Bygone Times Chorley

Now whether you're a big fan of antiques or not, this place has something to interest you. When we first visited in 1991, old pinball machines were top of my list and they did have a few, but mainly beyond hope of redemption!

But there were all sorts of antiques and collectables. Antiques normally brings furniture and pottery to mind doesn't it? Here they had a much wider selection of goodies!

See what I mean? I did actually consider for a wild abandoned moment buying a couple of these to convert them into two-seater settees... But then reality hit - or was it Fran... anyway, you're right, with my track record of D-I-Y (Destroy-It-Yourself) I'd have only been taking on a load of trouble!

At that time in the early nineties, the firm had several large warehouses on the site, some filled with small stuff and others with large stuff - like bars that had come out of clubs and pubs. It was fascinating wandering round.

Later they opened "Botany Bay" - similar venture but mixed with craft outlets, in an old mill alongside the M61. A lot of stuff from Bygone Times disappeared to Botany Bay, but the main warehouse (which is almost like 3 or 4 warehouses in one) is still a great place to visit.

These photos are from our second visit - I had black and white film loaded in the camera the first time we went. From left to right, an old Mills pinball - almost a coin-operated bagatelle dating from around 1931; A Lucky pinball from the 1940s, scoring is done through electricity in the simplest of ways, the ball nudging a coil against a central pin to complete a circuit and finally a Japanese Pachinko machine along the same lines as our more familar Allwin flick-a-ball arcade games.

There's probably more from Bygone Times and Botany Bay to come and some of the arcade games already featured were seen there!

Large versions of the photos: waltzers and boat, bagatelle, Lucky pinball, pachinko