A new series from East of the M60
Any readers of this blog who lived or shopped in Oldham, nearing, or have passed their 30s may remember St. Peter’s Shopping Precinct. Opened in 1967, it was to become Oldham’s (as we call it in 21st century parlance) retail destination, attracting the major names. Influenced by the popular Merseyway centre in Stockport, it was hoped that the winning formula would work in Oldham.
The precinct was a mixed-use development before the term was invented. It was flanked by offices (most of which let by the North West Health Authority) and offered subway access to Henshaw Street, Cheapside and Manchester Street. The subways linked the centre with the market hall and the C&A department store, enabling shoppers to avoid the Market Place roundabout.
Given the cold Oldham weather, Its windswept location won few friends with shoppers and retailers. The subway link from the precinct to C&A acted as a wind tunnel, which was exacerbated by the precinct being fairly open. The layout didn’t seem to have helped either, which must have made it seem like a muggers’ paradise.
For most of its time, empty units plagued the precinct. The precinct’s anchor store was a TESCO, opened by Ken Dodd in 1968. The Post Office was moved to the precinct from Union Street, to a unit overlooking George Street near the TESCO store. A NORWEB showrooms took up a unit under the office block. The rest of the precinct included a handful of chain store retailers and independently owned shops, and a café. This was on the side of a stepped ramp ideal for skateboarding fanatics. At the most easterly part of the precinct on the ground floor was the Job Centre.
I would say that St Peter’s Precinct failed in Oldham due to: 1) the layout; 2) the town’s cold weather; and 3) its windswept location. The design may have worked better in a location with a warmer climate than Oldham. I can recall the precinct in its twilight years and loved how the whole thing was like a giant climbing frame. It could have made a good open air laser shooting venue on Sundays and Bank Holidays – though even in the summertime, I would have needed that Fair Isle sweater!
I also remember in recent times reading a historical feature on the precinct in the Oldham Chronicle, and it showed a picture of how Phase 2 would have looked. St. Peter’s Precinct was originally going to be done in two phases, albeit with windy open air shops continuing on what is now the Town Square Shopping Centre.
Instead, a private company took on Phase 2, and learning the lessons of its predecessor, made the precinct fully enclosed. This was opened in 1981. 12 years later, St Peter’s Precinct was replaced by Spindles Shopping Centre. It was a breath of fresh air from the windswept subways of its predecessor. C&A also moved into the new shopping centre, dispelling the risk of hypothermia. Both centres are linked internally, and the transition from the older Town Square centre to the Spindles is seamless.
S.V., 29 April 2009
I’ve lived in Oldham all my life and remember St. Peter’s Precinct quite well. The wind was unbelievable…it only seemed to blow old ladies’ dresses up though. Unfortunately the premises weren’t affordable to most businesses. My clearest memory of it was the flower pots. They were large cylindrical pots made of concrete and pebbledashed. They were just full of soil..nothing could grow in them because they were never in direct sunlight. It wasn’t the biggest waste of money in Oldham though. The Civic Centre? Adjusting for inflation as of 2008 the Civic Centre cost (“in todays money”) a staggering £44.2million. In perspective this could have bought you (adustments made for inflation).. the new bus station (£4.2million), the new library (£13million), the old library (£2.4million), the new art gallery (£11.6million), the old art gallery (£0.8million), Alexandra Park (£2.9million), the Lyceum (£0.5million), Freemasons Hall (£0.2million), the old Town Hall (£0.3million), St.Marys Church (£2.1million), Ash Mill (£1.8million), the Roxy cinema (£1.2million) and Counthill School (£2.8million). By my maths there would also be enough money left over to buy every house on my street.
Forgot to mention that the Civic Centre, adjusting for inflation, ran over budget by nearly £28million.
Hi Steve,
I used to go to Oldham centre most Saturdays in the 1980s. My mum’s an Oldhamer and we used to ‘go up town’ in the afternoon. Our weapons of choice were the 421 and a taxi outside C&A.
I can never recall St Peter’s Precinct being anything but chilly, even in the summer months. I always thought it was the location rather than the high rents which put traders.
By contrast, Ashton’s Ladysmith Centre (also built the same year, 1967) has had little trouble in attracting tenants over the last decade, so it must have been the rents. Some parts of the Ladysmith Centre (before its 1998 refurbishment) were just as windy as St Peter’s Precinct.
I still wouldn’t forget the precinct in a hurry – and accredit this in some way to my introduction of 1960s brutalist architecture – which I now crave more since inferior post-modern replacements took their place (i.e, Tricorn Centre Portsmouth and 1960s Bull Ring Birmingham).
Stuart.