Wigan Album

A great photo of historic interest to the George Formby Society as George Formby Senior owned this farm at one time

Anywhere else in the UK this building would have had a preservation order on it ....but planners in Wigan still seem intent on obliterating all history of the town. Visited Wigan in October....they don't seem to know what they are about. Knock more history down, build more roads,
more shopping malls.....what's going to happen to all these traders when the credit crunch really starts to bite ?

Looking again at the photo, I don't think this is the inside of a farmhouse, its more likely a ' cruck ' barn. The timber seen at the sides rising to the roof would have been tree trunks cut & shaped into the arch. The doors on the right are very high to allow wagons loaded with hay to enter. the doors in the left are lower for the wagons to leave after the load has been taken off. Threshing would probably taken place in the barn in the winter months. I have seen barns similar to this in Norfolk but not the cruck type which are very rare.

What a brilliant photograph, all the more so because it records the lost and rare architectural heritage of Wigan

Very true Helen. If there is any justice, in centuries to come the word 'vandalise' will be replaced by a new verb; 'Wiganise' in recognition of the wholesale destruction caused by the council and planners, to the town's heritage.

The same photo appears as Item 8321 as Bulldog Tools. Why?
If it was demolished when HJH was built was it at Walthew House Hall or Farm or at Cuthbert Scott's farm?
Does anybody have any history of Walthew House?
The farm on Walthew House lane was Philbins farm and remained after HJH opened.

George Formby was born at the farm lower down Walthew House Lane which was not demolished when HJH was built. There was a building on the HJH site described as Tudor style. The Walthew name can be found as far back as the 16th c.

my mum was born on whalley house farm, and played in this barn as a young girl,(mary topping, now mary perry )

regarding the comments about vandalism, we have had 50 years of large scale employment out of the site and millions put into the local economy so what would you rather have?

my family lived at Walthew House farm-it is not the one in the photo -it may be the farm that belonged to the Topping family which was nearer to Heinz.We lived there 1958-68 . There was also Walthew House , theBerry family lived there at this time, and Walthew Cottage where old Joe Ainsworth lived. These three buildings were still up in the sixties and i remember we could see the lights of the factory from upstairs in the farm.Between us and Toppings farm was the old brickworks and a cottage named threepenny bit cottage- Most people called Walthew HOuse Lane "the old red road" .Our farm and the other buildings were pulled down when site bought by GUSto build Martland warehouse.

I am interested in the identification as walthew farm. The usual reords indicate that Walthew house was built by Robert Walthew in 1660, but a record in the archives dated to 1616 indicates the existence of a walthew house at that date, and presumably owned by Robert Walthew as a 12 year old minor and ward.

[no title] DDKE/9/1/9 4 Jun. 1616

These documents are held at Lancashire Record Office

Contents:
Edward Markland - asking for advice in connexion with his lease of Whalthewe house and stating that the ward Robert Walthew is nearly twelve years old
[no title] DDKE/9/1/9 4 Jun. 1616
Edward Markland - asking for advice in connexion with his lease of Whalthewe house and stating that the ward Robert Walthew is nearly twelve years old
These documents are held at Lancashire Record Office

Does anyone know if this farmhouse(?) may have been the original walthew house referred to in the record?

This is the barn at Walthew House Farm, I played in it as a girl in the 1950's. The farm was farmed then by Jim Johnson who also farmed Martland Mill Farm. His mother used to sell sweets from the farm to passers by. the house was a tall building maybe 3 stories high and stood sideways on to Walthew House Lane. This was farmed by my husbands family George and Ann King from the 1880's to early 1900's. All the Kings butchers from Wigan were related to this couple.There used to be some woods alongside the farm known as Kings Woods, They backed on to the brickworks. Would love to here anything else about Walthew House Farm. Goerge Formby Snr and Jnr lived next door in Walthew House and my mother took George Jnr to school on a donkey (that's the tale anyway!)

Thanks for that comment Joan.
Robert Walthew, referred to above, Was reputed to be the richest man in Lancashire when he died about 1686. The house and his property was left to his daughter Elizabeth. Given my Earlier comments, it is probable that Robert did not so much build Walthew House about 1668, but rebuild an existing house, perhaps only rebuilding a new rontage onto the house.

When Walthew House farm was demolished my (then ) next door neighbour who worked at HJH and I took some of the stone and built a dividing wall in between our drives with it.Our little link with the great George Formby jnr.

My Grandad (the late Jack Berry) used to live at Walthew House Hall(not the farm)as a child. He lived there with his brothers Les, James & George, all now deceased and his sister Olive who sadly passed away 2013 (my Great Aunty Olive). My Grandad always said the Hall was unfortunately falling to bits even when he lived there. I would dearly love to see pictures of the Hall but I haven't found any as yet.
Kind Thanks
Jennifer