PRIMARY school pupils in Prescot took a trip through time as they paid a visit to the Watch Factory site in Prescot.

And children from Evelyn Road Primary School are being invited to come up with ideas for street names at a new multi-million pound development.

The location of the former Lancashire Watch Factory, which formed the hub of Great Britain’s watchmaking industry on its opening in 1889 is currently under development by Knowsley Housing Trust to create 54 care homes and 16 bungalows.

Twelve pupils from the school were taken through the history of the site via a variety of artefacts and were shown plans for the site’s new homes, where retaining the heritage of the existing buildings remains a priority.

Historical photographs showed the site as The Lancashire Watch Factory, which formed the hub of Great Britain’s watchmaking industry on its opening in 1889. Further photography depicted the 6.75 acre plot of land’s position as a barracks for a battalion of Pals during World War One.

Household objects from the 1950s were handed around to invoke the time of the building’s role as headquarters for a printing company, which published books and the Liverpool Evening Express throughout the period.

And pupils were invited to generate ideas for street names at the development. The winning student will take a tour of the site and bury a 2015 time capsule which will be compiled with their classmates.

Finally, a group of older residents at a nearby sheltered housing scheme on Cross Street were invited to attend the event to share their memories of The Watch Factory and its history.

Executive director at KHT, Ian Thomson, said: “It’s great to bring young and old together to look back at the varied past of The Watch Factory and its site.

"We plan to bring the history of the development into the plot’s transformation with the original Watch Factory listed building forming the centre of the site."