Hidden away among numerous overgrown bushes and trees lies the remains of a former nursery school in Bolton that was once loved by many.
The Elms Private Nursery School – on Blackburn Road, in the Sharples area of the Greater Manchester borough of Bolton – first opened its doors to the public back in 1990, and went on to nurture hundreds of children before it closed for good in 2018 / 19.
The former nursery owners Dorothy and Brian Wrigley converted the downstairs of their home and the property next door into the business, while they moved into a flat above.
“At that time, there were only 11 other private early years settings in Bolton,” Mrs Wrigley told the Bolton News in 2011.
“I felt I was about to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.
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“I was the headteacher of a local primary school and was not sure what the future held, as the private sector was not always looked upon favourably at that time, with The Children’s Act only just being written and implemented, and social services being responsible for registering and monitoring settings.”
Mr and Mrs Wrigley ran the business for 17 “very happy” years before their daughter, Joanne Haworth, eventually bought it from them in 2007 to carry on the legacy, until it became “no longer financially viable”.
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And now, the Victorian building has sadly been left to decay.
Photos revealing the state of disrepair that the building currently lies in have gone viral on social media this week, after the nursery premises became the latest point of interest for Abandoned UK – “a small team of urban explorers that love to travel and explore”.
And it’s not hard to see why it’s got people talking either.
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There’s boarded up windows, rooms gutted inside, smashed glass throughout, rotting walls and ceilings, old playground swings and slides still intact outside, and much more that make it a shadow of its former self.
But regardless of whether you knew of the nursery in its prime, it’s still an eerie sight.
The post caught the attention of people right across the borough.
It amassed hundreds of shares and comments by members of the local community, with some shocked at the state the building had been left in, and others sharing fond memories of times when they or they’re children attended the nursery.
Former members of staff also chimed in to remember the good times, and many also expressed their sadness at the thought of the building falling further into disrepair with time.
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Others were completely unaware the nursery had even closed down at all.
The post also went on to generate conversation as to what may come of the building in the future, or rather, if there even is a plan for the building.
Several speculations were made as to whether the new owners may have intended to restore the building to its former glory – potentially through the opening of another commercial premises, with references made to another once-thriving commercial building that has also gone to ruin a couple doors down, or through conversion into residential property – but had ran into complications, or funding issues along the way.
But for now, they remain as speculations, and the future appears unknown.
Beloved Manchester-born and bred Gogglebox mainstays, the Malones, have announced the sad passing of another one of their family dogs, Bob.
The Rottweiler, who regularly appeared sitting on the sofa next to the ever-amusing Manc lineup.
As well as the Stretford-based Channel 4stars themselves, viewers up and down the country have been saddened by the news.
Grieving in her own post, mother Julie wrote, “We are heartbroken, RIP our beautiful Big Bob”, while youngest son Shaun shared a number of moving images of the precious pup, including a personal favourite clip from one of his cameos.
Writing in the caption, the 30-year-old said, “Today is the day we had to say goodbye to big Bob, absolute great dog like a big cuddly bear.”
Countless followers have since shared their condolences on social media, with several commenting, “run free over the rainbow”, while another user simply added, “Playing with Dave.”
For anyone not clued up on the show, Dave was another equally popular Rotweiller who unfortunately died back in 2023 at 12 and a half years old.
Even casual viewers will likely have seen the famous clip of him playfully mauling dad Tom Malone Sr. whilst wearing a dog mask. Speaking at the time, the family said: “There are no words to describe the pain we are feeling or how much we loved you, Dave.”
The Malones did adopt another dog named Tilly just three years ago, so there’ll still be a familiar and friendly Rottweiler face on your screens in future episodes of Gogglebox.
It’s never easy losing a pet, especially when it’s not your first.
Our thoughts are with the Malone family and, last but not least, rest in peace, Bob – we hope there are unlimited treats, walks and cuddles waiting for you.
Liam Gallagher is at it on social media again, and prior to a random posting spree in the early hours on Monday morning, he might have actually shed some light on his plans after the Oasis reunion tour over the weekend.
As always with anything the ever-vocal frontman says online, we urge you to take this with a pinch of salt.
Nevertheless, we’ve allowed ourselves to get very excited and hopeful that the Live ’25 tour isn’t just a one-off and that Oasis are back for good, at least as far as the younger Gallagher brother is concerned.
The latest excuse to be optimistic comes after Liam responded to a fan on Twitter asking whether or not people thought he would retire after the reunion shows, to which he simply responded:
Retire and make all the haters day not a fucking chance I’m in it right till last breath cmon you know
The co-manager and Ignition Management partner also told the outlet that there was currently no new music in the works. However, it was only recently that Liam himself – responding via X, once again – appeared to tell fans that a new album was already “in the bag”.
As for his response to McKinlay claims back in May, the 52-year-old simply posted: “The only people that will be making any kind of decisions on the future of OASIS will be ME & RKID, so let’s just take it one day at a time.”
He also confirmed the support acts and full reunion band lineup on the platform, too, so he’s not always just shouting aimlessly into the void for his own amusement. One can only hope…
Fingers crossed that both Liam and Noel Gallagher have plans for a VERY big finish to the reunion.
Both brothers are finally back in rehearsals ahead of the worldwide sellout shows this summer, and a number of apparent audio clips revealing how the comeback is sounding have appeared on the internet.
As well as being pictured attending the sessions in London, some supposed ‘setlists’ have also been leaked, though Liam himself has rubbished at least one image as an outright “FAKE” in his replies.
In fairness, the nation and fans all over the globe have waited so long that they’d probably be happy hearing pretty much any combination of songs at this point.
So yeah, only time will tell how serious he was being; then again, these are his most recent posts…