Wigan Album

We've lost arguably the best architect designed building in Wigan. And what's in it's place a bloody car park to make even more money for the council.

Are we looking at the main door, leading into the Town Hall, and to the left, Rodney Street?. When I was at Wigan Central, there were no traffic lights.

Such a beautiful building..gone forever..so sad to be replaced by more characterless boxes....progress, sorry you can keep it.

Albert,to your left is King Street..right facing is the old fire station..the photo was taken from the top of Chapel Lane...to the right is Darlington Street.

Just look what is still standing across the road,what a eye sore.

I was a typist in CID there in the 60's.

Albert, you are correct. The street to the left, with the traffic bollard on the corner is Rodney Street. The street to the right is King Street, running down to its junction with Chapel Lane and Darlington Street.
Maureen - Chapel Lane does not feature in this picture. It is further down King Street, out of camera shot.

Thank you Maureen, I've got my bearings now. At the extreme left, will be the turning into Rodney Street. The large door will be leading into what was the Borough Treasurer's offices. The top floor was taken up with the Magistrates' Court, and the police typing pool, etc. It was also where the Quarter Sessions were held.

Albert..I think I'm wrong and Ken is right...I'm sorry for any confusion.

I'm no fan of Wigan Council, but they aren't profiting as a result of the car park, its owned and operated by a Private Company. The reason for its demise and eventual loss however can be attributed to the Local Authority, who for many years did nothing by way of enforcement orders on the various owners to maintain and repair the building. Eventually it was allowed to be vandalised and thus to fall into such a bad condition, it became unsafe. The then Conservation Officer refused to allow the Façade to be retained as part of a comprehensive development of the site, stating that it was Wigan Councils policy not to allow just the frontage to be retained as a stage set for something totally unrelated to be built behind, the footprint and layout of the former building had to be replaced. This resulted in stalemate and eventually demolition on the grounds of "safety". Not long after the Local Authority granted itself Planning Permission to demolish the interior of its Hewlett Street building, retain the façade and build new offices behind the old, original red brick and terracotta façade. Double Standards ????

The persons responsible should be hounded of office with the possibility of further charges of vandalism.

No worries Maureen. After fifty four years since being there. I was as confused as the next person. Especially with the traffic lights being shown. The Borough Treasure's offices would have been on the extreme right, of the shown building, with the entrance to the police station, midway, between. The Chief's, and Deputy Chief's offices, to the left of the entrance, with enquiry office to the right of the entrance.

Albert,I should have looked closer..I used to live in Warrington Lane,so had to walk by there every day...what am I like.

There's a familiar and sad pattern isn't there? Leave a wonderful , protected building to crumble, and sooner or later they can justify demolition on grounds of safety. And it's still happening across Wigan! Witness the Alfred Waterhouse Ince Cemetery Chapels - each year I pass by, they are a little more decayed...the roots of the shrubs penetrated a little more into the fabric of the buildings. Soon they will be no more and Wigan will be a lesser place for it.

Wigan Council spent a considerable amount of money attempting to serve an enforcement notice on the owner of the site. The owner was registered abroad and kept one step ahead of the council by regularly changing his registered location. A change in the law is required whereby, after a period of time, sites such as this revert to council ownership for nominal compensation.

It may have had an imposing facade, but my recollection is that it was a miserable gloomy place to work in, even in the 1950's.

Each to his own and I know from the tone of previous contributors that I will be shot down for my comments but, to my mind, along with several other Victorian/Edwardian monstrosities around the borough, it was a hideous building. No one was more pleased than I was to see it demolished.

Derek..everyone's entitled to their own opinion..beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Rodney st is at the top of the photo on the left corner the road in the right hand corner is little Chaple lane

DerekB I would like to know your view on the brocol house building.

There certainly wouldn't be such an uproar if the Brockle House monstrosity was condemned! The facade of the old buildings would have been ideal for concealing new offices if the authorities could have stepped in soon enough. The other monstrosity at the top of Millgate could have been combined as well surely. Mind you it is just pipe dream, an idea after the event, nothing comes easy with local authorities.

