Wigan Album

What a brilliant photo, Veronica! It makes me wish I had known the Scholes that you knew. We DID have a "temp" on Ince Bar, also selling hot Vimto. I can see what I THINK are glass jars of Brylcreem at the far side of the window and what looks like a tin of Andrews' Liver Salts looking like "Billy-No-Mates" all on its tod halfway up the window on the right, flanked by what looks like Aspro headache tablets....you used to buy a sixpenny "tape" of Aspro rather than a packet.....a long thin pink "tape" with the tablets held inside. On the wall to the right of the window there appears to be an advert for Motor Tours and it says "Book Here"....I remember when coach operators ran "Evening Tours" and you could book them at certain shops instead of in the coach-operators' offices. The tiles under the window remind me of the chiropodists in Hindley, ( who is a lad I was at school with, actually!). There are original green tiled under the window of his shop with the name "Melia's" still written there from the days when it was Melia's Grocers. What a lot of detail in this brilliant photo!

I have to own up Irene. I was aged about 3 and I was helping myself to a toffee or two out of the window. Mr Worthington told my poor mam off as she hadn’t seen me! I got my legs smacked for that…!

It was a crying shame that the councillor's of the time were persuaded to demolish all of these shops, some dating back centuries, I know they were intent on being rid of the cloth cap and Whippet music hall joke that they imagined Wigan had, but a lot of these buildings were here well before men began wearing Tricorn hats and kept English Setters.

That’s very true Cyril. I had forgotten most of the mock Tudor over some of the buildings. All for a blasted ring road that most folk hate.
Well I do!
You’re right too Irene every corner shop sold items that were really inconsequential things such as shirt buttons and combs and pins and gas mantels etc. etc . etc. not forgetting darning wool on a card for Dad’s socks! You would have to travel far and wide these days for things like that. They’re var near extinct!

That's true, Veronica. Little cards hung up all over the shop holding combs, ballpoint pens, pencil-sharpeners, babies' dummies and little bottles of patent medicines in which our Mams had such faith! I actually have an original card with darning wool on, some cone-shaped bags for toffees, some bags advertising "Brooke Bond Tea" and some paper carrier bags with string handles. I also have an original metal shop-sign advertising Brooke Bond Tea with 4d a lb. off!! A bargain!

is brought what was in this old Scowlers day Reg Sutton's gents out fitters?
Mrs Worthington was famous in the aftermath of war for only allowing 5 Woodbines if one bought all 5 Pasha

Oddly enough, I can't remember Broughs dyers and cleaners at all. Would Reg Sutton's mens outfitters have been to the right of this?

I would have thought to the left on this photo Derek. I do vaguely remember Brough’s. The chemist was to the right on this photo..

More lost buildings with character, thanks Veronica.

Thanks Veronica. Looking more closely I can see the word outfitters on the shop to the left and an advert for attaboy, which I seem to remember was a brand name for menswesar.

Derek . If you look at the window blind below attaboy it has the name Reg Sutton printed on it. I remember it was the only place my grandfather would buy trousers as they exactly the same as trhose he had bought in the 1920s !

On the other side of Worthingtons shop on Scholes itself there was a window set in to the building where you could buy an ice cream without going into the shop itself , the entrance to the shop was on the corner . Opposite next to Boroughs was Hepworths Chemist. I can remember a lady who worked there won £1000-00 on a Television Game show , I think her name was Barbara White , isn't strange the things you remember !

Again, strange things you remember “ if you want to get ahead, get an Attaboy”

Thanks Carolean. I missed that, even after the closer look I made following Veronica's information about the location of Reg Sutton's.