Memory Lane
Water Street, Ribchester
This picture shows Water Street, in the centre of Ribchester. Although Water Street today is entirely residential, in times past it was a thriving commercial centre. There were two pubs (the Red Lion as well as the White Bull), a butchers, a grocers, a greengrocer, a flower shop, a fish and chip shop, a stables and a bank, amongst others.
There was also an ale house (to the left of this picture). This was not a place to linger but somewhere where travellers and tradesmen could buy ale for refreshment in a time when fresh water was hard to come by and ale was the drink of preference. As you can see, parking wasn't such a problem in those days as it is today.
Colin Hinkley, Ribchester Local History Society
This article was first published in the Memory Lane column of the Longridge News and is reproduced here with permission.