Wigan Album
Orrell
17 CommentsPhoto: Derek Finch
Item #: 1585
At that time I believe it was owned and operated by George Brown and his son, Alan.
This is not correct. Mr George Brown did not own the mill, he was the Overlooker. He was also my Grandfather and, as a child, I used to take him his dinner to the mill. I do not know who owned the mill, I believe it was a Manchester company.
Very interesting stuff. I grew up in Norley/Orrell and was 11 years old in 1957 but I cannot remember this mill. Can anyone enlghten me as to exactly where it is/was, say from the White Swan on Fleet Street???
The Sandbrook Mill was between St James Road & Sandbrook Road. There was a footpath which went from Sandbrook Road to St James Road, next to the railway line. The footpath seperated the railway line from the Mill.
Thanks, Dennis,
This is the far side of Orrell from where I lived, so never went up that way much, but I was born in Billinge Hospital though and used to go up Billinge Hill quite a lot as kid.
i can spot my house there at the bottom right! end of mill road :)
I can see the house that i grew up in on there too! End terrace on St James's Rd. You can just make out the back alley which now leads on to Millcroft Ave.
Regarding the First post in this thread, Alan Liptrot?
Are you the same Alan that lives behind the vets..... Regan's Brick?
If so hows your Barry, not seen him in years.
I remember one night standing in my parents bedroom on Sandbrook road watching it burn. probably about 1962
What an astonishingly beautiful mill. Quite remarkable!
The mill also got on fire sometime in the early 70s and again I think one night in around 1978 during the fire brigade strike of that year, remember the green godesses were called out.
Takes me back to my childhood days. Playful merriment was to be had amongst the grounds of the old mill. Oh the stories i could tell.
The mill was owned by Manchester consortium and my grandfather, George Brown was Mill Manager with his son Alan, my father, as Deputy Manager.
I was brought up at 74 St James Rd and our back came out onto Mill Rd. I remember the paper mill (as we called it) and the old railway house were we used to make dens!! happy days.
hello mike sharkey (brother) we used to walk up the line to the pub queens arms lol happy days
This picture take me back to my childhood days aswell we all used to play around the papermill,the line we used to walk up was always muddy in the winter and the fence was made out of old railway sleepers just across the railway lines was the coal yard and the place we called the lodge some people used to fish in there lol a few years ago i went back for a walk it was all filled in lol yes i did jump over the railway wall to get there, we all must of done that the top of the wall is so smooth with us all doing that. we used to jump over that wall to go on the school field to play footy i bet you cant do that now (all fenced in)
This brings back memories of walking to school along Sandbrook Road, when UGS was in it's last three school years at that site. Happy days. Thanks for posting, Derek.
My uncle John Winstanley and Aunty Joyce Winstanley lived at number 30 St James Road - many happy days spent there. I lived on Sandbrook road looking over the mill from the back of the house. Used to walk along the line side through from queens arms to the end of mill lane. The good old days now everything is housing
We used to live at 74 St James Rd and our back garden came out on Mill Rd.
We knew it as the paper mill and I can remember the sleepers making a wall between the road and the railway house and garden.
Playmates were Julie and Lynn Blackburn and Lesley Ackerly who all lived on Mill Rd.
Stanley and Eric (I think Winstanley) were a bit older than us so we didn't hang around with them.
I can't imagine how many footballs must be down the banking (in the brambles) near the lines after playing in the Secondary Modern hockey goals.