Have you seen this old photo of Church Road and Pinmill Brow?

I wonder who the smartly dressed men standing in front of the Ring O' Bells are, and where they are off to!

It is nice to see that the seventeenth-century pub still stands largely unchanged, and that the gates of St Laurence Church remain unaltered all these years later.

However, the lane has since been framed by the bright splashes of road markings and signs, and the thatched cottages of Pinmill Brow have been replaced by a more modern close of houses.

While contemplating the people in the photograph, I also wondered about the origins of that mysterious 'Pinmill' name.

Pin mill could refer to a pin factory or to a workshop where a pinned wheel is used in the production of leather. Maybe, once upon a time, there was some sort of little industry going on in this spot.

Pinmill Brow is the only lane of that name in the county, although there is a hamlet called Pin Mill in southern Suffolk. Other local Pinmills include Pinmill Close, Croft and the ancient Pinmill Orchard.

Many thanks to Frodsham and District History Society for use of the photograph.