Wigan Album

Ron,
I can't thank you enough for these two pictures of the coach house. I was brought up in St Paul's ave, and remember the building very well. It is amazing to see it once more. If you have any other pictures of the area I would be delighted to see them.
Thanks again, John

Ron. I also meant to ask: Any chance you could tell me where you got these pic's from ?

My dad took the photos just before the coach house was demolished I think that was about the early 60`s.

I remember my late Mother mentioning this building, she used to pass it every day going to work at Colliery Explosives, (Jordans) many years ago.

Ann A - Just wondering if you have any more pictures of this area that you could put on the site ?

Awesome never thought I would ever see this view again brought back so many memories ... like John I was brought up in the area scrumping pears from St Margarets home .. getting caught out and having to face bobby Crogan ... happy simple days of childhood ...thank-you so much for posting it's made my day ..

remember it well ,me to Sandra used to pinch the apples from st margarets home , bobby crogan caught us a few times going down the coach road going back home to worsley mesnes ,just brings back so many memories....ps are you the sandra webster that used to work in Scope charity shop ?

Moved to Worsley Mesnes in 1956, but can't recall this building being there then.Probably went round with my eyes shut in those days. As for the apple scrumpping, we were also chased by a local Bobby and ran over the timber decked bridge which ran over the Yellow Brook at the back of the Orchard. Whether we were too fast for him,or if he thought the rotting timbers wouldn't hold his weight, I'm not sure, but we scarppered over the old railway embankment and legged it down the other side, heading for the Tippings Arms. From there it was a doddle to wander back up the old coach road and blend in with the other kids on the Rec when he came looking for us. Didn't the Houses on St Pauls Avenue, opposite the Church used to be Police Houses ?
Happy Days indeed. An ex-Burns Closer.

Yes Dave they were police houses , i think bobby Crogen lived in one of them,we were scared to death of him, he used to go mad at us if e we riding two on a bike down the coach road.....how petty was that !!!!

Hi Sandra. No wonder there were never any pears left for us lads. I wondered where they all were (har har)

Yes Dave C, there were two police houses situated where you mention. Jimmy Crogan lived in one of them, Frank Leigh, lived in the other one. Was this coach house opposite Eckersley's Vinegar Works? For the life of me, I cannot remember it.

Yes mw I did work for Scope on Wallgate !!! Who are you ? and Dave the police houses where opposite the Church one for Bobby Crogan and one for Bobby Lee ... if you were scrumping apples you must have been at the white cottage which was just behind the Black Bull ... you could get at it through the graveyard and over the yellow brook .. done that a time a two aswell ha ha and played dodge with the trains on the railway line ... we had so much freedom to roam and play and never came a cropper just the occasional scab on the knees or elbows ..

Hello John Brown, My dad took a lot of photos and was in the process of transferring them onto my brothers p.c., when he took ill, If we find any more,we will certainly put them on W.W.

Albert Elseys was just a bit further up next to the Pack Horse pub the coach house was at the corner of St Pauls almost facing Duke St .... hope this helps ...

Hi John bet your Teresa was with me !!! remember once being stuck up the tree because all the pregnant women came in the garden just as we had got up the tree and we had to wait for them to go in ha! ha!

Thank you Sandra. I lived in one of the police houses along Warrington Road, a little further on than Kay's butchers.The majority of the time, I always worked from the Pemberton Office. I lived there when all the graves were dug up,in the little cemetary, for the major redevelopment of Clapgate Lane. I left in 1964.

Across the road from the coach-house was a grocer`s shop on the corner of Duke St. Did it belong to Harry Wilson.

hiya Sandra , Mavis i worked with you for ashort spell helping out . how you doing?

Ann, harry wilson used to have a grocer shop in worsley mesnes,i used to shop for my mam every day ,he would put it down in his book , then she used to settle up with him on Fridays

Ann A Thanks for replying. I will keep my eyes peeled for any more gems.

Sandra Cook - - How dare you bring my little sister's name into disrepute ! Our Teresa was a good girl, and would never have done such a thing (I'll ask her next time I see her) Har Har

Hi Mavis not doing to bad how are you ? hope you are feeling better ....

I remember Harry Wilson when he came to Sellars bakehouse for his pies, Grey overall coat, cap and glasses on. He had a grey tache.

John Brown your Teresa was as bad as the rest of us ha ha more mischevious than naughty .... remember waiting on your corner when she went in to get shouted at and then making our way home to get our share ha ha ... we had some proper adventures and were never home when we were supposed to be that was mostly why we were in trouble with the parents ... OOOOOOh I could tell you some tales ha ha ...

I,me doing great Sandra thanks, i often see your name on WW,and seen photos of you in your younger days , Glad your keeping well.

Rememered it well it was a weight traing jim before it shut down remembered Harry Catterall Sid Banister and Fank Richards before he entered Mr Univers

i moved into walpole ave in august 1954 so i remember it very well at top of st.pauls me,terry caulfield,geoffand barry lawless and rest of gang used to sneak in and watch weight lifters practising, then after peeping over into st margaret's home, crogin lived at no1 n02 lee we just used to love being chased by them ( great days)i saw all the left side looking down st pauls ave being built we lived at 11 walpole (winstanley's) others in kingsley ave .does anyone recall carruther's newsagent same side as Mortons, bit further up little jack chamberlain gents hairdresser he used to cut my ear regular he had a big club foot does anyone remember him,then unsworth's coaches where my dad took me all over following WIGAN R.L.VERY GOOD MEMORIES.

I remember Jack Chambers, is wife was little used to put his butties on fire place, must have bin full of hair. he used to use the thin taper candles to singe hair off back of neck dripping hot wax down neck. is your brother barry.

Remember the old building and the orchards well.I must have been a lot slower than you guys,old Josh dickinson caught me in the orchard, he knocked seven bells out of Me. Josh had never heard of human rights. Hate Apples to this day.in later years we had a good laugh over a pint in the Ben Jonson about it

We were the last family to live in the old coach house when we left in 1953.

HELLO ALAN P , YOU ASK WAS MY BROTHER BARRY? WELL MY WAS A GOOD TEN YEARS OLDER SO I AM WONDERING ARE YOU MAYBE THING ABOUT THE LAWLESS'S THERE WAS 2 GEOFF AND BARRY LAWLESS? my young sister by 3 years cant recall the place also weird in it. IF IT TAKES A WHILE TO RESPOND I UNDERSTAND .

I well remember all Alan Wink has wrote. Like him I lived in Walpole Ave 54-72. We all had our hair cut at that barbers shop - short back and sides ! I used to deliver papers round the estate working for 'little Jackie' He got his papers from that paper shop on Warrington road. I vaguely remember the building on the corner.