Wigan Album

Wasn't the Bird i'th Hand further up after going under the railway bridge, on the corner near the canal bridge opposite Savoy timber?
I might be wrong but I think that's where it was.

Think the pub near the timber place was the Seven Stars, where there is a bathroom place now.

The pub in the photo is definitely the Bird i'th'Hand. It ceased to trade as a pub in Autumn 1977, after the last landlord 'did a bunk'.

The building what was the bird i,th pub is still there now the warehouse. in front of that was millers motorcycles which closed down in the late 80,s early nineties so i am at a loss not to see the building there. Anybody any answers?

the seven stars pub can be seen top left just underneath long building with windows.

bird I;th hand is now the warehouse selling household goods & curtains etc

seven stars pub was as patricia says;a bathroom showroom now stands on the site

I remember going to the Biker/Rock? evenings that were held occasionally, in one of The Bird's upstairs rooms; that would have been around the early 80's, I guess. The juke-box played non-stop, and was overseen by a bonny chap, whom had a bonny bunch of keys to match. My mate was more of a biker than myself. Good music nonetheless.

Miller's moved to Newtown from Scholes, this photo could have been taken before they moved. They were still Scholes till at least 1967 ish.

Philip - must have been before the early '80s that you attended the biker/rock evenings.
As I said in my post above, it ceased to trade as a pub inthe autumn of 1977, when the last landlord 'abandoned ship', and did a bunk.
He failed to secure the place properly before he left, and the place was broken into, and damaged.
I can remember the date with a degree of certainty because I was a bobby, and had just started working the Newtown foot beat on a regular basis. I seemed to spend all my time trying to get the brewery (Burtonwoods if I remember rightly) to come out and secure the building properly. This they failed to do, which made me think they weren't interested in keeping it open, and wanted to 'get shut'.

Thanks for your correction Mick. I was way off-target, and your initial post was worthy of a better response from myself.

Yes, I remember now, the Seven Stars was the one near Savoy's. Thanks for reminding me.

The former pub is the only building remaining in the area. It appears that the photograph was taken from the new fire station that was built in the mid 1960s. The churches visible are All Saints, St Catherines, St Josephs, and St Thomas's. Don't know when the houses were demolished, and there was another church in the area, St Edwards RC. Soho Street went to the original Asda supermarket that I think the year was 1978 when it opened.