Bolton Town Centre 1992 Part One 

This might just be the most important piece of social history Bolton has. Whoever filmed it could never have known that 20+ years later, so many people would be so grateful for a glimpse of how Bolton used to look, prior to its decline. An astonishing piece of work, and not bad image quality either.

That middle aged couple you can see walking together from around 6:57 to 7:01 are my grandparents.

I moved from Bolton in 1984 and never had the opportunity to go back up until recently. I was shocked just how much the demographic had changed over the years.

I was 10 at the time and living a few miles from Bolton, makes me nostalgic for those times.

Sitting here in Dallas and looking back at an old passport I can't believe I was actually there in August of 1992. Thanks for the look back . I need to check my old video's.

This is the Bolton I remember. Brought back a lot of good memories. Thank you.

When I think of Bolton this is what I imagine in my minds eye... Im 40 now haven't lived there for over 20 years but Bolton and the people will always have a special place in my heart

Was born in 1996, interesting to see how much nicer and different it was back then

One thing hit more more than anything else. People smiling & looking happy. Not anymore 😪

The roads and streets are less crowded and people appear to be more in tune with their surroundings not all waliking around like zombies staring at screens :-)

The good old days, a walk around Bolton town centre now is like entering a third world country. Seeing how good it was then compounds how bad it has become.

I set up my business in Bolton in 1992, still going in Dec 2023. A car repair garage in Gilnow Mill, we are the last company in the mill now, most of it is abandoned and derelict. I was repairing the cars in this video and im still repairing them today. Watched the Bolton revisited, the demographic has changed massively in just the last 9 years, i would say well over 50% of my customers now are Somalian and i love them all to bits, they have become friends as much as customers. Now every traffic light has a resident beggar with his hand out, there is litter everywhere, shops boarded up and obvious crippling poverty but i do think Boltons future is bright, the new demographic in the area are ambitious, setting up new businesses and bringing back a vibrant smile to the area, there are shoots of life but business is being stifled by derelict mills, overpriced commercial units and very few places for new businesses to establish themselves and i may be forced to close my business down due to there being nowhere to move to. But Boltons not a lost cause.

When Bolton was a nice place to live - before the weeds and derelict buildings where everywhere- now it's all charity shops, Pound shops and fat people in cheap clothes eating junk food - R.I.P. Bolton

Brings back a lot of memories since I moved away....it seemed so much cleaner and less crowded then, looks so much different now.

God, it looked better then!

Those were the days when we weren't invaded by bakeries, pound shops and crappy shops. I do like the vaults now though.

" EEvening News " This is unreal footage, thanks for posting. I was 17 back then and I used to think that Bolton had taken a dive since the 80's, I take that back. Burnden Park, Water Place, the fountains on the Square, its all gone now, Jesus.

Memories!! the water place, the fountains, the fashion lol

I left Bolton in 1992. My trips back have always been sporadic, to visit friends and family etc and I never really got to wander the town much, until last year that is. This video is how I remember it. All the old familiar landmarks are there. The shock I felt last year was unreal. Clearly a victim of the demise of the high street. Bolton's sprawling size hasn't helped. Is there a fix? I doubt it... The world moves on.

My god it was so clean back then. The pride has been ripped from the centre and it shows.

always would climb on the 3 elephants on the highstreet. I was 10 in 1992

Thanks Tom, your comments are just what i wanted, in fact perhaps more interesting than the video itself, so glad i put it on

Wow this is incredible! Strange to see a time without the ubiquity of mobile phones! Bolton town hall looks stunning as always.

It was nice to see the shops i remembered back then and the old fountains before they removed them and put those crap ones in at the sides of the town hall steps. I was 23 in 1992.

I wish more people would have done this, it is absolutely amazing looking back. I would have been 6 back then but a lot of it does look familiar. Notice the old normid shopping centre on manchester road which is now asda. And texas that was replaced by homebase. Excellent videos!

