Wigan Album
Standish
6 CommentsPhoto: aitch
Item #: 21951
That's Spite Row mate, not Cross Street
Most residents of Standish of a certain age will be aware that the lawn in front of St Wilfrid’s Church in the Market Place, was previously the site of a block of ten houses, known locally as ‘Spite Row’.
As the photograph shows, these houses to a great extent obscured the Parish Church immediately behind them, and local legend has it that they were built by a Roman Catholic after the Reformation with the express intention of hiding the church from public view, the church then of course, having ceased to house the Catholics, had become the place of worship for the newly instituted ‘Church of England’. When the houses were built(about 1800) the Church had no spire, so that the objective of the builder, if the legend be true, was more easily accomplished than it would have been when the photograph was taken. They were demolished in November 1930.
See 'Spite Row' on page 1.
a beautiful photo aitch.
If you go to page 2 of these photographs and click on to the one of 'centre of Standish' you will see the houses you refer to which were in front of the Church.
This is not cross Street,but Market place.
My mother was born here at no. 10 Market Place. Three floors, one room to each floor.