Wigan Album

If only it was like that now…. It’s nice to see there’s no scaffolding in front of what is now B&M. The Home Stores and Pendlebury’s how well they did trading in Wigan. Nice view of that end of Standishgate.

I agree with Veronica; I wish it was still like that. now, with British Home Stores, and Pendlebury's. Bullough's Electrical shop on the corner of Mesnes Street later became Rumbelow's and, on the corner of Crompton Street, Lewis's Separates became Chelsea Girl..... all us girls thought it was so trendy! I feel lucky to remember our town as it was back then. On a Saturday afternoon, we never felt the need to go anywhere else. We had all the shops we needed in Wigan.

This is the home of lost content
I see it shining plain
The happy highways where I went
And never will again.

Look at his photo WMC & eat your heart out.....what have you done to a once thriving town.

Helen. I am no great fan off Wigan Council. However some of these criticisms are misplaced as these changes are happening everywhere. You could argue that in developing the Grand Arcade the Council was at least trying to secure a large Department Store (Debenhams) in the town centre and support M&S etc. I love near Bristol and despite huge efforts by the City Debenhams, BHS, and M&S have all closed. I lived for many years in Watford and loved the town centre. There was a major revamp with a large new John Lewis anchoring the town centre but even this has closed. Unfortunately we do not shop as we used to.

Well said Carolean, these silly Wiganers who are complaining dont realize that its because of them our town centers are like they are.

These “silly Wiganers” are not to blame, at least the older members of society did not cause this shutdown. It is the younger generation who block up Post Offices with their returns and give more jobs to Amazon..not everybody orders on the internet either most people of a sensible generation would rather go into a Store. That’s why you see lost souls in Wigan looking for shops - any shops! Or go to the soulless shopping complexes outside the town, which are neither use nor ornament. It would have been better to keep the shops inside the town centre not on the fringes.

Carolean perhaps it is because there has & is to much choice....
If we want to visit 'big stores ' we have to go to Norwich or Kings Lynn either can be a hours drive to a city P&,R & not everybody is able or wants to shop on line with all the hassle that involves.
We have got used to using the stores that are available to us.

'Well said Carolean, these silly Wiganers who are complaining dont realize that its because of them our town centers are like they are.'
I never realised that Wiganers were so influential on such a geographical scale and they possessed an ability to greatly affect town centres on this island of ours.

If you look at Carolean’s comment he gave his opinion without using the description “Silly Wiganers” as the cause. He has more about him. Whether what he says is true or not.
No it was the silliest Wiganer of all who posted that….
We are all entitled to our opinion as to whether we would rather have the Wigan Town Centre as it was or not. It won’t change anything because we and other towns like Wigan are stuck with it.

Not as easy as that Wigner , that’s a complete cop out . People will always hold onto what they value . Governments always talk about a ‘combination of the old and new ‘ whenever Planning is mentioned . Older generations will always side by what was , as opposed to what is . It’s nothing whatsoever to do with the internet , this is codswallop ! It’s about investment ! Soho in a London is a buzzing Mecca for tourists from around the world . It generates billions in investments . You could fit Soho into Wigan many times over . The difference is , people want to invest in SoHo , because they can make money , in Wigan they can’t . It’s all about investment NOT , the internet .
Like I said on a previous post , Wigan has to stop trying to be something it is not . It did this before as anyone who knows Wigan , knows . Look at the old pictures on here . There was no internet then and it was thriving buzzing town then . Wigan Council believe unless Wigan goes modern it will die , no it won’t ! Do villages and hamlets die across the Uk , like the gold rush of forgotten rotting wagon trains . No they don’t . They recognise what and who they are , then build on that , taking their values with them .

Veronica, I think that Wiganer was being ironic.

Well said Marky… some sense and an intelligent explanation without using flippant remarks as to what or who is to blame for store closures.

Marky has got it, a town built on coal & cotton pretending to be the glitzy town it will never be.

'Not as easy as that Wigner , that’s a complete cop out.'
Marky, I did not type those words to answer a question. Ron did not post the photograph with a question, he posted it for our pleasure and interest. Additionally, there are no question marks in any of the posts above my previous one.
The first sentence was completely taken from a previous post (copy and paste), which can be easily identified by the structure of the sentence and the errors (dont, its, centers...). Also, if you look closely, you will see that I used quotation marks.
The second sentence was typed to maintain uniformity and to keep within those boundaries of what can only be described as ridiculous. I even chose to use the name 'Wiganer'. Far too many times, I have seen and heard adjectives used to demean people from Wigan.
Of course, 'Wiganers' do not possess the ability to greatly affect town centres on a geographical scale. They may have an affect on Wigan town centre and, possibly, may have an affect on shopping areas close to Wigan. But, the shopping habits of people living in other towns have an affect on the town centres of those particular towns.

To compare Wigan to 'Soho in London' is also ridiculous. Property in Soho is more expensive than similar property in Wigan. The population in London is far higher than the population in Wigan. The interest in London cannot even be compared to the interest in Wigan as the difference is too great. It does not take a genius to understand that investors want to make money and places need investment. But, your solution (investment) is like offering the solution to a friend's debt by telling them that they only need to win the Spanish lottery.
Much of what you typed would be totally ripped apart in a debate. For example, one of your statements is: 'Governments always talk about a ‘combination of the old and new ‘ whenever Planning is mentioned'. So, inform us about how much of the old Wigan Market Hall structure was incorporated into the new one and how much of Central Park was incorporated into Tesco's Supermarket. It would also be interesting to hear about Station Road and the many buildings which were there being incorporated into the shopping area which now stands there.

