I’ve lived in Middleton for 80-odd years.
My name is William, I was born in a cottage in Middleton. It was a very old terrace and on that road there was a small shop in one of the houses (which my maternal grandmother worked at). At the end of the row was a Co-operative Society at the top of Langley Lane.
The house was demolished, probably 1939, as we (my family: mother, father, brother, sister and myself) were re-homed on Kenyon Lane, Middleton in a council house which had all kinds of facilities which we had not encountered before (running hot water, electric lighting and a real bath).
The advantage of living in that house was that it was a lovely area for walking/playing out, but it was also a long way to go to school and church (St Peter’s in Middleton).
We walked across fields to get to school and then sometimes got the number 16 bus back.
William