Not one person staring at a phone!

The swimming baths next door to Morrisons supermarket were demolished some years ago and the site is now an extra Morrison's car park and petrol station. Hick, Hargreaves and Co was demolished in about 2001 and the site is now a Sainsbury's supermarket, car park and petrol station.

I remember those little booths ! They sold scratch cards.

I grew up in 1950s and 60s Bolton. My last visit to Bolton was around four or five years ago, and I almost cried to see the complete ruination of what was a town with character. Temples everywhere, The pubs along Derby street, formally the lifeblood of the workers of Bolton, all closed and boarded up. Entire blocks of housing demolished and replaced with either nothing or monstrous entities. We had a magnificent building that housed the fire brigade, which was torn down to be replaced with an ugly building which is apparently (I am told) student housing accommodation. A fantastic railway station, torn down and rebuilt, why? who knows. A fantastic hotel across from the station called "the Railway Hotel" which was torn down to accommodate the building of a new bus depot, why? Moor Lane was home to a fabulous bus station. Newport street is straddled with a hideous archway, meant to symbolise something, but what, I have no idea, and I don't want to know. I now hate what Bolton has become. I hate the people who have perpetrated this evil nonsensical and systematic destruction of a town of memories. I plant to visit England in August for my daughter's wedding in Leeds. A short drive from my home-town, but I won't go near the place, far too upsetting. Just as a postscript, I wonder how long before Bolton's magnificent town hall has to give way to a multi-story car park or a shopping complex. I know someone has an eye on it.

I have one vague memory of burnden park as it used to be. Seeing the outside of the stadium when my mum drove past. But seeing it here is surreal. Amazing how things used to look before. And the water place!! My childhood right there.

i live in huddersfield now but bolton born and bred well moses gate this vid is amazing i was 10 in 1992 and what memories i have

thank u very much for these videos m8..it brings bak soo many great memories!!

I’d of been 7 then, second year at primary school, wish someone would of filmed around Horwich in the early 90’s, remember going into bolton as a kid back then, very nostalgic

Very few pound bakeries/greggs ect... saw just one betting shop.. nobody walking with their eyes glued to their phone screens. Not a foreign face in sight. How times have changed (for the worse)

The water place! What a great swimming baths

Thanks Andy mate, wish I'd taken more film and earlier too. Also wish I'd gone into some of the shops and filmed inside.

Bolton was such a thriving town when i was growing up so sad to see its decline as the years have gone on. Especially the market hall i loved the old market hall now it just looks horrible

Great BankScam, glad u want to use it! Hoped people would find it interesting.

What a fantastic video!

0.42 burnden park .....bloody hellfire !

Excellent stuff, while I'm sure you thought it was mundane at the time these videos suddenly become relevant and important after 20 years or so. I'd love to see what you filmed it on!

The Town Hall and old fountain was featured in a film about two newly-weds entitled 'The Family Way' with Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett

going back to bolton town centre now feels like being charlton heston in the omega man !

Eeeeevning News !!

AW man water place, that was awesome. Can't believe it got knocked down. Bolton town center is pretty crap to visit now, nothing to do there anymore. There used to be a cinema too.

There's another clip on here filmed around Bolton centre in the 1980s, called "Extended D*cking about about in 1980s Bolton" - Check it out ! The newspaper vendor gets a bit miffed when the guy filming shoves the camera in his face ! :D

Ah...Kingburger. Like Burger King, but shit. Also, whatever happened to Hanburys?

@Januarychic i wonder what it was that made it so much better in those days ?

This was when Bolton was amazing I don't think I am old enough to remember the water slide near Morrisons but i defiantly remember when the Big inside market place near Debenhams was on

when bolton was bolton

Lived in Bolton eight years, and I know the town centre so well, so it's really strange to see you looking like this where things are, is the same but not quite

Me and my Nan always use to go into Cassandra's Coffee House and Olympus

I love the angry mum at 2:09... "Aaron! AARON!!"

