Here is a delightfully evocative hand-coloured photograph of customers enjoying a sunny Sunday at the old White House Hotel which formerly stood above the river on Sandy Lane in Boughton, just outside Chester.

The cafe had originally been a pub. Reader Mike Lawton found this page and wrote to tell us that "my Great Grandparents Alfred and Sarah Jane Brentnall (ne Lloyd) ran the pub in the early 1900s and I had never seen a photo before. They had 7 daughters and one son (also Alfred) and apparently the girls regularly all trouped down to Hever Castle at the invitation of Lord and Lady Aster to dance at the balls. Why I have no idea.

Alfred worked as a foreman for the leadworks and was found leaning on a bench outside the White House Pub. They thought he was asleep but he had died!" 

The variety of the gentlemen's clothing in the photograph is particularly interesting- the wearers appearing equally comfortable in swimming trunks or sturdy three-piece suit, collar and tie!

Sadly, the cafe no longer exists and the site is now occupied by a mundane block of flats. However, Sandy Lane still remains an attractive area of the city and is very popular with Chester families, especially during the summer months. There is an outdoor swimming pool, playground, boatyard, sailing club and a public slipway.