Wigan Album

Just what I need mick for my old photos album.....thank you :)

Glad to help, Lizzie.

Could the house in the distance be Deandane, at the bottom of Gathurst brew near the canal?

Wonderful set of postcards Mick. When I looked at this one I wondered if this was a scene my grandparents would have known when they first moved to Gathurst from Scotland in the early 1900's.

I remember my good friend buying Dane Dean in the fifties and it was much smaller then.The photo looks to big for the cottage but I could be wrong.Maybe it is looking towards Lock House.

Maybe it was the house by the weir that was demolished in the sixties.

I think Dave Marsh may be right - in the Matthew Walters album in the Old Gallery there's a pic in which a footbridge leads over the weir to a cottage - and you can see such a footbridge leading to the cottage here.

The picture is taken from the railway embankment looking towards Gathurst Road. The house in the foreground would have been the lock house for the douglas navigation which is around 1/4 of a mile further down the douglas towards dean wood than the through lock from the canal to the navigation. The canal is the dark line in the centre of the picture and the footbridge in the picture is over the overflow for the canal and the douglas navigation. The line of trees in the upper right section of the photo is pretty much where the gathurst viaduct is. The trees in the background are those up Gathurst Hill. The footbridge centre left would have been the towpath bridge over the arm of the canal that led to the locks in the douglas and the house is the lock house which still stands at Gathurst Locks. At least thats my interpretation of it.

centre of picture left of sign post is that the stone wall near to the now lock house is the building not to far to the right to be deandane cant weight it up

the building in the distance is milk house cottage,which was one of the dean wood cottages.

My Great Aunt Freda Halsall was born at 'Milk House Cottage' in Deans Wood, Shevington 1934. She has told me about the well etc. My Great Grandparents Richard Halsall and Jane (Pennington ) lived there with their Children for a short time. One of the Children was my Grandad Albert Halsall. My Great Grandma planted a white Rose Bush I believe it might still be there.