Wigan Album
ROWBOTTOM SQUARE
17 Comments
Photo: Cyril
Item #: 33357
Clare Abs has supplied the historical research of this part of Rowbottom Square, and very interesting it is too.
A house called Rowbottom House, believed to have been surrounded by ornamental gardens, once stood on the site where the Observer building now stands. The earliest map of Wigan we’ve been able to find showing Rowbottom Square is the 1827 Mather Map. At some time it changed hands and by 1848 it had become a Temperance Hotel with commercial and private rooms. run by Peter Grant.
In The Wigan Directory of 1869, we can see it had changed hands once again. It was still being run as a Temperance & Commercial Hotel, at 8 Rowbottom square by a Mr Thomas Nicholson.
Shortly after that listing from 1870 it became Wigan Post Office.
Thomas Wall had previously based all his businesses in the shops which were part of the Minorca building on the corner. But business was booming and time-consuming printing pressures forced Thomas to look elsewhere for expansion. He didn’t have to look far.
A 'Notes and Jottings' record from the Wigan Observer said that 'the insufficient accommodation at last impressed the Post Office's official mind and the powers in London asked Mr Wall to provide bigger premises'. Accordingly he bought the temperance hotel and transferred the post office until it moved on Monday, October 19, 1885, to the site on Wallgate across from Rowbottom Square. The rest is history.
As it was too early for photography to capture it a pity a painting or drawing showing Rowbottom House and the ornamental gardens it was situated in isn't around, or maybe there could be somewhere, I had no idea that such a grandiose property had once stood there in the town centre.
Cyril check this out from Colin Harlow.
Item number 19682 Thomas Wall bookseller and stationer.
Item number 18219 Historic building.
Item number 19221 Thomas Wall.
Very interesting story but I just cannot imagine the building surrounded with ornamental gardens. The last time I went In there was to order a copy of a wedding photograph from 1969.
The Same here Veronica. The Wigan Observer was founded in 1853 in this very building and nothing has changed since then.
Some history there Cyril. What is it used for now? It was the 1960s when I last went in.
In the 1940s I used to collect a quantity of Wigan Observers from these offices, on a Friday. I was then a paper lad for Tatum’s, in Spring View.
I had to get them back to the shop, but how I managed it, I cannot now, remember. I do remember that in the main office there was a painting of Royal Mail carrying ship. I always admired it.
Probably Colin Harlow can remember the painting. as far that I can remember, the ship’s name was the name of a United Kingdom Castle, but which, I do not remember. Such a long time ago.
Veronica, the house with the presumed ornamental gardens was there before this and the other buildings, and most likely would have been medieval.
I can as a small boy in the 1950s, remember seeing the name Wigan Examiner on columns outside a building on King Street near the old Town Hall. This was the name of a Wigan newspaper (rival to the Observer) which closed I think in the 1940s ? However as a young lad I was convinced for several years that this was the place where the man lived who marked the 11+ exam papers. I suspect m dad told me this as it was typical of his humour.
Does anyone remember the Examiner (and these offices) and know when it closed. I tried searching on Google and got nowhere
Albert , it was probably one of the Union Castle Line . I found a site iancoombes.tripod.com
which shows all the ships which may help you locate it to the picture . There is a very interesting piece history to read about , so thank you Albert for inadvertently giving me the link to it .
As someone else mentioned it would be good if there was a drawing of its previous existence Cyril. Pity the Post Office can't find a home there again.
Carolean, - the Wigan Examiner closed in 1961 according to the Wigan Local History and Heritage Society website. I remember the Tuesday (?) edition was very good for all the local sports results from the previous weekend
Rainh. I am almost sure it was the Carnarvon Castle, one funnel, depicted on the Union Castle web site ploughing through the sea, in full glory. I was always fascinated by the picture of it. It may not of been a painting, but a picture.
Carolaen, take a look at item number 12369 under Colin Harlow's comment it may answer
your question about the Wigan Examiner. Cheers.
Thanks for this Cyril. Re your original research, Peter Grant was my 3 x g grandfather, originally from the Strand area of London and Thomas Nicholson, a lowland Scot travelling draper from Dumfriesshire was his son-in-law and he had moved the Temperance Hotel to Dorning Street by 1871. Peter moved to Manchester in the late 1850s and ran a Temperance Hotel off Deansgate in the Cathedral area, returning to die in the Dorning St Hotel in 1878 aged 85 outliving Thomas by a year.
I’m currently researching Rowbottom Square on behalf of Wigan Local History and Heritage Society for a project ‘The Street That Was’ in the King Street Heritage Action Zone.
It’s such a fascinating area of Wigan and I’m really interested in the Rowbottom family of Rowbottom House and in Peter Grant and the Temperance Movement in Wigan. Thanks for the information John regarding Peter and Thomas, I’d love to hear more if you can help with this?
Malc, read the information and you'll find out about the Observer being in The Minorca buildings prior to being in the building shown.