Wigan Album

Beautiful Wallgate how I remember it..a proper Wigan.
They've made a mess of the road next to the bridge going to Queen Street.

Yes lovely Wallgate,I was brought up there and knew every shop..the community was brilliant,and my memories will keep me going for the rest of my lifetime...years after I'd left got married and children I met the policeman that used to take us across the road at the bottom of Caroline Street when we'd finished School..he told me that he'd been all over the country in the course of his work,and that he'd never known as many characters as he'd known in Wallgate...but I also know that Ince and Scholes had a brilliant community as well..salt of the earth they all were.

...And don't forget Pemberton, Maureen.

Of course Jarvo,where you've been brought up will always have your own precious childhood memories. and be your favourite community.

OH yay Jarvo, the Pemberton loop line.

Yes, Alan, the famous Pemberton Loop. We used to watch the trains from Little Lane Park. Happy days.

A bus and below

A coward I was , I ran away ,
Away from the bully , I could not stay .
Trapped in fear I ran from school , up to the top deck
was always my rule .
Only then would my breathing calm , my bodies defences ease to disarm ,
leaving behind my terrified fear as the bully came close or pass by near .
But on the bus as i sat alone , I felt relief not the hand of stone , I felt I was free , well at least for one day , and soon I would see the fields where skylark and kestrels play .
suddenly I see them and my fear is gone , my bus took me to heaven and maybe someday I will tell someone ...

Maureen, Peter says can you recall the name of the shop that sold religious items, mainly Catholic, such as statuettes, crosses etc., please?

I don’t believe there are many ndependent breweries left. I believe Magee’s has long since gone?. Advert on the bridge.

Irene..it was Lathams,all of us girls would go there for rosary beads and prayer books..I still love rosary beads,there's something about them,and the ones that Lathams sold were a lovely pink or blue.I still have my Grandmas beads,they're hanging in the car,she brought them over from Ireland so God knows how old they are now...it's a pity there are no shops like that anymore...also Irene,you can tell Peter that some people called the shop ' Barlows' ,but I don't know why.

Is that the Grapes pub behind the bus driver ?

is that a chimmney over on the left side of the bridge

Magee ales was taken over in 1970 by Greenall Whitley.

Thanks, Maureen. xxxxx

Didn't there used to be a cinema near here.

Cindy yes there was a Cinema It was called the WALLGATE CINEMA there is a photograph of it on the site

It's funny what Albert says about there not being many independent breweries. There is one now in the exact location of this photograph.

This photograph in Wallgate was taken in 1966. I remember the Magees Ales advertisement on the railway bridge that was there until the mid 1980s. In 1966 the oldest Wigan Corporation buses still in use were the last survivors of the 75 1946/7 lowbridge Leyland PD1s JP5500-5537 6000-6036. All double deckers were full height PD2s from 1950 with JP8300-8329, and AEK501-512 in 1953 bodied by Leyland.From 1956 bodied by Massey and Northern Counties with CEK837-841, DEK105-113, DJP751-759, switching to front entrance in 1959 with longer PD3s, EJP501-510, GJP8-19, HEK705-707, HJP1-11, then shorter PD2s from 1962, JJP502-509, KEK739-750, AEK1-10B, and yet to be delivered DEK2-3D, DEK4-7E, FEK1-9F, before rear engine Atlanteans FJP566G, GJP2-10G, KJP20-31J, NEK1-10K.

There was a cinema close by until it was used by M&S called Margaret Works a distribution for M&S and a sewing factory I believe.

Anyone remember Ronnie heyes chippy? Young Ronnie heys was the manager of peter pells married a girl named Margaret who worked in makinson arcade

Seal ?

Hi Gerry, no idea if this is related to your story but in 1955 a Ronald Heyes married a Margaret M Gardiner at Horwich.

The bus in the photo, I caught for the 1st time on the Wigan- Standish route as new on 15th September 1959 from school. That is what my diary for the day says. It was also interesting when a new Wigan "Corpie"bus was put on that route.The trouble with the front opening doors was one had to wait for the bus to stop before getting off not like the rear open platform ones.