Wigan Album
Powell Street, WIgan
9 Comments
Photo: Barrie
Item #: 29980
I can recall a bofors gun on display outside the drill hall. It was some sort of open day there and was very busy. Not sure when, but would have been very late 1950's IIRC.
If the age of the old Drill Hall is in question, it was there in 1889, when the survey for the 25 inch OS map of Lancashire was conducted.
Looking at the bottom right-hand corner of the Drill Hall site, it looks as if there was an extension of the Hall in the period between the maps.
If the extension was the building on the corner of Water St/Church St that was where the hall caretaker lived.
Maybe that explains the indent into the site below the 'll' of Hall.?
1884 June 21 Laying of the Foundation Stone of the Volunteer Drill Hall in Powell-street, Wigan, by Lieut.-Col. the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres.
1884 Dec 20 Opening of the Volunteer Drill Hall by the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres.
I used to work in Wigan in the 60's and seem to remember that the building marked motor body works was were the TA unit stored their lorries. I used to walk past and the large door used to be open especially when someone was in the Drill Hall. I can't recall whether it was a permanent garage for the vehicles or whether they used to borrow it if something was happening at the drill hall
wuz, Item #29962 I left a comment that after Santus shut up shop, the Military took over the body works for their use,so that fits in with your comment. It has always surprised me looking at the section of the map how many places of worship there were in a small area of Wigan. When my Dad moved to Wigan in 1926,he was lodging in the Dicconson Terrace area for a couple of years and on a Sunday would attend the Congregational Church on Standishgate or Hope Street or Library Street way.He was a lay preacher for a while and took Sunday School classes (he was 25 years old)
Thanks Barrie its nice to hear about these places once known to me and my wife, we left in the late sixties and hardly ever get the chance to return, when we did we didn't like what has been done to the old town, a tragedy.