Lidderdale Garage

It’s not often you encounter a business whose entire way of doing things is governed by word-​of-​mouth. Lidderdale Garage is that rare kind of place. Nestled in an alleyway running alongside a railway wall means it gets almost no real thoroughfare. I also seriously doubt it has been advertised anywhere, ever. However, since it’s been in business for over fifty years, it must be doing something right.
The original owner was a white-​haired old chap called Tommy Hill who is mentioned in the memoirs of Stan Williams, a Dovedale Road schoolmate of John Lennon. Following Hill’s death, the business became run by his son. It is a dark, old-​fashioned kind of grease-​shack that tunes up cars for a low fee.
Independent businesses such as this bring together neighbourhoods. It may not have the vast customer lists of a big chain garage, but here’s hoping it lasts another fifty years.