Wigan Album

Great photo, wish I had a pound for every time i've said "I'll meet you outside Lowes" Happy Days!

It was either Lowes or Woolies corner. Waiting with anticipation, best suit and with an ample splashing of OLD SPICE<g> Then you had to decide which cinema to go to.
Great Times. Glad I was growing up then 60's and not now...

I also made my first date with my wife to meet there 52 years ago, it was the best thing I ever did

Father Christmas used to climb up a ladder and go in through a hatch in the roof and as he climbed the ladder he pretended to slip and all the children watching would give a big "ooh" Happy days!!

A hushed atmosphere, creaky floors,personal service.....it was like Grace Bros. in "Are You Being Served?". I loved it. AND it had a ghost! And we thought it was really posh to go in Lowe's cafe!

Remember Lowes's cafe well, and I seem to recall that Lowes had a lift as well, could be wrong. Few shops had a lift in those days, Pendlebury's had one and Woolworth's had the big escalator. When I was a kid I used to love going in those places just to use them.

Lowe's should never have been built in that area. Or any shops for that matter. They block what would be a fantastic view of the church and grounds.

You're right about it being like Grace Bros. I remember when our next-door-neighbour Edna took me for a swimming cap when I was about ten. I was excited all week waiting to go. I was treated like a lady when I got there and they helped me to try on about five different designs. Oh, thanks for this photo and bringing back the memories, I swear I can still remember the smell. :)

Sounds just like what I used to get up to Ron. On a wet night it would be absloutely packed in that doorway. The best thing was that it was usually the first time you saw your date in the light, as it was usually pretty dark in the Casino, or in the Room at the Top when you made your arrangements, so you weren't exactly sure what you were letting yourself in for. It also worked the other way to of course, she would see you, spots and all. How many must have sidled along the front of Lowes pretending to be window shopping, trying nonchalently to catch a glipse of your date before she clocked you!!!! There should be a re-union

Gary, that view was available very briefly in the late 80s after Lowes was demolished and before Barclay's Bank was built.

I started work at Lowes in 1960. It was a great place to work.and as some have mentioned at lot like Grace Bros.,we had several Mrs.Slocombes and a couple of Mr. Humpherys. The story about the ghost was believed by the majority of the staff . When owned by the Lowe Family it was an icon of of quality and service.Takenover in1963 by Greenwoods (Gents Outfitters), and although it retained the name the whole ethos changed. It gradually declined and closed. Most people in Wigan thought it an expensive to shop,it wasn't really ,they only ever sold the best of brands and the highest quality merchandise . Sadly shops offering this type of service, and emphasis on quality, couldn't survive in todays climate. The writing was on the wall when supermarkets arrived on the scene,and started selling everything pots and pans to washing machines. I noticed recently some have insalled a key cutting device,they can't possibly make a profit from that,but of course that is not the idea,the rational behind that is to stop the public visiting any other outlet ,and heaven forbid a privately owned shop.

I love the ghost story, Thomas, and believe it.

Selfridge's is privately owned

I remember Mr Jimmy (Lowe), Mr Kay, and Leo the odd-job man. And the girls in the accounts department.

Horace your spot on owd lad. brought a little titter out of me.

lowes , what a place .used to go there after swimming for pasty and gravy mm can taste it now.Bought my first conformation dress from there, loved that shop

My sister was company sec at Lowes, Eileen Mcdonald , known as Mrs Mac, She sadly died 2 years ago, anyone know her?

Mrs Mac! I remember her! She was a great character and would often burst into song! Sorry to hear she's passed away. I can't remember any of the other girls' names, but they were quite, er, a lively lot...

used to go out with a girl who worked there. kathleen bennett was her name. wonder what happened to her

it did have a lift because we used to stop it inbetween floors on our way for pastie and gravy at dinner time from tommy more1

My First Day at Work.
By Tom Walsh .

I leave home in a very nervous state,I've been awake half the night,
wondering what the day held in store,would the men be nice,would I be able to come home at dinner time(lunch for southern cousins). My Mother made the morning more anxious, "Have you got a clean handkerchief ", "Have you cleaned your shoes", Have you got your dinner money,(Interpretation time again,lunch)."Mam"I yell back, "Stop fussing I'll be alright if you'll just stop fussing,please",I'm not bothered at all,about going to work,it's just you keep going on"which of course is a complete lie, I don't think I have ever felt so scared in my life.

I start my journey into the new world. I had secured a job,at Lowes ,
a very posh department store,a week before,as an apprentice carpet fitter,considered a very good trade in those days,I felt very fortunate to have landed a position in such a prestigious establishment. I think this sentiment was shared by most of my family,and by all of my teachers, I hadn't performed well at school,
spelling being my biggest drawback,(Thank God,for spell check).
In those unenlightened times ,poor spelling consigned you to the scrap heap. As I nearer the emporium,I start to think I wish I hadn't been so fortunate, I think a less posh place of work would have suited me better. I'm from a mining family,but from my earliest days it had been drilled into me," your not going down the pit ", my Dad had been hurt in a pit fall,and my maternal Grandfather had lost a leg in similar circumstances, but if not there,where?. The world certainly wasn't my oyster. In the mile or so walk from home to shop,I convince myself once again,that I am indeed fortuitous.






