Wigan Album

My father worked at Water Heyes, Gerry Lanyon worked with him, as did Peter, he was deaf and only used sign language. Another lad worked there, although I don't know his name, he played for Skemersdale when they won the cup at Wembley. He came to visit my father when he was really ill, a kind gesture. They were all friendly lads. They made essentially waterproof light fittings.

When I started work on a north sea oil rig I remember that all the outside electrical plugs sockets had Water Heyes Wigan stamped on them.

hi b there is aq photo of me and your dadigan corporation album page 7 good mate jerry

I bought a portable TV from Asda about 1987 and it was faulty but still under warranty, I was told to take it here to get it fixed, left it for a few days and all was sorted.

Spenian - the place you took your TV was most likely 'Serviscope' - a TV repair company, that worked from the Water Heyes building in the late 1980s. They used to do repairs for other companies.

Good picture Ron, I have one of their catalogues somewere dating from the 1940's, when I find it I will post a few photos of their products.

There was always a stench from those gent's toilets at each end of this section of the Duggie.

I remember getting my head stuck in the railings in this area. I was around 5 yrs old. A big burly man had to sprise the railings apart. It was in the days when people went for Sunday walks .....I have never forgotten the incident especially the fear I was being left behind unnoticed!

I had a summer job with them in 1971 when visiting Mum and Dad in Wigan. They made heavy duty electrical switches, light fittings, junction boxes etc. A lot of the equipment was for use down mines so it was important that they were airtight as well as watertight as electrical current could ignite underground gases etc. As I commented on the photograph of the pepper Mill below, I think it's really sad and a telling comment about these modern times, that so many skilled engineering jobs in Wigan (and elsewhere have gone replaced by service sector jobs (no disrespect to them) if at all.

Going off topic for a moment, reading Vb's comment about having his/ her head sprised out of the railings made me smile. Everyone knows what the word ' sprise ' means, but how often do you see it written down?, and how widespread geographically is it used?, or is peculiar to the Wigan area. Presumably, it's a corruption of the word ' prise ', it just seems a bit comical seeing the word in print. We used to use the word when went on the swings. I suppose a fair translation of ' sprise ' would be ' to apply leverage'.

yes Eddie the word sprised must also have been indelibly stamped in my memory as it is not a word I use now or ever hear used. These old pictures have a lot to answer for!

Must have walked down that way hundreds of times , it was a short cut from Greenhough St to Ritz Cinema area , top of town ,

Brings back some great memories! We used to walk along here on our way to Central Park Saturday afternoons. In the doorway on the left a programme seller used to stand. I've still got those programmes from a lifetime ago!

A family story passed down to me was that my Gt Granddad patented a light bulb he'd invented and around 1912 he sold the patent to Water Heyes. They agreed a weekly pension payment on it but it was a lifetime pension on his life and he was killed in the Somme area of France in 1915. Predictably the payments ceased. As I said this was a family story,it may or may not be true and I cannot find out any more information, unless someone out there can enlighten me!.

Circa 1900
Heyes & Co. Ltd.
Water-Heyes Electrical Works
"Wigan" and "Lacent" lighting fittings ; flameproof electrical equipment ; magneto ringing telephones ; "Acee" bells ; "Wigan" ironclad switchgear ; signalling apparatus.

Water Hayes specialised in flameproof electrical fittings for use in potentially explosive atmospheres, mines oil rigs, chemical works etc. The idea of them was that if there was a spark and an explosion inside the fitting the energy generated would be contained inside the enclosure and not ignite the
atmosphere outside it. that's why they always appeared large and heavy and over engineered.

They made external lights for the QE2 when she was built.

Brings back lots of memories.

I did a 6 year apprenticeship at Heyes and Co from 1952 to 1958 manufacturing flameproof equipment for the mining industry. We clocked on at the door shown on the photo. I walked down there thousands of times ,past the Ritz cinema and Wigan Little Theatre

Does anyone know about the company founders? They were William and Lancelot Heyes. Thanks

According to the Godfrey map of Wigan in 1907 there was a large cotton mill known as Water Heyes Mill roughly on the site of the Oak hotel. Does anyone know exactly where it was?

William Heyes, who started the company with brother Lance, was my great grandfather. His son, Vincent Heyes ran it until he died in 1956. My mother inherited it and my father, Robert Redmond became MD. I visited the works quite often as a child. Things went wrong in the late 60s when people stopped digging coal mines and building ships and it was all sold for a song to Dobson Park.

I have just purchased a bungalow in Essex and on the rear wall is a Heyes lamp, lovely old thing, still works and I use it regularly, it looks like an explosion proof lamp, very heavy duty, I have just looked on the web and old Heyes lamps are selling for around 250-650 GBP. I will not sell it though, I hope my children will appreciate it when I pass.
Love the old history of these type of things, I also admire the over-built (appearance that is) design.