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Photos of Wigan
Photos of Wigan



Wigan Album

POTTERY ROAD

8 Comments

RAG AND BONE MAN
RAG AND BONE MAN
Photo: Frank Orrell
Views: 3,365
Item #: 29372
A rag and bone cart plods over the canal bridge on Pottery Road with Eckersleys Mill in the background in the 1980s.The picture is in my latest book "Just One More" Volume 2.

Comment by: Garry on 21st May 2017 at 09:15

I used to see many rag men on my coal rounds years ago, they were all great characters like coalmen.

Comment by: Albert. on 21st May 2017 at 12:41

I believe I have mentioned this on a previous occasion. On one occasion, in Wigan, in the late fifties. A rag & bone man's horse dropped dead, in one of the streets off Wallgate, in his wisdom the reserve man, on duty, in the police station, added at the end of the main entry, in the occurrence book. 'It was carted off by the knackers.' true, but I suppose, a different phraseology could have been more appropriate.

Comment by: Helen of Troy on 21st May 2017 at 13:13

Such sharp images in these photos & monochrome adds so much more.
I remember getting a goldfish from a Rag & Bone Man who used to do the rounds at Holland Moor. They were the recycling team of a time gone by.

Comment by: tuddy on 21st May 2017 at 21:55

Albert, an ex Boobby told me that once, when he was on nights, he found a dead horse at the bottom of Greenough Street. He couldn't spell Greenough, so he dragged it into Standishgate!

Comment by: AP on 21st May 2017 at 22:22

Still have rag and bone man - Traditional horse and cart - But he only wants scrap metal these days.

He is also very picky about what he will take: really looking for brass, copper or better.

He don't offer anything in exchange though nowadays.

Comment by: Albert on 22nd May 2017 at 09:00

Tuddy. Relative to spelling. It was similar, when anyone went sick with diarroea, It was far easier to use another five letter word. the spelling was much simpler.

Comment by: WN1 Standisher on 22nd May 2017 at 09:58

Great story Albert although I don't suppose the horse cared which part of its anatomy it was dragged away with or by whom

Comment by: andrew bullough on 10th September 2017 at 23:28

This is a photo of my dad jack o malley on the left, and his mate who I used to call fast eddie. The horses name from looking at the photo is tommy they will have been heading back to weigh in at catteralls scrapyard

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