I like all the old cars, interesting.

You're right Spammy! Just think if we could see video of places 100 years ago! Wonder if this will survive that long???

Me too Farnworth lass! Wish I'd filmed more now - gone into a few shops. I took a couple of minutes of Farnworth too on another video. x

The council have made some bad choices since then. Have you got any videos from inside the crompton place?

@tatty16 yeah , there's "Bolton 1988" drving towards Breightmet xD

I WAS IN CHESTERS ON BRADSHAW GATE AVIN A BEER WEN YOU FILMED THIS , i seen you walk past lol

I moved to Bolton in this year and had my son. We used to walk into Bolton town centre on a Sunday when everything was closed - and had to remember to take a couple of pounds for the homeless who would approach us for cash! -

Anybody remember the hot fresh sugary donuts made in a box next to water place .never could afford them as i had bus fare and admission to water place only

@sandrabatten66 yeah i remember them too Sandra - especially in that passageway leading into Newport street

Sooo cute… but at the same time, sooo sad!

Is that Bernard shouting "Bolton Evening News"?

Was the town hall clock stuck at eight minutes past three ? No matter when you see it, it always showed the same time...even in another video of Bolton filmed several years earlier !

There is another very good video on here, Bolton in the 80s, just random shots in and around the town centre, including an annoyed newspaper seller who didn't want to be filmed !

Bolton, looks alright, I must go there myself.

just think when this was recorded i was only a few months old i dont even remember some stuff on this video and ive lived in bolton all my life...and 20 years later im a rapper and was performing on the same town steps in this video only today!!!

Nice to look back to our once nice town, burnden park, water place & market hall, trees on newport st, nice variety of shops🐶❤☺👯‍♀️2018 now...no further comment💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

Morrisons its actually still there and it’s opened

@6:52 - DF ? The guy in the background is pushing a lawnmower ??

Does anyone know what the price of a litre of petrol was back in 1992? Around 50p?

Not sure if the guy in black at 2.24 is me or not.

@JonnyBach12 did you ever visit great lever?

No Litter on the streets Wow !

the shop built on the old embankment was Normid superstore

@tomharding no problem Tom, like most women she's been through about 20 hair styles and regrets most of them lol

Bolton before middlebrook

Haha, was that the old number 9 Express bus early on?

RIP Bolton

I remember W.H.Smith. Is it still there? I grew up in Bolton. emigrate in 1950. A long time ago.

O my god so many things are the same the only main difference is that pool next to morrisons where the hell did that go?

I saw a No. 9 Express!

My town before the planners got involved .

Who is in Bolton BL1

It's barely even changed in the past 3 decades

@psychodamned that bar was surendipitys and we got barred from there for somking a joint inside - we were young but to think we had the audacity to fire one up in a pulic bar and pass it under the table so no one would see! not sure we knew what planet we were on. im not fat though

Was trying to spot myself on here with my friends would of been about 15 at the time. It’s changed so much 😐

@tomharding lol 4.12 that's no woman, that's my wife

Where is the swimming pool?

Looks like it does now!!

OMG the water place - used to love that place!! Oh and Burden Park Football stadium... thats going back some!!! Haha x

It loked alot cleaner and all the people wern't fat or druggies etc. What the hell happened :(

i was 4 back then it makes me feel sick thinking thats what it was like and now look what ive got 2 live amoung brings a tear to my eye thinking of what it was and still could have been like if wanker politicians and left wing hippy do gooders hadnt got there way

Bustling with shoppers, major retailers in view. Diverse and prosperous. Now its a shit hole, full of charity shops and down and outs.. the council have a lot to answer for. They've ruined a once great town centre.

@tatty16 normid

now its linear, modern, bland, liefless and corporate.

@beamwand ur talkin crap

Before our 'ethnic friends' arrived lol