Wigan Album
Millgate
30 CommentsPhoto: Dennis Seddon
Item #: 20415
It makes you sick now, a better Wigan then.
We must have been a posh town to have a Waring and Gillows furniture shop.
good one of the yachting club
So true Alan, back then it was worth paying the bus fare to get into town, walking around the vast array of proper shops and market, even if just window shopping.
Am I correct in my memory,that the building,before you get to the lorry,and the open space,is the public house, "The Ship," and wasn't there somewhere in this location an entrance to the " Palias de Dance"(not sure of the spelling). It was an extention of "The Empress ballroom."
The shop after the lorry was the FAMOUS Millgate Chippy, then next to that was the entrance to the Palais.
in between the ship & thechippy was the salvation army
I think this was the early 60's because there is a single yellow line on the corner and these came in about that time.
Wow so much has changed since this pic was taken
Memories come flooding back
Didn't the Ship Have the distinction of being the only pub in Wigan to have a "dirt"floor......upstairs!
You could be right Ken, The first car on the right is a Triumph Herald first produced in 1959, so its late 50s early 60s. Thanks for sharing Dennis.
It certainly had a 'Gentlemen Only' bar but i,m not sure how many 'gentlemen' went in there. Not too many 'ladies' went in the pub either, a few 'women'. I,ve seen one or two cat fights in the main bar. Maggie Muscle frequented the place among others.
Just to "confirm", I think it's probably early 1960's. Although not very clear that looks like a Jaguar Mk 2, parked next to the Triumph and they started production in 1959.
When I worked as a barmaid in the pubs in Platt Bridge I heard many tales of The Ship in its former years. The "Ladies of the Night", including one "Red Bette", used to have their "prices" written in chalk on the soles of their shoes so they could be rubbed out and changed as necessary!
I took this picture in 1967 just before I started work at the Post and Chronicle. I was working at Bradley's men's outfitters at the time who had shops on Market Street and at the top of the Makinson Arcade from whose upstairs window I took the picture.
The picture looks like it has been scanned from the Wigan Evening Post newspaper when we used to do a Then and Now feature.
The topmost figure on the left carrying a bag had just crossed the entry of the "Ship Yard", which ran down the side of the Palais-de-Dance & lower down the "Emp" on Station Rd.
Wareing & Gillows was Pooles, then Oxleys.
The shop on the right hand corner was The "Ring o' Bells"(Munro's) with a big figure of the OBJ (Oh Be Joyful) man, Later Dixons Camera electrical goods, etc shop, when it moved from Market Place, next door to the Black Horse pub
there used to be a cafe in millgate we whent in there a lot when we where teenagers in the 50-60
Yes Albert, there was an entrance to the "Palais de Dance" up on the left. The Palais was an extension to the Empire Ballroon (at least they were linked.) Around the time of this photo (probably a little later) the Palais became "The Casino Club."
Neil.....Empress, not Empire ;o). Th' Empire was the cinema behind the Old Dog pub
Does my memory serve me right? Wasn't there a small brewery on the left,on the crest of the hill,as you went down Millgate, towards " The Horseshoe".
Aye, Moorfield's Atlas Brewery. Moorfields supplied the club trade only.
Yes Art, it was the Empress Ballroom not the Empire as you rightly say. I should have remembered properly because: 1) Of the many hours that I spent in the Empress (and Casino) and 2) that at one time, my father's uncle was a projectionist at the Empire. My father and I used to visit him at work and see the "behind the scenes" activity.
Frank do you remember s girl named Margaret Birchall from Standish working in Bradley's in 1968..between us we invented texting. I worked in Peter Pells next to maxims.. from the top Windows where we had a brew we would write messages on the windows to each other .of course we had to write backwards so the other person could read it.
Loz. The reason I asked, is, I can recollect that about 5am one dark morning, Detective George Manley arrested a chap pushing a barrel of beer down millgate,towards Station Road. He had stolen it from the brewery. George must have had a tip off as to what was occurring. This was in the late,1950s.
My late father used to say, with a twinkle in his eye, that the floors in the Ship Hotel were painted green, "to make the old cows feel at home".
Just past chippy was the famous Green Curtain, Up the steps after Ship - Salvation army, Small cafe opposite where teenagers went, they would sit in there forever with one cup of tea, plenty doleites sat in who would not work even when there where plenty of jobs,
Gerry I don't remember Margaret Birchall at Bradleys. I worked mainly in the Market Street shop and only called in the other one occasionally.
I left Bradleys in September 1967 and the names that I recall from those days are manager, Mr. Wigan, (very appropriate) who I think was from Bamfurlong and his deputy, Miss Makin, from Springfield.
1Remember mum telling me not to look at the ship inn .cos rude ladies. Went In there.of course I did look!!!!
Frank - Think one of my old school mates worked Bradleys at that time. Michael Chadwick .
Excellent photo Frank. I remember going in the 'Ship' as my dad called it. He went ballistic when he found out we'd been in for a drink....only it was called Raffles then in the 1980's. Remember being amazed as they had tellys everywhere with a new music channel called MTV on :-D