Wigan Album

Nice one janice, i certainly remembers slater's pen also knew where the row of houses was located.

Yes Janice, remember these cottages very well. Aspinalls lived in the end house on the Booths Brow side, the Chip shop on the corner and Arther Sudworths shop on the Rectory Rd end.
They all shared a common courtyard, with a row of 'Toilets' along the bottom end of the courtyard..

Janet your right about Aspinalls and about the shops but these cottages are the ones that were demolished in the 30's and were built right on the side of the graveyard some did'nt even have back yards, it was a street off Booths Brow Road. It's a bit hard to explain, i will put another photo on which shows all the houses and you will see what i mean.

Well Janice,, I have egg on my face, got the wrong ones. I thought the windows didn't look right and looking at the photo again, they do look farther away than the cottages I was thinking of. Were these the cottages where someone with a greenhouse grew and sold Chrysanthemums. I remember going to buy flowers from there and they did back onto the graveyard. I jumped to the wrong conclusion, oh well, senior moment, that's my excuse..lol.

Janice, forgive me for querying your description but whenever I went to Jack Slaters pen for fish or veg. it was at the top of Booths Brow Rd. opposite Aspinall's and the Chippy which means the cottages behind Olive are actually on Booths Brow Rd. Unless there were two Slater's pens.

Hiya Lyndon Its hard to visualize because they were demolished in the 30's but if you picture Aspinalls on the end of the row on Booths Brow then there was a gap which led to the communal yard if you were to picture yourself stood in that gap looking into the communal yard the cottages would be on your left backing onto the graveyard the fronts overlooking the communal yard. Hope this helps.

Janice I would like to see the other photo if you could put it on, being an old Downall Greener,I too make this photo out to be the houses on the main road,there could have been a few pens in the 30s across the road from the houses I think this was taken from the top pen,I know there was two pens in the 40s Bert Davis had the pen next to the field going down the browin He lived in the end house that you call Tommy Aspinall's until they moved on the estate about 1946 after they moved it could have been made into one pen,thats why I would like to see the other photo

I think I know where you mean Janice. I was born in the house next but one to the chippy, in fact the middle house on the Rectory Road side of the block. I well remember the trip to the toilets at the bottom of the yard. I don't remember the houses you are talking about but from your description they were Bill Job had a garage when I was little. He used to keep his lorry there, think I'm on the right track so to speak.

Thats right Susan, at last someone knows were i mean. I will put another photo on which will show you better but i am just finishing restoring it. This is the photo Duggie and Janet are waiting to see.

Thats right Susan at last someone knows were i mean. I am just finishing restoring another photo which i said i would put on you will be able to see better on this one. This is the photo Duggie and Janet are waiting for.

Suson your right in every thing you say about the garage and there may have been house thier at one-time I remember them covering something up backing onto the church yard, going down the brow after the garage with slack from the pit but I don't think them are the houses in the photo we will have to wait for the other photo,look at this one again from the pen you can see the railings,road, and the steps to the houses as you go down the brow

I see what you mean Dougie, I only ever remember the garage being there. My Mum has mentioned Pig Street to me and would certainly know exactly where it was, I will have to get her to have a look at this photo and give us her imput. Will post what she says tomorrow.

if you look at the large tree behind the cottages , thats in the graveyard .that should give people a better idea.

I am not saying there weren't any cottages on Pig St, I think Dougie mentioned Pig st back on the Old Downall Greeners thread. My reason for thinking these were the cottages on Booths Brow and not Pig st, is because with Olive stood in the, what looks to be the top pen, the fronts of the cottages are at her back, if it was Pig St, they would be sideways off of Booths Brow, wouldn't they?
You started something here Janice, bet you didn't think it would be like this,lol..

Well my Mum moved to Downall Green in about 1944 and she says Pig St had been demolished by then but old Downallgreeners had told her that it was on the site of the garage, so they would have overlooked our yard. Maybe Olive is stood where the dirt rook was (prior to it being there obviously) or even in that area of the graveyard as that part has only reletively recently come into use and would be to the back of the cottages on Pig St. We've got a reet poser goin on ere eh!

Janice, I think I've cottoned on to the location of these cottages but in the 1950's wasn't this area part of the graveyard. The only old cottages I can remember in this area, I think, ran at 90 degrees to Rectory Road between Dunn's shop and the churchyard.

Lyndon, no the area i am talking about has never been part of the graveyard. The cottages you refer to were called Church Terrace and i am going to put a photo on the album showing these.

hi janice,hope u ok what great photo's x

Hiya Shirley yeah both ok, nice to hear from you. Is your Geof ok? Will be adding more photos soon.

hi janice what great photo's, told our kath bout um ,yea r geoff's ok he's in canada at moment take care x

I remember Jack Slaters pen Myself Richard Thompson Steven Flyn used help feed chickens for jack and his dad Olive is stood in pen the houses behind are Booths brow lower down the hill was the entrance into the yard just after the entrance there was a large comercial garage after that the graveyard started behind the houses on boothbrow houses facing into the yard as you turned left into Rectory rd a chipshop. We moved to Downall Green in 1947 when I was four

Joe the cottages in the photo where, where the commercial garage was this was the garage belonging to Bill Jobe. Look at the photo on the next page Booths Brow Rd/Pig St.

Joe the cottages in the photo were, were the commercial garage was the garage belonged to Bill Job. Look at the photo on the next page Booths Brow Rd/Pig St.