Digital Hearing Aids St Helens –Merseyside Digital Hearing Aids

Digital Hearing Aids St Helens –Merseyside  Digital Hearing Aids 

Two distinguished business families have been associated with St Helens in Merseyside.  Thomas Beecham’s factory set up in the late 19^th Century was to become one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers.

 Thomas Beecham started his working life at the age of eight when he became a shepherd.  However this early occupation paved the way for his later business empire as this was where he learnt about herbal medicine.

 When Thomas arrived in Wigan he sold his own preparation called Beecham’s Pills, a laxative in pill form.  They were sold as a ‘cure-all’ remedy but had definite and positive affects on the digestive system.  By 1860, he had moved to St Helens and now started marketing the pills as well.  He sold through a network of agents in Lancashire and Yorkshire.  The next move was to build his own factory in the town.

 Shortly after this, his son Sir John Beecham (1^st Baronet of Ewanville) joined his father’s business.  He was responsible for developing it further – opening a factory in New York and in other countries.

Joseph’s son didn’t follow the family footsteps into the pharmaceutical business but you’ve probably heard of him.  He was Sir Thomas Beecham the well known conductor and founder with Sir Malcolm Sargent of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Pilkington family

The other famous commercial family who made their mark on St Helens were the Pilkingtons.  They founded the glass works with another family, the Greenalls.  When the line of descent of the Greenalls disappeared, the company became known as Pilkington Brothers and then much later as the Pilkington Group Ltd which was taken over by the Japanese company NSG Group.  They remain in St Helens producing flat glass a technique they pioneered in the mid 19^th Century.

Do you live in St Helens?

If St Helens is your home town or where you live now you might be interested to know about our services.  Hearing tests are easy and we can conduct them in your home if it helps.  Failing or deteriorating hearing can be due to a number of factors but is an isolating condition.  Don’t suffer in silence get tested and listen to our solutions.

Get in touch on 01782 698090.

Other industries in St Helens

In fact glass making was big in St Helens and was also home to Ravenshead Glass which was sold off, United Glass Bottles and Triplex, a subsidiary of Pilkington which was shipped out to India.  None of these remain in St Helens now.

St Helens like many other towns in Great Britain became more industrialised when the Industrial Revolution took hold in the 18^th and 19^th Centuries.  Prior to this industry consisted of home-production which by its very nature is small; this mostly consisted of linen weaving.

Cotton and Linen were two of the other local industries which got bigger during this time; others included coal mining, the extraction of clay, salt, lime and alkali, copper smelting and brewing.

Coal mining was probably the biggest industry at this time and carried on right up until the 1970s when 5,000 men were still employed at local collieries.

Greenalls Brewery was established in St Helens in the 18^th Century but moved to Warrington (about 10 miles away).  After the acquisition of several other breweries around the country some two centuries later, they stopped brewing and concentrated on the management of hotels and pubs.  That was in 1991 and in the following 15 years the business was eventually divided up and sold off.  The De Vere Group bought the hotels and still serves London Dry Gin which was originally produced by Greenalls.

St Helens today

The town with its population of more than 102,000 thrives with a rich blend of commercial, urban regeneration, culture and sports.

The regeneration schemes have seen new housing and the regeneration of main shopping districts. 

There are two shopping malls here: St Helens and Ravenshead – the latter being the newer mall.

St Helens has a healthy cultural status with a thriving theatre tradition, plenty of nightlife and many parks.  Taylor Park holds the distinction of being Grade II listed – this park and gardens is of Victorian descent.  There are 22 other parks in the area.

Continuing the cultural reference a large sculpture stands at the head of an old colliery called Dream.  This 20 metre sculpture is made from concrete and was part of the nationwide Big Art Project which was televised in 2009.  The head can be seen from M62.

{{Information |Description={{en|1=View of the Dream taken from the path leading to the sculpture facing away from the M62.}} |Source=Photograph taken by Christian Keenan |Author=Christian Keenan |Date=14th June 2009 |Permission=Granted by Christian Keenan

Perhaps one of St Helen’s most famous attributes is its Rugby League club.  Playing at Langtree Park on the site that was once where United Glass Bottle production took place, the club is also known as the Saints.

Well know sons and daughter

Besides the famous business men of yesteryear St Helens, there are other well known faces that hail from the area.

·         Film director David Yates is probably best known for his production of the Harry Potter films; he was inspired to go into films after watching Jaws directed by Stephen Spielberg

·         Jacqui Abbott was the lead singer with The Beautiful South after 1994 performing some of their most successful hits including ‘Rotterdam’ and ‘Don’t Marry Her’

·         Richard Seddon made a name for himself in New Zealand where he became their Prime Minister to rack up the longest service

·         Footballer Bill Foulkes played for Manchester United and survived the disastrous Munich Air Disaster when eight of the Man U team died.  Foulkes played almost 700 games for Man U

·         Comedian and actor Jonny Vegas often seen with the PG Monkey comes from St Helens

·         Budgie aka Peter Edward Clarke is the drummer with Siouxsie and the Banshees

{{Information |Description=Subject: Budgie of Siouxsie & the Banshees Date: June 1, 1986 Place: Oakland, California, USA (Unknown hotel lobby) Photographer: Andwhatsnext Original 35mm photograph scanned Credit: Copyright (c)

·         Singer Rick Astley of 1980s fame actually had his first eight singles go into the top ten music charts

{{Information |Description={{en|1=Rick Astley performing at Pepsifest 2009.}} |Source=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/musicbook/3525997685/ Flickr] |Author=[http://www.flickr.com/photos/musicbook/ Bruno The Uploader II] on Flickr |Date=2009 |Permission={{cc

·         Entertainer Bernie Clifton maybe best known for his stage props including Oswald the Ostrich

·         Comedian Pete McCarthy and actor Pete Postelthwaite both went to school at West Park Grammar School, St Helens; the school is now De La Salle School

·         Actor Matthew Crompton who has appeared in both Coronation Street and Brookside but is probably best known for his role as PC Sam Harker in The Bill

But enough about the rich and famous, it’s all about you!  Living without good or reasonable hearing is miserable.  With modern technology there is no need to let this continue.  Talk to us about hearing tests and digital hearing aids which could make all the difference to your live.   Telephone us on 01782 698090 or send us a message using our online form.