HOW many of the old 'tucked away' little communities, dotted around the St Helens area, can still be recalled today? The question is posed by reader Peter Critchley in writing: "The Pudding Bag (a one-time insular little backwater in the Sutton area) has been well documented in your cobwebby column. But what about the following?"

Peter, from Oxford Street, then tops his list with Railway Street, in Pocket Nook area, which survived until around 1980. "Accessible via a cinder track on the north side of Standish Street, opposite the Union pub, the neat row of cottages was shielded on three sides by trees. Among the residents, the Tootall family reigned supreme for many years."

Next, we ankle over to nearby Atlas Court. It exists to this day, Peter says, "but its houses were victims of the iron-ball in the early 1960s.

"Pedestrian access from Corporation Street is down two flights of stone steps and under a brickwork arching. I remember travelling on the upper deck of a bus and looking down at the rooftops below. I think the Drurys were among the residents, possibly local ex-boxer Frank included."

Another 'hidden community' occupied Nuttall Street, Ravenhead, tucked beneath a bridge close to the now defunct Ravenhead Glass Company. "At one time", Peter recalls, "it boasted its own shop to serve the needs of the neighbours and to meet passing trade from factory workers." Ronnie Hudson, an authority on pigeon flying and an ex-colleague of Peter's, lived there.

THANKS for all that memory-jogging stuff, Peter. If anyone can add to his list of 'hidden communities' from the past, then drop me a line at Whalley's World.