Wigan Album

Sad day for Wigan when planners decided this lovely building had to come down, you can see what they put in it's place anywhere these days, buildings that are nothing special, just palaces for the Great God Consumerism. There, thats me had my say !

Many Northern towns are attracting visitors and 'cashing in' on the strength of their old Market Halls and the variety of stalls to be found in them.
Not Wigan; the powers that be ripped it down, depriving the town of one of its last bits of character.
To paraphrase LP Hartley, 'this is Wigan. They do things differently there'.

Well said Helen & Mark. I couldn't agree more. A fine old building gone for ever. I was there on the day it closed with my dog Henry. A brass band played Auld Lang Syne and many a tear was shed. Such a shame.

Sorry Mick. I put Mark in my comments about the old Market Hall.I do apologise.

Don't mention it!

When it was demolished I wasn't particularly bothered since I'd never thought much of it as a building anyway. However, on seeing all these old photographs on the Wigan Website (and what it was replaced with) I've changed my mind in a big way. If only we could go back and shoot the planners. Come to think of it, people like me as well who couldn't have cared less at the time.

How sad is that? I remember the pot market every year and all the wonderful, cheap, pots and pans (and everything else) that could be bought! People used to come from miles around.

After living in Canada for many a year, I came home and found that nobody liked the new market hall. I thought it was very good with wide aisles and good stalls as the old market hall had. BUT... as a butchers apprentice at McAvoys in the old market hall...the new one had 'NO Character' whatsoever. Shame on the powers that be or powers that were.... The character of central Wigan has gone...