Footnote
Should be Brocol House

I am the fist to admit that our Town hall was not best example of some of the wonderful Municipal Town Halls, not just the big city like Manchester but similar Towns to Wigan such as Bolton and Rochdale which are truly magnificent. However it was OUR Town Hall and I always felt a sense of pride and belonging when I passed it as a Child . I remember being taken to see the Town Regalia in the Mayor's Chambers. Also going with my Mum to the Police station to ask if we could borrow a Police hat for use in the school play at St Catharines. I always wondered if the cells where underneath You can just see the fanlight widows to the basement on the photo. perhaps Albert knows.

However I also have to say that in later years (well after I had left Wigan n 1970 to into the big world) whenever I came to visit my Mum and Dad I felt very sad and ashamed as to what had happened. My Parents until they died lived off Darlington Street East. I would get off the train at Wigan and walk down King Street and Darlington Street and saw over 40 years how these areas declined from very spruce, interesting Streets to the truly awful.

Nothing summed it up more than the fate of the Old Town Hall which I saw decline into a wreck with weeds growing out of building and rubbish (and worse) strewn in the old doorways. Great Shame that those small things that gave out town distinctiveness and character. The Town Hall, The Cherry and White buses, Central Park, The Ritz, The Empress, The Grammar School (as a school) including the Mesnes Playing Field. The Market Hall and the Arcades.And these are just the obvious ones. All gone and not for the better. Having said that some of the open spaces such as the Canal etc have certainly improved - hence so many pictures I suppose,but the townscape has certainly gone downhill.

I am the fist to admit that our Town hall was not best example of some of the wonderful Municipal Town Halls, not just the big city like Manchester but similar Towns to Wigan such as Bolton and Rochdale which are truly magnificent. However it was OUR Town Hall and I always felt a sense of pride and belonging when I passed it as a Child . I remember being taken to see the Town Regalia in the Mayor's Chambers. Also going with my Mum to the Police station to ask if we could borrow a Police hat for use in the school play at St Catharines. I always wondered if the cells where underneath You can just see the fanlight widows to the basement on the photo. perhaps Albert knows.

However I also have to say that in later years (well after I had left Wigan n 1970 to into the big world) whenever I came to visit my Mum and Dad I felt very sad and ashamed as to what had happened. My Parents until they died lived off Darlington Street East. I would get off the train at Wigan and walk down King Street and Darlington Street and saw over 40 years how these areas declined from very spruce, interesting Streets to the truly awful.

Nothing summed it up more than the fate of the Old Town Hall which I saw decline into a wreck with weeds growing out of building and rubbish (and worse) strewn in the old doorways. Great Shame that those small things that gave out town distinctiveness and character. The Town Hall, The Cherry and White buses, Central Park, The Ritz, The Empress, The Grammar School (as a school) including the Mesnes Playing Field. The Market Hall and the Arcades.And these are just the obvious ones. All gone and not for the better. Having said that some of the open spaces such as the Canal etc have certainly improved - hence so many pictures I suppose,but the townscape has certainly gone downhill.

Carolaen. The cells where to the rear of the front office, as you went down towards the parade room. The parade room door exited into Little Chapel Lane, and to the Darlington Street side of the Fire Station. In the parade room there was always a big fire going, with a massive kettle, supported on a mettle lever, from it you brewed your mug of tea. You had little metal canisters, sugar at one end, tea at the other end. Once brewed, get rid of the sailing logs of tea.

Haven't got a clue as to why my comment has appeared twice !!. I only pressed the Submit button once. Must be boggarts in the system.

Owd fossil - in response to your query as to how I feel about Brocol House - like so many others from the same period it is a 1960s hideous building but, and this is only my opinion, none of them as ugly as Victorian/Edwardian architecture. A recent news report indicated that Manchester Town Hall (presumably the building in Albert Square) urgently requires millions of pounds to be spent to prevent it from virtually falling down - surely it would be financially and aesthetically far better to take a wrecking ball to it and build something more fit for purpose in the 21st century?