Wigan Album

Was this the lovely Wigan so many people miss.

No Mick, this was the Wigan when the town planners had begun to wreck the Wigan that everyone misses, the small businesses that couldn't afford to re-locate elsewhere permanently had to put up shop in these near derelict buildings until being moved on again when this area was blitzed.

I cant believe this what happened to the town I knew as a girl. I can remember it buzzing with life. It is a known fact that large shopping malls ( an American term if ever there was !) eventually drive away independent trade & then even the middling traders cant afford the high rents & bang goes individuality but are the younger generation bothered about that.....not really, they dress their children like clones of themselves, individuality is not on their agenda.

Sorry about that little rant....does you good sometimes !

Have a rant, our Helen....it does you good, and you're absolutely right in what you say! WHY are shops moving out of towns to Shopping Malls? What's the point? Wigan was buzzing with Chains like C and A, as well as independent shops, when we were girls. x.

Irene you ask WHY are shops moving out of towns to Shopping Malls. Answer its because you and many more stopped shopping in the towns.

Mick, I am one of the few who DOES still shop in town, so I would politely ask you to get your facts right before you point the finger. I don't drive so am limited to town even if I WANTED to go to out-of-town retail parks, which I actually find characterless and have no wish to visit. I go on the bus to Wigan, Leigh, Ashton and occasionally Bolton just for a ride but I shop in the TOWNS. I shop in Wigan twice a week but even Tesco is out of the way and we have lost Morrison's. Yes, a lot of people are to blame for taking their custom away from Wigan Town but I am not one of them!

Once again rude criticism without punctuation. Still at least he is consistent.

Rose coloured spectacles are abundant with reference to these town centre photographs. It's simply a rundown place.

Dave,people remember when these places were vibrant..so therefore they hold many beautiful memories from childhood onwards..can you understand when we look at these shots the images that they conjure up..if we didn't have memories..the future would be pointless...Dave,if you don't have any nice memories,then I feel for you.

It wasnt run down in my day Rose Coloured Dave. Wigan was more like a vibrant market towm...and I am not as old as you may think.

To look to the future is important, but to refuse the backward glance would be to have lived for nothing. I love to reminisce and my Market Hall dvd brings back very much the Wigan we knew.

Mick, our generation is the last one that can look back on Wigan with fond memories of what it used to be. When today's generation reach our age what will they remember of Wigan ? The ridiculous face on Millgate? The concrete Civic Center? Dave Whelan's factory shed? The dereliction on King Street? The almost empty Galleries? Square boxes, blank brick walls? I would rather have my memories of Wigan any day.

I think the building on the left was once a cafe- The Copper Kettle.