Wigan Album

Not many potholes about then, brilliant job Colourised Keith, but I think the B/W photo is right for that era and is meant to be. That's only my opinion.

That's lovely, Keith. Your colourisations work so well because you use muted colours rathe than bright, which enhance the photos without making them look modern. That's lovely.

Looking at the two photos side-by-side after reading Mark's comment , I can see Mark's point of view.....there IS something about the original that is "right" for the era; however, Keith does a good job and has added life to many of the old Wigan photos.

Thank you Mark and Irene, I couldn’t agree more, I was in two minds after colourisation as to whether I should post or not, since both versions have their own ‘quality’ so to speak.

That’s more like it…especially the bus . Very good Keith.

Keith this is not a criticism by any means, you do an excellent colourisation to many photos in the past and I find them really good and interesting. Your a true professional.
As I said, the photo shown on here is only my opinion, and who am I.
Thanks to Keith and Irene.

That is where I banked back in 1965.

I think the stonework was not that clean back then.

The shoulder bags are repurposed gas mask bags: they had manufactured over 60 million of them, so there were lots around, even right through the 1960's.

Back in '65, I used to catch the early morning stopping train to Preston from North-Western Station. It mostly conveyed people to work at Leyland Motors, I could have alighted from that very bus to catch my train. I recall by 7-00 am, the scene on weekdays would be busier, but this could be earlier, or at weekend.

The streetlamps- remember the long rectangular shape- they seem to be retrofitted to the poles which carry them. The lamppost to the right still sports a finial atop, that on the left having lost its finial. It looks possible that these are the original poles which carried the tramline wires, being reused for lighting.

I think some photos emit a feel or sense of remembrance that transports you back perfectly to a place that many years ago was so familiar - this I think is one of those rare photos.

I do remember those bags on shoulder straps Strangeloop, and remember they could be got at Kay's or the Army & Navy Store, so you saw many men with them and most likely carrying their lunch, they were a good buy and perfect for that with being pretty much waterproof.
Caught a bus many a time too where the man is stood outside Frames Travel, it wasn't signposted as such though all buses going along there both Corporation and Ribble could be requested to stop there, if the driver had the mind to do so that is, very often and especially if a bus was already stopped there, then yours and other folks' buses too would go zooming past, leaving everyone cursing the driver.

I agree with Mark.
This is not a criticism, far from it. But I don't think the colourisation on this particular photo has enhanced it and brought it to life.
In my humble opinion, it has done the opposite.
Some photos look a lot better when colourised, sadly ( in my opinion ) this is not the case in this instance.

The only thing that's changed colour is the bus.

I do like it Keith, black & white film rolls were king back then as they could be picked up free, with another free film roll enclosed with your processed photos, and they were much cheaper than having a colour film roll processed plus you didn't get colour films free.
To my mind the colourisation certainly has brought out the colours within the photo, unfortunately though, the misty haze from the many smoking chimneys of the time will always be there, and on looking at the lighting column the original Wigan Corporation colours of green and cream can be made out. Thanks Keith, that is the Wallgate that I knew then - and the colours too.

Fantastic pic. 1960s Wallgate is a far better image for the town than the Wallgate of 2025.

Didn’t the District Bank later become the NatWest at this building? There is still a square shape in the brickwork to this day where the ATM used to be.

CJ

Thank you all for those positive comments. Cyril, I was an ‘early’ convert to b/w roll film, having developed my first film in the mid 1950’s aged 14. I can still recall the excitement as I viewed the results. As you say in those days they were so much cheaper than colour prints. Today the cost of processing a b/w film is eye watering, how times change.

Can't help about the bank CJ. Though in the 1990s I remember it became an Irish pub, and they had student nights resulting in students and those not all getting off their heads on Poteen, even Tesco sold it then and was quite cheap too, until the price went up, and even now it it's quite expensive, if you can find it.

District Bank did, indeed, become part of National Westminster Bank, along with National Provincial Bank (which was located on Market Street) and Westminster Bank (on Standishgate). The building still exists.

Quite a lot of banks in Wigan back in the day.
Williams and Glynns, Martins Bank. I have got a Williams and Deacons bank in my head but I can'r remember where it was. Also I can't remember where Martins bank was although there was a bank just past the Moon pub heading towards the Wiend?