Wigan Album

I remember this shop as Oxleys, although my Mam always called it Poole's. They had the payment system whereby the customer's money was sent to a cashier in a little canister via overhead wires and the change and receipt came whizzing back the opposite way.

Irene
I think that that system was called Lansil. Hope I spelled it corectly! I think it was made by a firm from Lancaster and I am sure that Pendlebury's had the same system at one time. I remember Oxleys as well.

I think you're right, Tricia. There is a chain of shops on the Yorkshire coast called Boyes, and the one in Bridlington has a little museum on the top floor by the cafe showing the shop as it used to be, and they have the system on display, although not working, and it does say the name, but I can't remember it. I will have a look next time we visit.

I think the ash system you refer to in Pooles, as far as I remember, was a PTT (pneumatic Tube Transport) system, of low pressure pipes to the cash office. The canister was sucked up, then came back with a bang containing the change & receipt.
There was a wire system in Wigan somewhere, but I think that was one of the big grocery shops, maybe Latimers, or Meadow Dairy..summat like that ;o)