Wigan Album

I remember my dad buying me a pet rabbit on a stall just there about 1950...such happy memories.

"The atmospheric stalls silenced for ever more".....how beautifully put, Deborah. I remember the sparrows in the roof and The Doll's Hospital; the revolving doors where we children spun ourselves dizzy. The dank fish-market where my Mam bought cockles and mussels, and the fruit market with tissue paper around the tangerines at Chrismas. The bulls' heads over the butchers' stalls, Bailey's pot-stall where I bought a Sylvac rabbit with my first week's wages; it appeared in an article I wrote for Past Forward some years ago and it stands on my kitchen-shelf to this day. Thankyou so much for these photos, Deborah.

Used to love going around these stalls seeing the owners rattling the pottery around, it's a wonder that there was not so much breakage.

Irene,I am glad you remember the two bulls heads.I have asked people about them but nobody recalled them.I was beginning to think I had dreamt it.

Beautifully remembered Irene. Sad that it had to go, what a tourist attraction it would be today.

I too remember the bulls heads high up on the butchers stalls, one on each side of the corridor leading out to the fruit market. I heard on the local news the other day that wigan had procured eight million quid to rebuild the market hall as it was....is it reet? Someone on here will know..

What lovely evocative memories you conjure up Irene. You should get together with my husband and write a book. Thank you all for your kind comments

Peter and Irene, I too vaguely recall the bull's head over the butcher's stall, I think it was called "Lamb & Bullock". According to the news Wigan Town Centre is about to change again, I think the world has gone mad!

Saturday afternoons with my long gone beloved mother,i once got lost in there, but she quickly found me,she told me I could hear you bawling over three fields,like to step back in time holding her hand walking through those doors.

It's good to share these memories, Deb. And Abkerboy's comment was so moving.

Irene..those are lovely memories..I can still see in my minds eye the man at the doll's hospital stall..I've always loved doll's.. Still do..he would put an arm back on my doll with strong elastic it seemed and she was mended again..I've often wondered who finished up with the bulls head,and how I've missed the stalls outside where you could literally buy anything..the pot stalls,the Wigan fair I don't think we'll see the likes of again,I truly believe we had the best of Wigan..and Gerry,I was told it cost six million for this market,and Bolton paid one million to have theirs refurbished..I don't go to Bolton market,but by all accounts it's a lot better than ours..we've certainly seen the best and have the best memories.

There used to be a bull's head mounted on the corner of Green's butchers stall.

I still have a leather belt I bought in the market in the early 70's.It still fits(almost)

Abkerboy..your comment conjures up a lovely and very moving picture.

The two heads were on Greens stall.I think that one of them was a Scottish longhorn When our eldest son (now 58) was a little boy we told him that the cows heads were called Nelly and Sally. He would look upthem and start to shout their names!! I dont know what people thought when he did.

Fred, they were unusual looking with big horns nothing like cows I remember.I wonder what happened to then?

I remember when the canopies over the stalls filled up with water, and you pushed one up while your mates were walking by drowning them in the process

Our family had a stall just inside the entrance there.... :)

Which stall was that, Lizzie?

Hello Irene .....we sold chickens, eggs, jams, piccalilli one or two other things....we were diagonally opposite Boltons fish stall....on the left...as you walked towards the doors....prior to that we were out in the cobblestones...thank you for asking...cheers!!!

Our Lizzie..I wonder if it was your family that used to sell that lovely lemon curd,I bought some every week..I can taste it now.

It may be where my Mam used to get lemon curd from, too, and it was delicious, but she always called it lemon cheese.

Irene,I call it lemon cheese like my Mam did,I just felt like being a bit posh.ha ha.

Yes we did sell Lemon Cheese.....or curd as we call it now.....I am so happy that there is a connection from all those years ago....my Dad made the Lemon Cheese.....it was very delicious as me and my sister used to help put it in the jars....thank you our Maureen and Irene....xx

Maureen, you're entitled to be a bit posh, being the honorary Mayoress of Ince, (see, I haven't forgotten!), and it's nice to be Our Lizzie, Our Maureen and Our Irene. My Mam was Lizzie, (not Elizabeth), but was known as Tizzie.

Awww our Irene,that's lovely.

I think we have to include Our Deb in the sisterhood for putting this pic, and all the other nostalgic ones, on here in the first place.

Our Irene,I agree,what say you our Lizzie.x

Our Maureen, our Irene and our Deb.....sounds good to me.....sisters united .....Brilliant... <3 <3 <3

What about our Garry...Girls.

Hello our Garry..pleased to me you.

Oops.. apologies for loss of letters at end of the word "meet" Garry..blame this pad.

Hello Our Garry, and I can't miss out my old Wigan World mate Our Joseph, even though he hasn't commented here.

Our Maureen....were you a Lady Mayoress....well I never....you know I knew there was something about you beside your gift of words and amazing art....... :)........hello our Garry

HI
Just read all your comments.My mum also bought the lemon cheese. She also bought some great tasting butter. I remember it being nearly white in colour and also Lancashire cheese.

Awww thank you girls I'm very honoured :-)

Our Lizzie,it was our Irene who gave me that title..it was on the Ince thread,which I'm almost sure was a couple of years ago..I said and meant that Ince had a grand community similar to Wallgate where Vince Marie and myself grew up..Irene comes from Ince and represents the folk from there..good and down to earth,and as I say,it was a title that Irene gave to me,and she hadn't forgotten..ha ha.

you're all being a bit posh saying "our" Maureen or "our" Irene.. to be a proper Incer you have to say it right

the correct annunciation or pronunciation is

"R" Maureen or "R" Irene...

Signed

"R" Gerry

I'm not an Incer,but hello our "R"Gerry.

sorry ladies spelt my name wrong earlier,notice the cars parked for convienence and not the councils cash cows,free parking would encourage shoppers back into the town centre.i just wonder how much money the council and others profit from motorists ,by charging a small fortune to park their cars.i personally don't use wigan town centre for that very purpose .the council urgently need to rethink their policy before the town centre shuts.

Ah now I see....not really a Lady Mayoress....just a title that our Irene gave you.....still brilliant though....fancy if you were.....Both my parents were born in Ince ....one in higher and one in lower..... :)

Nobody has picked up on the fact that the pic isn't "the Front" of the Market hall, but the Woodcock St Entrance.
The Front, was on Market St & More ornate, until the Petticoat Lane annex was added & covered up the Main entrance, Part of which is the Galleries entrance to the new Market Hall

Art,I've always known that to be the front of the Market Hall..the back faced onto the market square surely.

Maureen, The front was naturally on Market st. a far more ornate entrance, before it was covered up with the Petticoat Lane extension...Look here:
http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/album/5/frj0pqp0.jpg

Art,ta for that photo..in my teens I worked in the gents outfitters Carly's.. so I really didn't see the main front entrance..know I know what it used to look like andthanks for that..you live and learn don't you...I sent this comment the night before last..I hope it doesn't double up.

To AW, Never in the memory of man was there a butchers shop named Lamb and Bullock in Wigan market, The best and most well known was Greens who had the cows heads above 2 of their stalls, this was the best butchers shop in Wigan ever. The best butchers in Wigan worked here they could backheel the rest.