park Drive ci******es, Tizer and Cadets chocolate are advertised around the frontage, while the window is packed with the everyday bits and pieces people would have called in for without thinking twice.

Margaret Street itself had a much bigger story. It ran through an area shaped by Ashton's cotton industry, with the huge Junction Mills complex associated with Samuel Heginbottom & Sons nearby. One of the firm's five-storey mills was built fronting Margaret Street as far back as 1835, and by 1860 the complex employed around 700 people. Its enormous 210-foot chimney, built in 1867, would eventually become one of the surviving reminders of Ashton's industrial past.

But photographs like this capture another side of that history. Between the mills, houses and factories were the little businesses that actually served the people who lived there — newsagents, grocers, tobacconists, repair shops and corner shops where you could nip in for a bottle of pop, ci******es, sweets or whatever else was needed.

Much of the surrounding industrial landscape would eventually disappear. Junction Mills closed in 1930 and most of the surviving complex was finally demolished decades later, although its famous chimney was retained.

It's the ordinary details in this photograph that really bring Margaret Street back to life — the packed shop window, the advertising boards covering the brickwork and a proper little corner shop that would once have been completely familiar to the families living nearby.

Does anybody remember this particular shop on Margaret Street, who ran it, or what you used to buy there? We'd love to put a name to it and hear your memories.

30/08/2026

ASHTON PRECINCT UNDER CONSTRUCTION 1960s.

A fascinating view of Ashton town centre during one of the biggest changes it had seen for generations, as the new Ashton Shopping Precinct began to rise during the 1960s.

Cranes dominate the site as the new concrete shopping centre takes shape, while the cobbled street in the foreground still belongs very much to the older Ashton that was rapidly disappearing.

Look into the background and you can see the old Ashton Reporter building, home of the local newspaper from 1879. It too would disappear as part of the redevelopment, with Marks & Spencer eventually opening its new flagship Ashton store on the former Reporter site. Further left is another wonderful survivor in the photograph — the distinctive clock tower of Ashton Market Hall.

The new Precinct helped shift Ashton's main shopping area away from the traditional shops of Stamford Street and into a purpose-built pedestrian shopping centre. By the late 1960s businesses including Rediffusion were already opening premises there, beginning an era of Ashton shopping that many of us still remember.

Who remembers watching Ashton Precinct being built — or shopping there when it was still brand new?

Old Ashton Restored

03/09/2026

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