51 Moor Street
For many years these premises were home to various wine and spirit merchants. In the 1890s it was "Davy's Wine and Spirit Stores", who advertised as being "close to the Working Men's Institute".
By the early 1900s the business was in the hands of J. Walker & Sons of Liverpool, Wine and Spirit Merchants and Wholesale Bottlers. Licensees for the Moor Street shop changed at regular intervals; in 1907 the manager was Harold H. Wright and in 1936 there was a transfer of licence from James Ethelbert Brooks to Henry Arthur Davies. Mrs Ellen Davies applied for the licence in 1939 as her husband was in the army.
By the late 1940s the business had become that of Mackie and Gladstone (M&G) of Birkenhead and Liverpool who advertised as selling and delivering "Minerals, squashes and cordials" as well as wines and spirits.
In the 1970s and 80s there were a succession of businesses operating from 51 Moor Street including Will Parker records (more about this later), Sophie's Fashions and The Cheese Shop. The one constant for all these businesses, perhaps, may be the shopfront scrolls. Curious array of metal plates and spikes on the wall to the left of the window, possibly from security shutters from when it was the wine and spirit shop.
53 Moor Street
For over 30 years the Spurr family ran the Ironmongers shop at 53 Moor Street, Sarah Spurr taking it on after her husband John died. Sarah died in February 1939 and Henry James Walsh and his wife and young family moved from Chapel Street, where he had lived with his in-laws, the Lawton family. Robert Lawton was a beer seller and hairdresser and his beer house became The Cricketers.
Henry worked for a Liverpool Iron Foundry in the office, his wife ran the Ironmongers shop until her death, after which he then ran himself for nearly 3 decades after retirement, enjoying the company of his customers and neighbours, especially after his wife died. It was an amazing little shop, the place to go to buy a new collar for your shirt or a baking bowl for mixing pastry.
The shocking loss of Mr Walsh in August 1981 is not going to be dwelt on here, those of us who remember his gentle kindness and good humour missed him.
After the shop was sold it became a most welcome pram shop, selling the posh rounded brown corduroy ones or the cheaper oblong ones. Only 80's mums will understand that!
55 Moor Street
To conclude our look at the businesses in Moor Street beyond the Working Men's Institute we turn to number 55 and the longstanding family business of Peter Lord, greengrocer. In 1919 Mr. and Mrs. Lord, a well known and respected couple, celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Although born in the East Lancashire town of Bacup, Peter Lord began his business in Ormskirk, originally in Burscough Street in the 1880s and later in Market Row followed by 25 years in Moor Street. For many years he sold fresh fish and was a well known figure hawking his wares around the town. In 1894 Peter Lord took out an advert in the Ormskirk Advertise, keen to let his customers know that he was "The original fruit, vegetable and oyster salesman" and that he had recently taken a portion of the fish stones on Aughton Street. The happy couple celebrated their 50 years of marriage at the Wheatsheaf Hotel with family and friends.
59 Moor Street
Number 59 Wigan Road was part of number 30 Stanley Street at one time. Widow Eva Thompson and her family took over the shop at number 59 around 1898. Eva's father William Barnes had been the Gamekeeper for the Earl of Lathom and Eva had looked after him after he retired but after her father died, Eva took over the newsagents, the shop had been run by Percy Riding for the previous five years and had also been a sub-post office. Eva's daughter, also Eva, died in 1900 aged 9, Eva ran the shop until her death in June 1916, a few weeks after her only Son John was killed on the Somme on the 8th August 1916. Kate, with her widowed sister Annie, remained at the shop, selling newspapers and sweets, until her retirement in September 1967, she had worked at the shop for 57 years. Katie enjoyed almost 21 years of retirement, dying in January 1978 aged 82.
