Wigan Album

I know this little pond well and never new there was a rowing club there - how rich must they have been? Shame it it had to go.

original photo or out of a book?
demolished? destroyed by fire I thought

The boathouse was burnt and vandalised in the '50's.
My friend rowed there and he was certainly not rich.

Boathouse just left to go to rack and ruin, we used to watch the rowers usually on a weekend.

For the benefit of the 'younger' members, where would this be located on a modern map? Ta.

It was at the end of Hall Lane off Leyland Mill lane

Carol - walk through the Plantations up the main drive to the hall, and when you reach the bridge over the canal, turn left onto the towpath, towards Red Rock. The basin is only a short distance along.

If you go to; PLACES. HAIGH. There are a couple of pictures of the Boat House. You can see, in relation to the canal bridge, where it was

Hello Panc - your friend may not have been rich but those in this 1930's photo don't look poor. Still it's a nice photo.

That water was known as "The Basin", which gave an alternative name to Hall Lane...Locally, "Basin Lane"

In 1956 I was a cox (age 14) for WRC. No one was particularly rich. Tom Malone, the Club Captain, was a teacher. The club membership was dwindling at that time because the basin was too silted up for boats to get in and out easily. We had to launch the fours bow first and shot them through the bridge so the crew could get in at the canal bank. Only skiffs and dinghies could use the club dock properly. There were no funds for dredging and little to maintain the boathouse. The club was unable to attract serious rowers because the canal itself is too narrow for racing; it is only usable for training to race elsewhere. The boathouse became a target for vandalism and eventually was destroyed, but it was in poor shape for a long time before that.