Wigan Album

I wonder what happened to all those cobbles?

Arthur. It is fortunate that people such as yourself, had the foresight to photograph these historic occasions. Many people have fond memories of the Market Square.

What memories!!! The Park and Whelans in the background etc.Silcock,s fair being on there.

A wealth of memories,!!!Ifyou are a true wiganer. What about the whit walks? All the buses and coaches and market days? People leaving the square to go on holidays at Wigan week? it certainly beat what we have now and thats a fact! It was the heart of Wigan.

About half past midnight, on a morning in 1959, I was on duty on the Market Square, where I caught this chap with a lorry spare wheel that he had stolen from one of the parked up lorries. In those days there were no personal radios, so I had to manhandle him to the telephone box, on the bus station. Whilst trying to dial 999 for assistance, and hold on to the phone, he broke my grip on him, and he scarpered across the square. Fortunately the driver of a lorry saw what was happening, and he drove his lorry into Market Street, and cornered him, also the duty sergeant was coming down Market Street, and grabbed hold of him. The thief was also previously known to me, so a satisfactory conclusion was the result.

Good memories, nearly everything visible on this photo is long since gone, thanks for this Arthur.

Albert my grandfather William Matthews served the Borough Police Force during the 1950's - perhaps you have some recollection :-)

Used to cross there most mornings to get from the LUT bus stop near to the toilets to get to school. Those cobblestones would have been worth a couple of Bob.

Although we were not on the same section Andrew, I knew your grandfather well. Although it was a small police force, it was an efficient police force, and as such we all knew each other well. On leaving the police service, didn't your grandfather go into teaching?.

A lot of those cobbles became the backfill for the foundations of the then Building Department office blocks in the council depot yard down Christopher Street Ince, the rest were more than likely dumped on the Amberswood tip.

The cobbles would have been ground down and recycled.

About the time of the date given a very large amount of cobbles were stored on waste land at the back of Leyland Park in Hindley.I wonder if they were from the old market.

Sorry, I saw a date which I first read as 1966 when re- development started, I was just beginning to write to tell you the date couldn't be right, but when I looked again after I had changed my glasses it was 1986, my intended correction was stopped dead. Sorry

As an 18 year old LUT bus conductor , on early shift , had to get 4am Wigan Corp staff bus from Enfield Street, via Wigan depot to bus station for LUT staff bus at 4.25 am , to swap bus at Hindley Bird at 4.40 am at LUT Hindley.... for 4.45 stand-by . Loved it ! Not so on Saturdays though.... Corpy staff bus was 4.15 so too late.... so had to walk it from Norley to Wigan for 4.25 am