Here’s an unusual view of Bolton town centre which shows how much it has changed.

Ship Gates, Bolton, 1969 (Picture: Newsquest)It was taken in 1969 and shows the former Central Hotel on the corner of Ship Gates and Chancery Lane. The hotel had closed in 1911 and the building had served a number of purposes after that including housing various departments of Tillotson’s Newspapers, the owners of the Bolton Evening News.

The corner of the main BEN building on Mealhouse Lane can just be seen on the left of the picture.

The former pub had also housed an estate agents and insurance brokers and would soon be demolished as part of town centre redevelopment.

Today the site is the entrance to Boots and The Gates shopping centre.