The Present Past
Say hello to Alf Murphy and his son Alf Murphy. Alf senior’s dad was named Alf as was his granddad and Alf junior’s son is Christopher - drat! “We’ve got short memories,” said Alf senior. Short memories or not it’s a great way to keep going a family tradition and a business name. Established in 1880 by Martha and Andrew Murphy, the original business sold fruit and fish as well as coal.
The Present Past
Eddie is the third generation of the famous Barton family. Edmund Barton, Eddie’s grandfather formed the business in 1905. Edmund and his wife Lydia would prepare the vegetables in the yard of their home, steeping them in spiced vinegar and their special sauce mixes before selling them from a hand cart and, later, a horse drawn cart. Bartons bought their first motorised vehicle in 1926. In the summer months they’d brew dandelion & burdock and lemonade.
The Present Past
In 1962 a fifteen-year old Roy Anders was helping his dad to forge a horseshoe around the anvil shown in this photograph. Roy explained: “The heel of my dad’s hammer split and hit him in the eye. I can remember it like it was yesterday. Blood spurted from the wound. My dad held a handkerchief to his eye and walked to the local hospital. There was nothing they could do – he lost his eye.”
The Present Past
John Burchall is a fifth generation pork butcher. The family business began in 1857 and moved to its current premises in 1921. The original rails, on which the pig carcases were hung after being off-loaded from delivery wagons, exist to this day and the hooks still hang inside the shop. As well as pork joints, chops, bacon, sausages, and cooked meats, Burchall’s famous pork pies are a firm favourite in the Lancashire town of St Helens.
The Present Past
Colin Greenall began work in his mother’s bakery in1959 when he was just 15-years-old. Elizabeth Greenall had bought the business in 1954. Depending on the previous day’s orders, Colin starts work at 4am on Friday and Saturday, getting a lie-in the rest of the week when he doesn’t start baking until 6am!
The Present Past
Anthony Brookes continues a long tradition and follows in the footsteps of several world-famous carilloneurs. The carillon is an extraordinary instrument with a history going back more than five centuries. The carillon is the device, which strikes the bells and is operated by a clavier or keyboard. The Great Thanksgiving Carillon at St Mary’s Lowe House Church in St Helens is one of the largest in the British Isles with 47 bells, the biggest bell weighing over four tons!