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Hope Street

14 Comments

Hope Street 1965
Hope Street 1965
Photo: Keith
Views: 3,449
Item #: 30897
A photo I took of my girlfriend at the time, who later became and still is my wife, holding a rather unhappy niece at the time. The coincidence of the situation was lost on me at the time but my wife's maiden name was Hope and they are in Hope Street. I thought I'd post this since it has a "link" with recent photos of the area, a tiny part of Warburtons store can be seen in the background also Mesnes Terrace, as well as a fraction of Hope Street Congregational Chapel on the left. No idea what the white building standing in Mesnes Road is though.

Comment by: Valerie Bradshaw on 14th January 2019 at 08:12

The white building was Baileys pie shop.

Comment by: A.W. on 14th January 2019 at 09:00

The building on Mesnes Street is probably Bailey's Scotch Bakery.

Comment by: Keith on 14th January 2019 at 10:58

I stand corrected, Mesnes Street it is. Thank you.

Comment by: Carolaen on 14th January 2019 at 11:15

Baileys !! Ah the memories of their pies. All were good but after 48 years away from Wigan U can still recollect the taste of their potato pies - not to be confused with the meat and potato pies, which were also very good, but the potato pies were magnificent. Such a simple idea but so well done.

Comment by: Helen of Troy on 14th January 2019 at 12:38

Oh Carolaen, I am right with you there, those potato pies were heaven. We used to head to Baileys for them after shopping & then get the bus to Cherry Gardens near where my grandparents lived & there we would all squash around the kitchen table eating those pies !

Comment by: jack on 14th January 2019 at 13:04

There was a cafe upstairs too.

Comment by: RON HUNT on 14th January 2019 at 20:49

Restaurant upstairs in Bailies did a "Business Man's Lunch" 3 course for 3/6 Went there a couple of times when I was at the TLS. Thought we were the BEES KNEES<g>

Comment by: Mr X on 14th January 2019 at 22:36

Isn't Bailey's pie shop on the site of Smith's bookshop because it was before I was born. Trevor Smith's shop opened in 1972 and extended in 1986. British Heart Foundation charity shop opened about a decade ago.

Comment by: Ray Smyth on 15th January 2019 at 10:06

The little girl looks like she has lost a quid and found a shilling !! At the rear of Baileys Pie Shop was a piece of
open land. In the mid 1960s, Robert Baillie Transport from
Portsmouth would arrive with a big artic lorry, loaded with
tomatoes from Guernsey, and be met by smaller lorries from
local wholesalers, Owen Owen, Louis Reece, Conroy Bros, and
Peter Conroy, and the complete load of about 2000 trays of
tomatoes would be transhipped by hand and taken to their
stalls in Wigan Market Hall. In the late 1960s, the new
wholesale fruit & vegetable market opened at Worthington Way
Notice the 2 different spellings of Bailey & Baillie.

Comment by: A.W. on 15th January 2019 at 11:58

Mr X, yes, Bailey's was in the vicinity of Smith's Bookshop. Bailey's closed about 1971, the building was demolished and a new road made through to what was Dicconson Street at the time and later absorbed into the ring road. The multi storey car park was built in the 1980's and most of the "new" road disappeared under that.

Comment by: Veronica on 15th January 2019 at 13:59

The little girl is so cute- I bet she grew up to 'call a spade a spade' and doesn't stand any nonsense....

Comment by: Keith on 15th January 2019 at 17:17

Veronica, you're not wrong there. My maternal side of the family are particularly good at calling spades, spades and my niece grew up into a beautiful young woman, married and living near Edinburgh these days.

Comment by: Veronica on 15th January 2019 at 22:48

Well I hope she comes back occasionally to visit Keith. The photo could have been taken recently it's so clear- and your girlfriend/wife is very attractive as well - makes me wish I was young again!

Comment by: Rob on 16th January 2019 at 10:06

Looks like she's holding one of the old 'Picnic' chocolate bars.
If she can still give looks like that now shes grown up, I wouldn't like to go home to her with a pound short in my wage packet!

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