historyofscunny

Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.

Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.

Ok, I got it

My Pages

Home Page

Images

The Railway

Street Names

Now and Then

Around Scunthorpe

Baths Hall

Past News & Events

The image above is an older to that to the left taken slightly further down the High Street and shows the Smith and Ellisons Bank which is the smaller building in the center. To the left is the railing to St. John the Evangelist Church.

The two pictures above are separated by around 100 years of time, the modern image taken in January 2007. This is High Street East and in bygone years was the main shopping area in Scunthorpe, indeed the shops to the right where amongst the first purpose built shops to be built in Scunthorpe. At first glance the only building that appears to be remaining in the modern image is that of the former National Provicial Bank, which was taken over by the local council in 1937 when the bank moved to new premises further up the High Street. This building had replaced an earlier building that housed Smith and Ellison's Bank. A second glance reveals that the building to the right is still in stitu, albeit with a different facade, gone have the bay windows on the first floor and the shop space under the nearest three bay windows now occupied by one retailer namley K. Cross car showroom. The shop space under the furthest two bay window now in the modern image with the Tolet board is that of the former Lucky Las Vegas arcade. On the old picture we can also see the signage for Dunns & Sons Boot and Shoe shop. On the left of the old image canbe seen Kirmans Ironmongers which inturn became Lingards Cycle shop, this area was cleared in the late 1990s and is now occupied by the former Club 2000 night club.

Over thirty years separate the three views hear of the Ornimental Fountain Gardens at Central Park. Long gone are the flower beds that helped gave rise to its name, a victim a cost cutting since the demise of Scunthorpe Borough Council with the inception of a new authority in the mid to late 1990s. This amongst the disapperence of other flower beds, rose gardens and shrubbery around the town has cause some to call into question whether Scunthorpe should still carry the tag "The Industrial Garden Town". In the modern picture we can see that the conifers have matured whilst in the old we can see the cooling towers and chimneys of the steelworks on the skyline. Central Park was designed to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Borough of Scunthorpe, the first phase costing £25.755. The Ministry of Housing and Local Government sanctioned the loan required and work was planned to start in January 1957. Original plans included a band stand, mini golf course, paddling pools, a stream, model boating pools, conservatory, meterological station, woodland area and formal and informal park areas. The first phase was between Festival Gardens and the new Technical Collage with plans then to develope the whole of the site from Ashby Rd along the Kingsway.

This building began life in 1861 as a Wesleyan chapel built to seat 300 people it replaced the first Wesleyan chapel which seated 40 this was situated behind the area where Greenwoods shop stands today. This chaple was itself replaced when Scunthorpes third Wesleyan chaple was built next door to it in 1899.

The only building recognisable in the 2007 image is the one to the left which has recently been converted into a Tesco shop. On the right of the old image is the wall to Ashby Girls school, this originally had iron railings along it which were taken down during WW2 to help in the war effort (iron & steel being a valuable comodity at that time), Ashby Link along with a medical practice now occupy this site. This stretch of Ashby High Street at one time was called Mill Lane (then Road) as there used to be a Post Mill situated roughly to the rear of where the Tesco shop stands today, the last miller to work the mill was Mr.R.A Ashbee.

These to views of Priory Lane are taken less then 10 years apart which just shows how things can radically change in such a short space of time. The original houses being of the Spooner home design where constucted from the late 1940s being complete in 1954 and called The Sunnyside Estate, in the 1990s a structural fault was found in them, the cost of repair outweighed the cost of redevelopment and after long legal wranglings with some home owners the estate was cleared and redeveloped and completed in 2006.
The road going off to the left of the older image is Friars Road, today its call Greyfriars Close and has a mini-roundabout leading to it, the new road to the right is Cloister Close. The white van is emerging from Abbey Road in the older picture, today its named Temple Road.

Burringham Road close to Asnby Turn. The older image is from 1972 and shows Warburtons Chemist shop along side Coopers Heating & Plumbing shop. These two properties adjoin the old Ashby fire station. Today both these properties have been converted into one shop, namely Regal Touch.

Riddings service station on Willoughby Road taken just over 40 years apart. For many years it was known as Knights garage selling Mobil petrol then Jet petrol and is one of the very few petrol stations that still today has petrol pump attendants.

The old image above shows the house of Dr. James Couldry on the left. It is believed that he practiced in Scunthorpe from c1881 and around 1911 his nephew Dr. Thomas Reginald Couldry practiced from these premises before moving to 116 High Street and then 76 Oswald Road. The house later became the headquaters of the Scunthorpe branch of the RAF Association, it then became The Phoenix Cub and is now The Pig and Whistle public house. The road going left just past this house is Home Street (see below). To the right, the building with the horse & dray outside was that of the Scunthorpe Co-operative Society's Central Stores which were opened in September 1888, these stores were superceded in 1910 when then new central stores opened in the High Street.

The images above show a veiw of Home Street taken from where the horse & dray are in the photograph above. On the extreme left of the picture we can see the side of Dr. James Couldry's house. Barely visible on the old image between the door and the second lower window is the doctors plate. The building beyond is and outbuilding which can still be seen on the modern day image, past this is a shop which is now The Tudor House Fish & Chip shop/restaurant, all the buildings beyond this and to the right have long gone indeed to the right is the rear of Scunthorpe market.

The No4 Branch of The Scunthorpe Co-operative Society was opened by John Crawshaw in 1908 and sevred as a co-oprative until 2001, in times past it had meeting rooms upstairs. He was one of the founding members of The Scunthorpe Co-operative movement, he had came from Pontefract to Owston Ferry where he worked as a cobbler before moving to Scunthorpe where he did grave digging and helped in building roads on the Normanby Park Estate. In his time he was also a bootmaker, a moulder at Frodingham Ironworks, a signalman on the railways and also worked a smallholding. He was elected to the general committee of the society in 1874 and was also chairman of the Co-op educational committee from its inception in 1903 until 1910. He died on 5th March 1922 aged 80.

Piczo