‘Clock’ this iconic sepia scene

This week we have a rare postcard indeed to gaze upon – a little corner of Nelson that has, now sadly, been lost forever.
CORNER SHOP: Nelson's famous "Clock-face", 1930s. (S)CORNER SHOP: Nelson's famous "Clock-face", 1930s. (S)
CORNER SHOP: Nelson's famous "Clock-face", 1930s. (S)

Yes, seen here on a 1930s sepia scene is Nelson’s famous “Clock-face” buildings, which stood for many decades between Rakeshouse Road and Lee Road, opposite the bottom of 
Walton Lane.

Seen here (on the left) is the well-known to all Nelsoners Pillings, a sweets and tobacconist’s corner shop with its superb enamel signs for Gold Flake and Three Castles cigarettes.

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Further along the row is Rushton’s, the clockmaker which began its business in Nelson in the Victorian era.

The “Clock-face” name comes from the giant outdoor clock seen on the right between the upper-storey windows of Rushton’s .

Sadly within a few years of the issue of this historic postcard this iconic row was bulldozed to the ground.

PS. In November, 1979, when I was lecturing at the Silverman Hall, a gent in the audience told me Mr Rushton’s huge clock had been rescued and was in a conservatory in Walton Lane.

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