Wigan Album

I imagine that bungalow would have been a palace for the disabled tenant. It is really lovely for the time it was built. It's a building full of character.

That's just lovely..a bit bigger than mine isn't it Ron.

Ron,I think this is at the top of Norley Avenue.

And they were built proper, too, in comparison to todays 'half a million pound and counting' plasterboard covered timber rubbish !

Some years ago we moved into a house in Warrington Lane..which looked just ordinary from outside,but it was lovely inside,and when the children were in their bedrooms and I shouted them down for their tea,they could hardly hear me.they were that well built..but of course like typical Wigan planners we all had to move...and what is in place now...a car park with about six cars in..stupid planners,I was in heaven in that house.

School Way, Norley Hall

It really does look a nice, light, comfortable place with your armchair pulled up to the fire on nights like this

Yes, Spenian, It is School Way, Norley Hall. The picture is a bit decieving,
it is actually 2 semi-detached bungalows, numbers 1 and 3 School Way.
Whoever took the picture manged to hide the front door of number 3
and give the impression of much larger house.

I thought it was a semi detached bungalow. It's still a lovely well built property. I wouldn't be surprised if it was purchased later on by the scheme that was brought out. It can only have improved even more over the years. Better built by the councils than any private ones.

Ron,I think this is at the top of Norley Avenue.

Silly iPad got hiccups again.

Ron , between Norley Hall/ Worsley Hall and Marsh Green , there was a stretch of land we played football on we called Daisy Hill . Sadly and obviously this must no longer be there , but can you or others tell me what became of this land . I can only think housing , but which way did it go ? This land was a clear dividing line in my day and both marked their own , but which faded in later years . When Tom and others write about Scholes and its individual identity , there is very little insight , which is then pushed to a generalisation of
how those of us lived on Council Estates . Wigan , in my experience , had a much more smaller experience , streets alone , upon which they formed communities .
Two streets away they named and saw things different . Orwell was a generalisation. In my experience a community could and was - one single street .
They were far smaller but so equally important . I suppose it is how each person see the term community or the term village - do you see it as how it was , or how it is written in a dictionary, as how it should be . One street or two street communities , existed !
I hate generalisation, not village , hamlet , but streets , These are what made Wigan .

I don't know about other areas but Scholes and St Pat's Parish were a close knit community and there was quite a few streets around the church itself. Even if parishioners lived streets away we knew most people. I think that was the glue that bound people, besides being descended from the Irish as well. As long as you went to St Pat's everybody seemed to know one another or knew of people indirectly. That's how I saw Scholes anyway. I have never come across a community like it. I think you had to be born there. I imagine St Joseph's as well in Wallgate and St Mary's in Greenough St.

Yes Veronica,Wallgate was just the same,I'm so proud of the place where I grew up and could write a book about it..have you ever read the thread 'Wallgate Streets and families' it might have been on before you joined WW,it went on for ages..so many people telling their individual tales of being brought up there..the community was rock solid and I think every other household had Irish connections including my lovely little Grandma.. her and my Grandad only lived at the top of our street,so being lonely was never an option even though my Mam always went out to work..my Grandma always had a beautiful bottle green ribbon that she would put in my hair on St Pats day..sadly communities are a thing of the past now,and we've lost something very precious.

Maurenn. If you mean the bungalow on the corner of Norley Hall Avenue and Rosehill Avenue that's privately owned and was privately built (not a council build).
It was there before Norley Hall estate was built.
The one in the photo has been correctly identified as being on School Way off Norley Hall Avenue.

I have read some of the Wallgate thread Maureen as you know my mam was born in that street and her mother died there and grandparents / relations as well. ( They were Non Conformists - I think they went to the Queen's Hall). Communities were much closer then. I think both wars had something to do with it as well. People helped one another more.

It states in the 1951 handbook it was Council built Tony. It may well have been one of the first ones to go up on the council estate. I had a friend who went to live up there in 1956 - I thought they were ever so posh! People looked after their houses in those days and took pride in their gardens, if I remember. My grandad went to a Council house in Pemberton on the Worsley Hall estate and it was lovely . I don't know what they are like now, but they were very well built.

Dave if you can pinpoint the land in question on a contemporary map we will be able to tell you what's there now.

Veronica,I've looked everywhere for a particular photo of Great George St that I'm almost sure shows where your .mum used to live..I'm almost sure that we spoke about it before..I'll just keep on looking.

Thank you Maureen - that's kind of you. I think they moved up Pemberton in the late 30's.

Veronica,I can't find the photo in question. at all,if you come across the one of our street with a young man looking at the camera would you let me know please.

Pity they didn't build more! The housing some of our disabled residents have to live in is a disgrace and we have gone backwards not forwards in this respect

Only just seen your comment Maureen , I have looked on Grt George St, but not seen the photo you are referring to. Ta anyway, might come across it by accident sometime.

The bungalows are in school way Norley hall, the one one the right is number one and the other is number three.
This photo was probably taken inside number three when the first occupant lived there, I lived in number three in the seventies and that fireplace was still there