Wigan Album

I can't get my bearings here. I can only think of Kaye's Army Surplus shop when I remember Darlington Street. Where would Kaye's be on this photo, please, if it's there at all? If I walked up the road past the policeman, where would that lead to? Sorry to be a pain but I'm lost!

It’s very disorientating looking at the photo. Those buildings have gone though…is the road ahead leading to the town?

Irene, The cars approaching on the right of the picture have come from
Ince and Hindley. They are passing what now is the Magistrates Court
building, on THEIR right. If they turned to THEIR left, on the right of the
picture, they would be on Chapel Lane, heading toward Poolstock.

Ray.

Irene, Chapel Lane is were the mannequin is in the window.So kays is just off the photo, you would have to walk back, the way the fire Bobby is going. The kays would be on your right.

Frank Orrell needs to do his homework. That's not a "digger", it's a loading shovel.

A friend has ‘joined’ me to another site and most of these photos are appearing on there. I bet this one comes up tomorrow. The same with the Hippodrome newspaper cutting.

Hold the hand, of my mam,
walked these streets,
like now I am,
But now I'm old , no longer wear,
the shorts pants once , that I did there,
the hand I held , is still warm to,
beloved mam, the one I knew ,
forever still , do I love you...

Veronica, this photo belongs to Frank Orrell, does he know it has been used on the other site without his permission?

Those firefighters are dressed so differently to the ones of today they are hardly protected. Look at the policeman’s hat, hats of yesterday.

Phil T. I’m not saying this one is on that site just that it might end up there. A friend informed me that a photo I posted on here of Turner’s at Hindley Green a few years ago was on there. She invited me ‘join’ up to have a look and I noticed some other familiar photos I have seen on here. I get notifications when a photo appears. The newspaper cutting posted yesterday by Ron was definitely on. I thought that was a bit quick off the mark.

Thanks so much, Ray and Edna, for pointing me in the right direction, as it were.....I've got it now! Veronica, is it facebook's Wigan nostalgia site where you keep seeing the duplicated photos? A man pinches them off Album and puts them on facebook almost every day.

This picture is taken looking up Darlington Street towards where the Magistrates Court now stands. The row of terraced housing seen further down on the left is still standing in 2022 - I believe it is where the Papa John's takeaway and the bedroom/kitchen shop are currently located.

Interestingly, the building on the corner looks to be a public house, but the lack of signs suggest it had already closed by the time this picture was taken. Interesting fact - the original Wigan Fire Station was located at the end of King Street where this fire is!!!!

CJ

That’s right Irene. ( It seems a very ‘quiet’ site!) ;o))
The Turner photo might belong to someone else but nobody knew who the lady was that was retiring. I let them know who it was and stated I had the photo on WW. ! I would not like to think any of my personal family photos went on there without my permission. ( which I would not give….. )

Irene and Veronica, I believe Edna isn't quite right with her directions. Edna is right with her words "Chapel Lane is were the mannequin is in the window", but this is the part of Chapel Lane which would have been on your right as you walked towards King Street from Darlington Street - on your left, would have been Chapel Lane which took you to Poolstock.
To give you some idea of the position: behind the photographer is Brocol House and to the left of the photographer is the old Police Station/old Town Hall. On the opposite corner to the building on the corner in the photograph would have been The Derby Arms Hotel/Pub.
Edna states: "So kays is just off the photo, you would have to walk back...". I believe, Kays is not in the photograph as it does not exist due to being demolished before this photograph was taken. Kays would have been where the cars are and before the building - on your right as you look at the photograph - which is half white (lower half) and grey.
It seems that the buildings which stood on the right (Derby Arms down to the building which is in the photograph) were demolished before 23rd July 1979.
To give you a position with bearings: If you were in the photograph, standing in the middle of the road and looking at the cars, King Street would be behind you, Poolstock would be to your right, Wigan Swimming Baths would be to your left and you would be looking down Darlington Street towards Darlington Street East (towards Ince etc).
I hope this helps.

If any photo is downloadable they are shareable all over the world

Linma, this is how I would have been dressed when I was a member of the AFS in the late 60s.

The first and second car on the right is about near where Kays Army and Navy stores were located.

Thankyou so much Ian. That is a very clear description. I must admit I was a bit flummoxed over Chapel Lane. I know the part of Chapel lane that leads to Poolstock but I didn't realise there was another part to it, where the mannequins are shown, on the other side of the road.

Wigan Mick I would imagine you and my son would enjoy sharing a cuppa and swopping stories, yours of yesterday and his today’s.

Ian you are right with the location, but the Derby Arms hadn't gone by July 1979.
It was still standing and still serving ale in June 1981.
I can say this with certainty because we all met up in there for my stag do on Friday 5th June 1981. The landlord at the time was a bearded lad called Chris.
It was there for some time after that as well.

Thanks Ian , I ‘get’ it now. I did know there was two parts to Chapel Lane. I thought it was easier going down Chapel Lane to get to Goose Green,I find it dicey these days even crossing the road!

