I’ve received some great old (mostly) photos this week depicting various parts of Hoylake. John Broster got in touch and sent me two photos, one really old and one very up-to-date.
After last weeks teaser photo relating to the Jigger Club, here is John’s first photo that was taken in approximately 1902 at the rear of what was the butchers/ Ann’s Florist premises. John goes on to say:
The boy on the right is my father Joseph William Broster then locally known as Bill, centre is his brother Gordon, the lad with the dog I have no idea who he is, possibly someone may recognise him as their father or grandfather. Regarding your 1960’s photograph Before the Row, 78 Market Street was the Farm House of the Brosters who farmed there from 1850 – 1931, my father Bill Broster being the last to farm there, there were stables and cow sheds to the rear of the Farm House, the cows and horses would have had to cross the railway lines to get to his fields, I would think an impossibility these days with the amount and speed of rail traffic.
John’s second photo of the same Jigger club building (below) was taken far more recently in 2008. I’m sure the current owners of the building will enjoy reading about the history of what they own!
I remember going to Brosters bakery in Walker st, in the late 60’s, buying bread with mum each week. I think they had permission to bake Hovis bread, as I remember my mum buying me a mini loaf (which they have just revived) as a treat. When I was old enough mum allowed me to run to Brosters from Alderley Rd to get the daily loaf by myself. The streets were very safe in those days. Less cars!
Brosters used to have a delivery service in an old style Austin or Morris van. They called twice a week and the delivery man used to have a big wide wicker basket. Sometimes he used to slip my sister and I cakes free of charge! Is the business in Walker Street still going?
Does any one remember when Brosters horse bolted and demolished McKenzie’s island display area?
Hi John
Many thanks for this blog.
I’m Claire Broster … great grand daughter of Joseph William! Live on the Wirral in Heswall and really into family history! keep me in the loop my email is [removed by John to stop spam] (Mike Broster is my dad and Bill Broster was my grandad)
When I’m finally back on the net at home i will scan in some pics of grandad and send to you! I have a photo of grandmar and grandad on their wedding day which is lovely.
all the best
Take care
A Broster
Hi my name is Ray Courtenay and I do have some Brosters as my relatives My Aunt Majorie Courtenay married a Broster but I dont know his first name all I can say is they lived in Rock Ferry and had 1 Son I know of called William but was known to us as billy he would be in his late 60,s now and the last I heard of him he was living in Blacon chester many years ago but I moved to devon and when I got settled he had moved as well so any information would help
I lived near Broster’s Bakery, in the 50s and 60’s.
As I went to school in Bebington, had to get up very early to catch the train to School.
Oh what joy, as I passed Broster’s each morning…the smell lingers in my mind to this day!
Wonderful memories.
When I lived at 12 Rudd St our back gate opened up to Brosters back wall on Walker street. This wall was always warm as it was the outside wall of the ovens.
Brosters bead was only good for one day. Day old bread had to be used as toast…not like today’s loaves that last over a week.
You might note that French Bread also does not last very long at all, and the French seem to have a bakery on every corner to supply fresh bread. The reason is that the short life bread only has flour water salt and yeast, with none of the fat or emulsifiers which give the bread the shelf life needed due to today’s centralised production. Steam baked bread is like cotton wool.
Hovis bread by the way was baked from Hovis flour. If you bought the flour you could bake the bread in the Hovis tins and sell it as such.
I worked at Brosters Bakery for short while in the 60’s and still have clinker burn scar from raking out the bread oven. Hard work but good memories working 5am – 1pm Mon – Thur, Fri 9- 1 and then back early evening to work through the night until 9am Saturday. I remember falling asleep one Saturday morning in the. Hairdressers in Lake Place while waiting for a haircut. Jack Broster paid me well , £9 per week more than any of my mates at the time.
I went out with Gordon broster about 1964..i lived in the old roan,near maghull..my name was jean nickson.my father was a prison officer..
I have friends who live opposite hoylake golf club..often wondered if Gordon broster still lives in hoylake..I had a dream once that he had 5 children..wonder if that is right..
I now live in Northumberland,up in the wilds…
This site brings back distant fond memories,I worked for jack broster at walker st hoylake 1970 to 1973 approx delivering bread & cakes to local shops saughall massey & moreton pasture road 6.30 am to 9am wicker basket in hand then deliver to local houses thro out the wirral till 5pm 6 days a week for a fiver a week & as much bread & currant buns you could carry home at the end of the day I remember jack with fond memories ,tall slim flat cap & huge hob nailed boots ,he loved his pheasant shooting in Shrewsbury & always had a black lab retreiver dog we used to have 2 delivery vans a blue Morris minor van that Neil Roberts & myself used & a Austin j4 that jack used,Neil,s mother worked in the shop & they lived opposite the shop in walker st ,jack was a character & had a few funny phrases one being he,s a rum bugger which was mimicked by many of the delivery lads who worked with him,he must have been in his seventee,s & was still working on the vans,I was recently back on the wirral &took a drive around memory lane,oh how hoylake & morteon has changed from the 70,s oh well they call it progress ,for me i,d rather have the little shops in the back streets like jjb,s
Wonderful to read Bill Crees comments about Jack Broster. He was “uncle jack” to us! We were the farming family he visited in the welshpool/shrewsbury area back in the 60’s and seventies. He even made my parents wedding cake in 1971 – long way to transport it!! He used to come and stay with us and go fishing and shooting with my dad. We visited hoylake a few times. I remember he took us to the amusements at New Brighton. We were country bumpkins – I can still picture the cranes on the skyline at the distant docks. Don’t suppose those amusements are there now and probably no distant cranes either. He would take us, possibly to west Kirkby, for shrimps. I must have been too young to remember the bakery but I’m sure someone called Tina worked for him. He didn’t have children but a nephew I recall. And I’m sure he had a friend called Langley from that area that sometimes came with him to Wales. I have very fond memories of him, he was very kind and a dear friend to my family. He sadly died in the early 80’s.
Hi, it was wonderful to see the post from the gittens &Pugh families there was a lady called Tina who worked there she took over in the shop when Mrs Roberts retired, she lived opposite the bakery too the guy who poss made the wedding cake was a retired ships cook ( chef) named Joe, he made a mean chocolate log at Christmas too !! He,d lived a few door away from the bakery for many years ,new Brighton has been reinvented in recent years the prom is no longer run down & the fair which used to be owned by the wilky familey is know owned by silcocks who used to be a travelling fair the old cranes are no longer there but have been replaced with huge massive cranes which can be seen for miles thro out Liverpool water front, it could possibly have been park gate for the shrimps as they still had a small shop up till the early 80,s that local fishermen would sell there daily catch, i,v bought many a gill of shrimps myself,oh the memories !! I suppose if jjb was still around I think a apt name would be he was a bit of the jack the lad !! Sadly missed never forgotten.
My father was William Broster from Irby – his parents were Ann & Joseph Broster
All the children were born in th3 sandstone cottage that has been refurbished on the right between Irby Village and Thursaston
My fathers brothers and sisters were Alfred, Joseph,John and Hilda – Sadley all long gone.
My father known as Bill Broster after the war worked for Lambs in lower Heswall driving horse drawn equipment and lorries out of Heswall Railway Station then at WL Roebuck on Pensby Road until he retired.
Did you know that the Broster name is a Viking name Broste with all the local villages ending in BY were Viking settlements
I remember those Steam lorries at Neston by the railway bridge- they were bitumen tar laying vehicles.