Wigan Album

The slaughterhouse was still standing in 1974 even though the terraced houses had gone. My first instinct was right then, it was nearer to the junction of Cambridge St rather than Birkett Bank. Thanks Ron.

When I was a taxi driver Hardybutts was the bane of my life. It is divided in two and I invariably went to the wrong half. I eventually made a list of the house numbers for each half. Another even worse is Diggle Street, Springfield cut in two by a playground and don't get me started on Isabella Square, Scholes.

When I lived in Hardybutts the road wasn't split in two as it is now, it was one long road from the bottom of Hardybutts through to Birkett Bank. I think the splitting up caused a lot of inconvenience, especially if attending St Pat's church. It was nearer for those people living in the flats to start going to St John's or St Mary's for Mass. The whole community went 'bust' after what I call 'The Clearance' of Scholes. To my mind it was akin to ''The Clearances' in Scotland, albeit on a smaller scale! Scholes was never the same close knit community ever again. The Scholes of today is nothing like the Scholes of yesteryear.

I was born in 136 hardybutts.
Next door but one to the black bull shop. And moved to 1 hardybutts . The lodging house . The slaughter house was just at top of the street hardybutts onto Cambridge St. Not near birket bank. A cow escaped and ran through my aunties bettys house in Union St.

Veronica, the Americans called it 'Relocation to Reservations' or these days Ethnic Cleansing!