Wigan Album

Was this commonly known as "The Top Place"?

Albert yes it was. The bombs that fell on Wigan in WW2 were really meant for this place.

I have a feeling the ovens were actually named Selmet Solvay

Why on earth would they want to bomb there?

Surely WC&I had ceased production before World War 2

Referring to Wiw's comment. When did this works close down?.

Did it move to Irlam,? If so, was there some particular reason, that this move occurred. The works had been operating in Wigan for many previous years, and it would seem the raw materials were still in plentiful supply.

In Don Anderson's book about Blundell's collieries He calls the coke ovens Semet Solvay ovens and these also produced benzene as a by-product.

It was in world war one that the Germans attempted to bomb the Top Place, and apparently it was the glow from the furnaces which made it a target for the Zeplin crew.

The bombs referred to would surely have been those dropped in the Zeppelin raid on Wigan, Higher Ince and New Springs in WW1. My Grandmother clearly remembered the raid, watching the Zeppelin pass over in search of "Top Place" where her Father worked

The structure in front of the chimney is the end of the aerial ropeway bringing coal to the ovens. If you look carefully to the right, you can see one of the buckets suspended from the rope.

My maternal grandfather worked here for a while - the wages were good but he was not a physically strong man and had to change his job.

Would anyone happen to know if this is the steel works where Matthew and Francis Percy worked? Does this place still exist in any form or was it destroyed during the war?

was it destroyed during the war? We are just trying to piece together snippets of history together from Australia.

Hi Maggie - we are currently investigating the site of the steelworks (details on or website www.wiganarchsoc.co.uk)