Bolton could have looked so different if Lord Leverhulme's plan carried out

It would appear as though there have been ambitious plans to change the face of Bolton town centre for years. But did you realise that they stretched back more than a century? Plan for Bolton, 1910 (Picture: Newsquest) Here is a hugely ambitious plan which would have totally transformed the look of much of Bolton which had been drawn up in 1910. The scheme, backed by Lord Leverhulme, was designed by Thomas Mawson, arguably the leading architect of the day.

It would have seen a specially-created, elegant raised boulevard, complete with towers and bridges passing between the parish church and the town hall leading to Queen’s Park where an impressive art gallery and museum would be built. Like so many scheme put forward over the years it ultimately came to nothing but that would have been some statement if it had!.