Me Elton John 
Contented Dementia by Oliver James 
Congleton town mayor Coun Kay Wesley has given a High Street award to Jantex Furnishings for longstanding service as a retailer to the Congleton community.
Jantex, a family firm established in 1975, was named after current proprietor Janet McDonough, who has worked in the business for 40 years.
Mrs McDonough said: “We are thrilled to receive this award on our 50th birthday, and proud to have remained an independent company, providing excellent customer service for all these years.
“We are not quite on the High Street, but we are certainly not ‘out of town’ as our business is in the beautiful grade II listed Salford Mill, in the centre of Congleton.”
Coun Kay Wesley explained: “The idea is to recognise businesses who have stayed in Congleton town centre through thick and thin, even as so much shopping is going online or out-of-town.
“During the covid years it was tough for high street shops, so we wanted to say a big ‘thank you’ to those who still provide a local, walk-in service for our Congleton residents, and keep the town centre alive.
“Like many local people, I have shopped at Jantex and always been delighted with the quality and service.”
She added: “I hope this scheme will shine a light on the fact that you don’t need to go to Manchester or Stoke, or even Amazon, to get fabulous products and great customer service. It is all right here in Congleton. Congratulations to Jantex for a fabulous 50 years!”
Mrs McDonough thanked the mayor and agreed, saying: “We have loyal customers that come back to us again and again, showing that for carpets, blinds and curtains, the personal touch means a lot. The team and I are delighted to be recognised by the mayor and the town council for our service to Congleton.”
Anyone can nominate a business in Congleton town centre or one of the local parades of shops for a High Street Award, provided it has been there for at least five years.
Provide the name of the business, evidence of its start date in Congleton, and contact details for the owner or manager (with their permission).
Email this information to info@congleton-tc.gov.uk with “High Street awards” in the subject line.
Salford
Jantex is in Salford Mill on Milk Street – and the whole of that area of town used to be known as Salford; it’s not known whether the mill gets its name from the area or the area was named for the mill.
Salford Mill was built as a silk mill for Nathaniel Barton, later being used as a fustian mill by Edward Knapper.
No-one knows where the Salford name comes from, but the most memorable aspect of the area was that it held its own wakes and elected a mayor for the day.
The celebrations stretched back into the 19th century and in 1936 the “Chronicle” reported not only on Salford wakes but on a rival event that sprung up across town in the West End.
The 1936 wakes, we reported, was celebrated “with perhaps greater energy and more thoroughly satisfying results” than ever before, and two lots of mayors and mayoresses.
The actual mayor of Congleton was there, Coun Pass and his mayoress, who were welcomed and entertained by the reigning mayor of Salford, 79-year-old George Foster, who could recall what the celebrations had been like more than 60 years earlier.
During the afternoon, more than 600 old people and young children were entertained to a “splendid tea”. A flower and vegetable show, sports, a ceremonial procession, and speech-making also figured in an elaborate programme.
Prominent in the procession, which was headed by the Congleton Excelsior Band, were the Salford mayor and mayoress, seated in an open landau driven by a uniformed coachman, waving to the crowd as they passed, while the mayor doffed a top hat with “befitting dignity”.
Also in the procession were the carnival queen and her attendant, in an enclosed car, members of the committee, and some 500 children.
The procession wended its way from the sports field (possibly where St Mary’s School is now) along Royle Street, and, passing Union Street, emerged on the main road, and through Milk Street to the fountain (removed from Swan Bank).
Mr Foster said he remembered being at the horse races that at one time were a feature of the wakes celebrations, and the successes gained as a jockey by a young Massie Harper, by 1936 a well-respected alderman and later owner of the Lion and Swan. The racecourse was on the same spot as the sports ground in 1936.
