The Story of Bolton's Elephants

Image: © Gerald England Taken: 23 Dec 2017

The two cast-iron elephants set above collectively weigh over 1 tonne and were originally set atop the gateposts of the Bolton Bleachworks on Chorley Street until 1977. In 1978, following the demolition of the Bleachworks, the elephants were donated to Bolton and installed in Victoria Square where they proudly stood until 2014. The three new colourful elephants, Ellie, Elner and Mr Jackbow, were named by young competition winners in 2007 and moved from Newport Street in 2015. Bolton's five elephants were relocated to their new home in Octagon Square in 2016. Kenneth Allen and Bill Nicholls have photographed Ellie, Elner and Mr Jackbow when they were on Newport Street: Image - Image - Image They now stand beside a play park to the left of the camera position. I only photographed two of them Image as a little boy and his mum were playing by the third and I didn't wish to disturb them.

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