PETER Harvey writes: “The pubs in Duke Street remind us of our military history.

“We know that the Volunteer Hall was built on what was sometimes known as the drilling ground, and a few years ago someone brought in a Waterloo Medal,(1815) found in the back garden of a house which fronted onto Duke Street.

The Duke of Cambridge was the Commander in Chief of the Army, The Volunteer was on the corner of Mill Street, and the Rifle Corps was on the corner of Lowe Street. Across the road was The Albion (the old name for England), still a pub within the living memory of Joe Whittle who lived there.

Wikipedia tells us: “The most recent creation (Duke of Clarence and Avondale) was for Prince Albert Victor of Wales, the eldest son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).

This was the last royal dukedom to be created with two territorial designations. The Duke died of pneumonia in 1892 and the title again became extinct.

By 1946 the pub named after The Duke of Clarence was not worth renovating by Greenall's, who sold it to people (like the Blanthornes) who were running the activities for the Deaf, and they worked hard to convert it to a useful condition. It is being used as a dental practice now.

The Rope and Anchor fits in with the Navy.

The building on the corner of Volunteer Street and Mill Street has figured in the affairs of the Territorial Army, and we can see the moulded description saying 5th South Lancs.”