We all do have opinions and many of us would like to come up with perfect solutions. But, some issues are not easily identifiable and solutions are not always so simple.

Enjoy the photograph for what it is. This is a glimpse into the past of our town and I hope that it brings happy memories for many people.

I see now Ian thanks. I would just like to say it’s not all about the younger generation either with their technical experience and penchant for ordering stuff on the internet. Older people are living longer and are fitter and most have money to spend after having families of their own. It’s only fitting that they are considered when Councils come up with their grandiose schemes. For a start raising rents put a lot of stores out of business as well - not just the excuse of ordering online. After a lifetime of working it’s enjoyable to have a stroll around the shops. ( for some of us anyway.)

Thanks Wiganer ,
I wanted to respond and have a friendly debate with you and others , but reading your first paragraphs .
‘ was typed to maintain uniformity ‘
Quite simply scared me off .
This is WW , not some decipherment of ancient scripture .
Let me add for just you Wiganer . I have great difficulty with grammar , punctuation and many other things within the English Language , but I try . So yes , you will find numerous errors in every post I submit . The fact you took time to focus on these errors , which no one else did, only reflects on you .
I wish you well .

I think I was confused with Wiganer’s comment because of the lack of quotation marks (“) and the use of apostrophe instead (‘) when quoting someone else’s words. But both gave a good example of an argument regarding the demise of Wigan instead of a throwaway comment blaming “silly Wiganers”. But you are right in your observation Marky “ This is WW, not some decipherment of ancient scripture.” I think your grammar is perfect for a site such as this and very easy to understand. Keep posting!

Marky, there is nothing wrong with your grammar and your post was beautifully worded.

Wiganer and Marky, an initial tad confusion over each others posts, but good discussion all the same and is what makes comments on Wiganworld enjoyable to read and which also spurs on others to join in the discussion and put across their interesting points of view. Long may it continue.

Cyril, I think you could be right.
Veronica, I think that Wiganer is not old school. The language is changing and (") or (') are both accepted as quotation marks.
Irene, I have had a look at what was said and I think that Wiganer was not talking about Marky's grammar but Wigan Mick's.
Obviously, a lot of misunderstanding.

I don’t understand how the people of Wigan, apparently “silly Wiganers” can have caused the town centre’s demise.
It isn’t Wigan ‘s
problem alone. Chester and Southport amongst many others have the same problem.
The causes are many but include internet shopping, high rents for stall holders even where do I park my car ?
There is no easy solution. People’s shopping habits are changing. The sad thing for me is that a vibrant town based on shops , not amusement arcades and hotels, gives a person a feeling of identity and belonging.

Mick only said, these silly Wiganers who are COMPLAINING don't realize that its because of them our town centers are like they are.
And I must say I agree with him, first they shopped in Morrisons, the ASDA and now its Lidl and the internet.

Re Mick’s comments. Having read them again I can now see what he is saying. …apologies
….but would the move away from traditional shopping have ever been able to be stopped.

Too late Syd - ( if you are Syd!) we are all agreed there’s more to the shop closures than
“ silly Wiganers who don’t realise” ……etc,etc,

I believe, Veronica took time to focus on your errors.
Go for the sympathy vote, Syd.

The solution to this banter seems to me that we should forget the word Wiganers and replace it with “society in general “ .

If these ordinary Wiganers had carried on shopping in Wigan town and Market hall it wouldn't be like it is today.

Multiple reasons why the shops closed…..
The reasons chewed over and concluded. Not forgetting most women love to shop ‘till they drop, totally different to skimming the internet ….Back to the beginning, I and many, many more would love those shops in the photo were still there and doing a roaring trade!
Good point Philip C….

Remember when Standishgate was the main road through town until the M6 was built by 1963 with the constant flow of traffic, with vehicles coming from the south and Midlands to get to Preston, Blackpool, Lake District and Scotland. (the A6 through Chorley, Walkden, Swinton and Manchester was the other main route). Before Wilko is now on the right was Debenhams, and before Debenhams was Pendlebury's and suffered a terrible fire, can't remember the year, probably about 1960.

MrX. The fire which destroyed Pendlebury's was in the summer of 1953. Pendlebury's moved to the site which had been part of Rushton's (and later became the Gas Showrooms} overlooking the Market Square. The replacement store in Standishgate (now Wilko) didn't open until early 1957. (Compared to now everything seemed to take forever to build in the 1950s).

I remember the fire - the sky was red with it. I was playing out at the time, I think we saw it it in the early evening, its nearly 70 years ago.

Veronica. On the night of the fire (if memory serves me right it was a Sunday) myself and my cousin were coming home by train from staying with relatives in Yorkshire and had seen the glow in the sky long before we arrived at the old Wigan Central station. As we walked from the station to get our buses in the Market Place there were fire tenders everywhere and and we were stepping over multiple hoses across every surrounding street. Nowadays the site would have been closed for a mile around it. Elf'n'safety would have had a fit of the vapours, had they been around at the time.

I’m sure you are right Derek, we just carried on playing, as you say the area should have been closed off. The fire wasn’t very far from Scholes where I lived. Who knows what sort of vapours were in the air. There must have been loads of asbestos burning away.