Factory chimneys have long been on the skyline of Bolton (thankfully, nowadays few and far between). The picture, left, taken in 1937, was captioned: "Work in progress at the new De Havilland airscrew factory near Lostock."

The fascinating thing about the picture, though, is that although the "modern" buildings can be seen in the background on the right, looking very similar to the buildings there today, on the left is a cottage which presumably shortly before had stood quietly in the countryside.

The other picture, below was taken in 1939, and shows the felling of the 130ft. high chimney at "Bottom Factory", Breightmet.

The chimney had been built in 1854, and, weighing about 250 tons, had been out of use for many years.

You may well, of course, ask where "Bottom Factory" was; in that case, I'll tell you. It was Oakenbottom Mill, on Oakenbottom Road, which had been built and run by William Hampson and Son, until in the 1920s it became Oak Winding Co., Ltd.

That obviously was not as successful as hoped, because in 1950 it is listed as being occupied by Farnworth Engine Waste Co., Ltd., cleaning materials manufacturers, and Frederick Shorrock, sponge cloth manufacturers, and 10 years later included Wipers (Bolton) Ltd.

In 1979 the mill was destroyed by fire, and Tonge Paints and Lance Dickinson Ltd., scrap metal merchants, and multiple industrial uses occupied the outbuildings.