23/09/2026
Great post 😍
OLD STREET — ASHTON MODELS, BRIDE TO BE & THE OLD BATHS
A great old view of Old Street at the corner of Cavendish Street, probably from the late 1980s or early 1990s, when this stretch was still lined with busy independent shops.
On the left is Ashton Models, remembered by local hobbyists as one of the best places in town for model railways, Airfix kits, die-cast vehicles and all sorts of modelling bits and pieces. One local account specifically remembers the shop for its huge range of Hornby OO gauge and Airfix models, and the business later disappeared when this part of Old Street was redeveloped for the St Petersfield scheme.
Next door was Bride To Be, one of those specialist town-centre shops that many people will remember from the days before bridal shopping moved increasingly into larger retail parks and online.
Further along is one of Ashton’s great landmarks, the tower of the old municipal baths at Henry Square. The baths opened in 1870 and were among the earliest large municipal swimming baths in Britain. The complex wasn't just for swimming either, with Turkish baths and other facilities forming part of this impressive Victorian building.
We have got a few things wrong with this picture we know but the original photograph is quite blurred in places, especially towards the right-hand side and in the distance, so there may be some discrepancies in the restored version. But the main landmarks and shopfronts give a really good feel for what this part of Old Street looked like before later redevelopment changed it so much.
Who remembers Ashton Models or Bride To Be? And who remembers the old baths?
❤️ YES — I remember them
😡 NO — Before my time
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