The building behind the diggeer/loading shovel? was at one time, prior to this photo, a Wigan Council property housing the registry office and well before the DVLA's arrival the motor vehicle taxation office (but only for vehicles with Wigan registration nos. i.e. with JP and EK and their derivatives) I had a car with a Lancashire reg. np. suffix and had to renew the road tax via Lancashire County Council in Preston.) The Wigan Borough Fire station was out of this photo to the left, which later became the Police garage when the then new Fire Station movvd to Newtown around 1960.

I have a vague memory of taxing a car here in the 1960s. The building on the corner looks like a pub/club with all the extractor fans. Wasn't Wm Leylands music shop somewhere around here?

that building on the corner used to be car tax office if i remember right when i lived of darlington st east in 50s and 60s

A superb photo of a scene long gone.

DerekB I can remember the road tax office being there, but I didn't know it was for certain Reg numbers only, if I remember correctly you could if needed to get a road tax licence for just three months from here. I also didn't know the Registry Office was here too, the building itself is quite nice being Terracotta and topped with balustrades, I can make out on the base of the pediment that it's the Edward Vll Buildings but not the date and a pity the top is out of shot, but those curtains and shutters wouldn't look very nice on any wedding photos, though it was probably a lot brighter inside than the Bank Chambers where it was previously.

I am sure this junction and the buildings were still present until the mid 1980s when development began on building Riversway. I seem to recall one or two of the old buildings had been vacated and unoccupied for sometime before they were eventually pulled down.

In the 70's the building on the corner was where you paid your rates,the car in the far distance is a bugs whisker from the front of Kay's shop,nearly facing that (where a man is stood outside)is Alan Rhodes paper shop,he was always cooking curry at the back.

My prediction has materialised. For today …

Bruce Almighty, I did do my homework but my dog "Digger" shovelled the load down his gob and ate it.
Ray and Ian are are right about the location the picture was taken from and the prominent structure in the centre was the Edward V11 buildings dated 1910.
Thanks for the plug Ron. My books are still available and if you visit my Frank Orrell Photography site there is a pinned post explaining how to obtain them.

Cyril, I don't know if they actually conducted wedding ceremonies from there, but outside was certainly identified as the office where Births, Marriages And Deaths were to be registered. With regard to road vehicles , as I recall driving licences were only renewed for a year . I still have my first and two subsequent ones issued from there when the yearly fee was fifteen shillings

This evening, I have posted three times in reply to Irene, Veronica, Terry and Frank, but none are shown. This is quite frustrating and throws everything out of line.
Why does this happen?

I'm going to keep this short as it might not appear.
Just want to say:
- Irene and Veronica, it was my pleasure and glad it helped.
- Terry, I wasn't sure of the date of demolition. I only know the pub from walking past it. I never went in.
- CJAlan, sorry for the disorder regarding my words not being inline with yours.
- Frank, thanks for the wonderful photograph and don't worry about people trying to have a "dig" at you.
- Ron, thanks for posting the photograph.

If you turn left were it says chapel lane near the clothe shop is that were the old fire station was

Tom. Yes, it was. It was on the left as you walked up that part of Chapel Lane.

Ian, I don't think, kays had been demolished when this was taken, because I sent a photo of kays, were I'm standing outside.In the 70s, I think it maybe I places.Anyway e that's a lovely poem.

Edna, I'm positive that Kay's had been demolished. It stood on the ground opposite to where the car is pulling out.
I'm definitely not sure of the exact date of demolition, but it must have been before the photograph was taken.

You can see that there is some demolition in that area as well from the gable end of the building in the distance. If I’m going to the Range these days it’s very near the bus stop where I get off and passing where the Gas Works used to be.

If you look where the car on the left is, turning right onto Darlington St, this junction was opposite where Kayes used to be. The junction is still there.

The opening on the left, just, after the policeman, with the shop on the corner with, I believe, the sign "Handyman’s Centre”, was the entrance to Parr’s Court (in earlier times called Preston’s Court) and further along Atherton Street. I used to visit my aunt and uncle, who lived with their young son in the early 1950’s in Parr’s Court. They were very small houses and I would think ripe for slum clearance by the time this photo was taken.

Yes Keith it was the Handyman's Centre, I'd quite forgotten about it and it was a good shop too, Darlington Street post office moved from across the road into that block too.

Keith, the area you describe - that bordered by Chapel lane/Darlington St/Harrogate St - had been cleared some years prior to this photo being taken, and was then a car park.
I used it regularly from the mid 70s to about 1982.

That looks like a womens clothes shop, I think there were some offices up there and remember a small church with a spire opposite the baths. The digger's registration is possibly NTD333L.

If you look on Album, Places, Darlington St for photos 32960 and 32949, that will give you an idea of where the picture was taken and where Kayes and the other shops were.

Kays surplus was on the same side of the road as chapel lane. If you walked under chapel lane railway bridge (footpath on one side only) past the public toilets, and turn right into Darlington st, keys was about 2mins walk on right hand side. I have a vague memory that chapel lane may have extended over the Darlington st junction to where the old Fire Station was?