On reaching the Market Square, I look up at the imposing
edifice,that was Lowe's Victoria House, a Cathedral to poshness.
Even though I caught the bus for school immediately outside there everyday for four years, I had never dared enter its portals,until I went for interview,Mr.Lowe said my well written letter had impressed him, and got me to the interview stage,I had enough nous not say my sister helped me,in truth she had written it,and I merely copied the missive . My Mother likewise had never entered the hallowed halls, nor I expect had the vast majority of my extended family,far to grand for the likes of us !. As I gaze up,awaiting the courage to enter,I start again to ponder again my suitability for the position,and wished I hadn't answered the advertisement a fortnight earlier. I would surely have found something less daunting and better suited to my background, but here goes I must face the consequences of that much pored over letter,that has landed me in this predicament .

On the day of my interview,I was told my start time would be eight o'clock,but on the first day I would be meet b Mr.Marshall,Furnishing Workroom Manager,at nine o'clock ,and he would introduce me to the staff and show me the ropes.I enter the building just as the Parish Church clock chimes nine.A tall distinguished looking man approaches me."Are you our new recruit" he asks in a decidedly officer type accent."Yes Sir" I mumble,trying to keep my voice as low as possible,it rises three octaves when I'm in a stressful situation. "No need for sir ,your not at school now ,Mr.Marshall will do nicely" he says in a firm abrupt way,I find out in the years ahead was his style of speaking. We take the lift to the top floor, I relived that we don't use the stairs,as I imagine everybody is looking at me,and wondering how I'II fit in,worse still if I'II fit in.

We reach the workroom,it's all very formal,as was everything at Lowes I shake hands with all the carpet fitters,seven in all.and the four lady seamstresses . The ladies are all lovely ,and do everything to make me feel at ease, one in particular seems to take a shine to me , Betty , who I discover lives near to me ,we walk home together everyday,and she becomes a confidant ,and trusted adviser on workroom politics. We are great friends to this day, a few years latter we are to share the same surname when she marries my cousin Jim,a small world !. All the men seem very friendly and welcoming,apart from one,who whilst he shook hands,seemed anything less than pleased to see me, I shan't name him in case he still roams the planet,although I doubt it,as these events are over fifty yeas ago,and he appeared to be in his forties then. I learn later that it was nothing personal,he drinks heavily ever weekend and is in a foul mood on Monday mornings.

The formality of the first day, and my time at The Cathedral has stayed with me for the rest of my life. I can but wonder why many younger people clap each others hand in the sky,so to speak,I learned only recently,this called a high five,and is in the modern day equivalent of the handshake. I am relieved to say I have never been offered a high five,and hope the occurrence doesn't present it's self in my lifetime, how's that for being "stuffy",sorry, don't blame me,blame Lowes.

The formality of the meetings continue as I'm coached in shop etiquette. In the unlikely event ,in the first few weeks at least,I should need to speak to a female customer she should be addressed as Madam,a gentlemen as Sir,the second would come easier as I'm used to that form of address at school, and whilst I had to use Madam,I didn't feel totally comfortable with its usage. After Lowes was taken-over. I addressed female customers by their surname or in absence of that knowledge, by the much less formal Miss.

That first day seemed everlasting,my first duty was to go for toast to The UCP(United Cattle Products)they had a cafeteria at the back of the shop,a strange combination ,when you come to think about it,
tripe at the front ,and tea and toast at the rear,however that's how it was,and I was to become a frequent customer in the years ahead,going for morning snacks for all the workroom. On this first visit I had got flummoxed (what a good word,spellcheck has just confirmed it as being in the dictionary,hitherto I had always thought it slang) ,and as you may of guessed the biggest mixup was with the fitter with the hangover,who seemed in an even more aggressive mood as the day goes on ,he threatens to thump me if I ever get his order wrong again. "He's only joking he's a soft as my pocket underneath "says Betty trying to reassure me. I'am not so certain, he has a mean look on his face and I imagine that a smile has never visited his thin angry looking lips . I remember thinking I hope he doesn't frequent his local again this week,and that his disposition changes with sobriety. Whilst he appeared slightly more approachable on days other than Mondays,he was always disagreeable and once carried out his threat to punch me because I got his order wrong from Millgate Chippy. I've never seen him since leaving Lowes , and I feel I would prefer a meeting with Lucifer than an encounter with him. Please forgive the hyperbole.

Mr.Marshal greets me as I enter the shop bang on one o'clock , on my first day I had decided to go home for lunch,the poshness is rubbing off already, until that day I had always used the more northern term dinner. Mr. M.as the workroom staff always refer to him,tells me in no uncertain manner that one o'clock start means just that , in the workroom not the front door of the emporium, "sorry sir, I mean Mr. Marshall" I utter in a pitch as high as violin,nerves doing their best to make me look,and sound ridiculous. " Don't let it happen again or you'll be looking for another job" he says in the brusque way that was his want. I half expected him to follow it up with and you'll leave without references,so Dickensian did he and whole store seem on that first day. It was that very attitude that I later I came to accept, no, I actually came to like ,and traces of this old fashioned way of doing things are with me to this day!.

It is a real pleasure to read all these comments. Have heard a lot about Lowe's of Wigan since my childhood. James Lowe was my great Grandfather's brother. His name was John Lowe and he ran Lowe's of Atherton, employing his 7 children in various ways in or for the shop. Those were the days indeed!

I remember going to Lowes for lunch out with my mum and sister in the 80s. I can still remember the meal - tomato soup with bread roll, chicken roast dinner and apple pie and squirted cream! Always the same.