It may surprise you that Booths Music is not only the oldest independent family music shop in Bolton, but also the UK and quite possibly the world. In the summer of 1832, James Booth and son Thomas were opening our doors for the first time as ‘instrument makers’ and ‘sellers of music’. Seven generations of the same family have continued to welcome in thousands of Bolton’s musicians.
To put the history timeline of Booths Music and the year of establishment into context, those of you who are a fan of the world-famous Les Miserables show will recall the depiction of the June Rebellion on the streets of Paris; whilst they were setting up the barricade, on the other side of the channel James and Thomas were welcoming their first customers.
The same year Booths was founded, Thomas’ sister Rachel gave birth to (another) James Booth, who held the reigns during an era which included the likes of Chopin, Wagner and Tchaikovsky.
James went on to marry Ann Holt in 1855, settling down on Tonge Old Road and having son George in 1858; this year also saw the birth of the Hallé orchestra.
Sister of Ann, Elizabeth Holt married Squire H Buckley in 1860 and it was their son Robert, an eventual professor of music, who alongside cousin George went on to have a long history of working at the shop.
Our first photo of Booths on Churchgate features Robert Buckley (right), alongside a staff member whose name is sadly unknown.
You may be surprised to learn that where our shop stands, in the 1760s Richard Arkwright was envisioning the creation of an industrial machine that would change the course of world history – the water frame.
At the time, Arkwright would earn his living in our cellar as a barber and peruke (wig) maker, raising the funds needed to pursue his groundbreaking inventions. Described as a barber-surgeon, his work included not only wig-making but also basic medical procedures like pulling teeth and bloodletting.
Sir Richard Arkwright’s shop is one of many fascinating aspects to one of Bolton’s oldest streets; Boltonians and local historians will of course be aware of other longstanding businesses on Churchgate, including Walsh’s Ye Olde Pastie Shop which dates back to 1667 and the well-known Olde Man and Scythe pub, which (as one of the oldest pubs in the country) dates back to a staggering 1251.
Returning to the family history, Robert Buckley would successfully run over forty bands in Bolton. Eventually, he and wife Agnes would hand the mantle to daughter Phyllis and Fred in 1928. Though poorly, Robert worked at the shop until just days before he died.
The first half of the 20th century saw many famous works by some legendary composers and musicians, including Edward Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory (1902), George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again later in 1939. The staff photo here shows the inside of the store with Fred, his daughter Freda (who went on to work at Booths for the best part of 70 years) and a (sadly unknown) shop assistant, dated slightly later in 1947.
Fred had an important role in the progression of instrument repairs at Booths, with current owner (and grandson of Fred) Tony owing many of his skills to him.
Needless to say that the war years brought tough times to all; the knock-on effect on trade was huge with the Booths staff at the time relying heavily on the sales of second hand goods and non musical gifts such as toys. The image here shows Churchgate in the war years.
Although we unfortunately don’t have a photo to hand, at this point Booths had a second store on Pall Mall in Chorley. It sadly had to close during the war, with efforts concentrated back in Bolton.
Our history timeline moves onto 1962, when Booths moved its doors to its current residence number 17 Churchgate to make way for the extension of the Brass Cat building.
The image here shows staff member Ian in the 1960s.
The 60s brought about huge changes in the music industry thanks to the emergence of the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, which naturally had their effect of retailers such as Booths. Suddenly rock and pop were in, and guitars, drums and of course, sheet music were sold in abundance. Saturday mornings would see the latest sheet music hits delivered to Booths. Young bands of the day would queue at the door for these copies, ready to perform them in North West clubs and pubs that evening.
The latter decades of the 20th century brought about many changes to the stock and interior layout of Booths whilst it kept up with the frequent changes in musical trends.
The door hasn’t changed, but the shop window display has swapped and changed thousands of times throughout the years. Here is the shop front in the 1980s.
What we called our ‘castle period’, the whole of upstairs was dedicated to guitars (of many designs that you don’t see today), drums, amps and more. It was the time of shredding and guitar solos, with many customers regularly meeting in the shop to show off their latest riffs. The next room displayed violins and woodwind instruments. Today these areas are all teaching studios.
Parents of the current owners, Freda and Trevor oversaw thousands of sales and made countless connections with customers, many of whom became great friends. Even during retirement we could not keep Freda from helping out with shop duties, a career that spanned over 70 years (Freda is pictured earlier in the timeline in 1947). They are sorely missed.
Freda and Trevor met as bandmates in The Eddie Brian swing band. When it came to playing in bands, Freda followed in her grandfather’s and father’s footsteps, with Robert being involved in dozens of local groups and father Fred running bands such as a Bolton banjo, mandolin and guitar ensemble.
From left to right: on the far left sadly name unknown, Freda, Jack Moore, Fred Pearson and Trevor. Missing from the photo are leader and drummer Geoff Moore, piano accordion player Cliff Holden and Bill Howarth on bass.
Perhaps the biggest changes to Booths have occurred in the 21st century. The growth of the internet with its ever-growing buying and download options sadly means the days of seeing music shops full to the brim with browsable popular sheet music are in the past. Customers today may remember the look of the shop in the early 2000s.
From the mid 90s at the famous Burnden Park and throughout the early years at the Reebok stadium, we’re proud to have sponsored the drums at Bolton Wanderers.
From left to right: Tony & James, the legendary Nat Lofthouse and the club mascot Lofty the Lion. Picture taken around 2000. Below is the squad photo for the 2003 / 2004 season with the Booths drums either side.
Whilst some doors close, however, many have opened thanks to the plethora of opportunities the Internet grants to discover new music. In the mid 2000s, we at Booths were delighted to launch our teaching studios, which are now the home for music lessons in bolton for hundreds of pupils on a weekly basis.
Thank you for taking the time to read through our history. We looking forward to creating more as Booths approaches its 200th year of business.
Furthermore, we have made it our mission to keep updating this page with more hidden snippets of our past. If you have any information, photographs, goods or sheet music from the early days that you would like to share with us, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
