Widnes (Archive Photographs)

Extensive changes to the Widnes scene over the last forty years have made collections of old photographs like this one an even more valuable asset than ever before. New road, bridges, housing estates and shopping centres follow on from factory closures, demolition of familiar landmarks and changes in transport. But it is not only the streets and buildings that the photographs record, for these images preserve the people of an earlier Widnes too, in all their day to day activities, at work and play. This fascinating sequence of old photographs brought together by the Widnes Historical Society, will bring back powerful memories for many people and introduce newcomers and a younger generation to a world of family run shops, horse-drawn vehicles and local industries that have now all but disappeared.