Wigan Album

Yes, and look at the character it has compared to Marketgate....what a shame. And just look at those forties fashions.....what pride people took in their appearance.

The shop on the left I think was Waterworths Fruit and Veg and on the right was Bakers jewellers.

such a shame !!!

Hunter's and WAterworth's were sadly lost when commercial Yard was demolished to make way for the now deserted Wigan Centre Arcade (Marketgate.) Baker's still survives now run by Goldsmith's.

In the the late fifties my wife was employed at "Bakers Jewell Casket" as was her friend, whom she still keeps in touch with, and now lives in Durham.

I remember a February teatime in Wigan. It was dusk and we had just gone over to decimal currency, and an elderly lady outside Waterworth's was so happy because she had just treated herself to a bunch of daffs.... "They're only ninepence" she said, but of course they were 9p, which was around 1/9d old money, and I tried to explain, standing there in the cold and dark, but she obviously didn't understand and I felt so sorry for her because what little pension she had wasn't going to go very far as she just couldn't accept the context of the new decimal money.I was only 18 and am now 60, but I have never forgotten her, and hoped she understood in the end. Isn't it odd the memories these photos bring back? And how lovely that we are able to share them.

That shop wasn't Hunters when Marketgate was built. I worked at Hunters when it was on Standishgate in the 1980's. Loved working there.

Hunters shop was oppsite Laces tool shop and up the side of that was an entry up to the Empire Cinema. There was a wheelwrights shop at the top past the Empire and there was an occasion one night in the 40's when "someone" rolled a cartwheel down the entry and it went across Market place and through Hunters shop door or window. There was yobbos in those days too

Nice photo - the shop looks nice and so does above the shop. I never new that was Marketgate - I always thought it was Market Place or Standishgate.

I think that Hunters became a branch of Hepworths, who were a Yorkshire based chain of mens tailors.

Maggie, that WAS on the border of Market Place/ Standishgate. When those shops were demolished it was to make room for a shopping-centre called The Central Arcade, which was dismal and did little business, so they tried doing it up to make it more attractive and re-named it Marketgate.....it still never really took off, unfortunately.It's still dimal with very few shops.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Irene - Marketgate is the made up name for the Arcade. I thought I couldn't remember Marketgate from my youth - thanks for that.

That window frontage of Hunters Chemist on the Marketplace, ended up in the Wigan Pier exhibition "The Way We Were"

What did happen to all the Wigan Pier site, last we heard it was closed prior to being developed, has that happened? It was, as Wallace said to Gromit, "a grand day out!"

Catherine, Marketgate is the old Wigan Centre Arcade. Demoliton work on the old Hunters and Waterworths buildings started early in 1971 along with the Old Arcade, Commercial Yard and a block of shops on Market Street down to the junction with Woodcock Street. The Wigan Centre Arcade was built on the site and was "remodelled" in 1989 and became Marketgate then.

Al. C. I remember the Commercial Yard as my Mum's uncle ran the barber's shop in there. I can just remember going in there as a very small child. Wigan was full of nooks and crannies in those days.

Catherine, Wigan was a much nicer place for it too.