Wigan Album

Did this become the old Frog Lane Hospital in Frog Lane prior to being close and demolished possibly early 1970s

It was a hospital in the 60s, my granddad was in there, he worked in the pit from 13 to 65, he was very well looked after at Frog Lane.

Don't you think this is a lovely building, Wigan council at it again.

After it was Frog Lane Hospital it, or part of it, was occupied by the Makerfield Water Board. A mate of mine, can't recall why, but he worked the switchboard there overnight. We used to call on our way home from the pub to play cards with him till the early hours.

Perhaps, Owdviewer, you're not as old as you like to put across - the Workhouses, whatever they were subsequently used for, were hated. My dad refused, in the 1980s, to be taken to our local hospital in Liverpool - because it had been the Workhouse. I was at the opening of the Housing Association buildings now on the site - and the then Rector, Malcolm Forrester, expressed the feeling that many in the community were glad to finally have seen the back of these hated buildings.

Rev David if this was a one off OK but I was meaning the amount of buildings we have lost in the past.

My grandfather died in frog lane hospital he never wanted to be admitted.said it was the workhouse

In the days before State Pensions became the norm and after a great many reforms the old Workhouses did a very good job of caring for old people who could no longer care for themselves and had no family willing or able to do the job. Sadly they never lost the terrible fear and loathing that they rightly earned in Victorian times.

Old doesn't necessarily mean it is better than new. I agree a lot of buildings demolished are better than what replaced them but just blaming the council when most were demolished by private companies and individuals is unfair. If no-one demolished anything then the same people would complain because everything looked old and tatty.