An intriguing little photo collection.
5. What used to be 286 Orrell Road at Abbey Lakes and known locally as "The Hermit House." It was long occupied by Thomas and Lilian Williams, who became recluses after the death of their mum in the 1960s-their dad having died a few years earlier. They never answered the door and had parcels and boxes of provisions left on the doorstep and only collected them after dark. They paid for them through the bank. They lived without electricity, without a working lavatory and a badly leaking roof and in 1973 the council moved in to clear out the home because of complaints about vermin. However the siblings stayed until Thomas was badly injured in a fire there and the moved out. The house was demollished in 2007 and a new home built on its site
.Photo: FO
6. A huge bonfire built near Abbey Lakes in May 1937 to celebrate the coronation of George VI and his wife Elizabeth as king and queen
.Photo: UGC
7. A very early view of the Abbey Lakes area with the hotel on the left
.Photo: UGC