Pictures from the Past
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A picture of Alkham taken around 1920 or earlier. In the foreground is Halton Court with its farm buildings which were later demolished and a bungalow and house built in their place.

The white building in the centre is the Village Shop and Post Office . Stage coach horses were changed here and it was one of the few properties to have its own well - others relied on the village well by the Marquis of Granby. The ship lap was rendered around WWII and the wooden buildings at the back burnt down around 1970.

To the left of the Post Office is the village school with its bell tower and beyond that is the Marquis of Granby public house. On the right of the picture is St. Anthony's church.

This photo shows Slip Lane to the right of the above photograph and was taken around 1920 or earlier. In the foreground is Box Tree Cottage and to the right is the Wesleyan Chapel; two houses have since been built on the land between them.

Behind the Chapel is Rose Cottage and in front is the dairy and the granary both of which have been converted into living accommodation and like the Post Office gained 'Old' at the front of their names. Behind these is Malmains Farm and on the left of the picture is the former Rectory.

The Wesleyan Chapel (see also picture above) in Slip Lane was built in 1880 and closed in 1960. It is now a private residence.
The shop was built around the end of the 19th century and in the 1920's it became the village post office with a telephone box to the right of the shop. It closed in 1978 but the traditional curved metal roof remains on the Slip Lane side.
The photo shows the centre of Alkham c1930 with its school and church, viewed from Vicarage Meadow, then farmland, forming part of the 4 acres attached to the Vicarage which was built in 1830’s and closed in 1978 by which time the Meadow had become a Village Green. The meadow was bought by the Parish Council from the church in April 2003 and pictures of the event are  'In 2003' photos on the main photo page.

The picture shows the Alkham village hall being constructed in 1931 from timber which was clad with metal sheeting. It remains largely unchanged but in the 1990's a small brick extension was built to the side to accommodate new toilets and a store room.

Over the winter period from year 2000 to 2001 the Alkham Bourne ran, this being a river of water that runs down the valley when there is a very high water table; this flooded Vicarage Meadow and the village hall with the result that the old traditional stage was removed and the wooden floor replaced.

At the Millennium a crowd of villagers sat on Vicarage Meadow to have a commemorative photograph taken.
Probably 70 years before the above photo was taken, a group of men stop to rest overlooking Vicarage Meadow either side of the stile leading to the footpath over Vicarage Meadow.
The picture shows a group of children going up the path to St. Anthony's church to celebrate the coronation of George V in 1911.
The Village Fete