25 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, May 29, 1973

THE transformation of Rivington scrubland into ornamental gardens - the last great scheme of Lord Leverhulme - was suspended 48 years ago today. Lord Leverhulme, the original soap baron, had died some weeks before. And despite one legacy, the fortune based on Sunlight Soap, his family decided they could not carry through with this second still visionary legacy of Bolton's wealthiest son. Now the vision is being slowly revived. The sound of workman's trowels and axes can once again be heard in the island of vegetation on the site of Lord Leverhulme's demolished bungalow. Lancashire's County Youth Service have cleared most of the terraces and pathways. work has started on rebuilding the decayed mock-Roman stonework of the walls, stairways and summer houses.

50 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, May 29, 1948

THOSE who remember the charity tennis tournaments of pre-war days will welcome the news that the competition is to be revived this summer. At a meeting of officials this week, it was decided that there would be five sections in which all tennis players, whether they belong to a club or not, are invited to join. Our tennis enthusiasts have not had the opportunity for some years of getting together, the only people who do meet others from different parts of town being those good enough to play for a team. The Bolton School (Girls' Division) courts will therefore be the scene of many a reunion when the threads of all the old controversies can be picked up again. There was, for instance, the argument in the beautiful summer of a year before the war - slacks versus shorts for the men.

125 YEARS AGO

From the Evening News, May 29, 1873

THIS morning, at the Borough Court, Mr Pennington applied on behalf of 86 members of the Licensed Victuallers' Association for an extension of hours on the opening of the Town Hall. Mr Pennington said that the application was for an extension of the hours of opening and selling during three days of next week. As the bench were aware, a great event in the history of the town would then take place, and there would no doubt be a very large influx of strangers in the town, who would remain until a very late hour. There would also be illuminations, entertainments, &c., going on, and no doubt, in addition to the strangers, the Bolton townspeople would abandon their usual early hours and remain out to a later period. Mr Peter Lyne made a similar application on behalf of 161 beersellers.

The application for an extension of the hours on the evening of Thursday and Friday were granted, but not for the Saturday evening. The application of Mr Lyne was refused.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.