Wigan Album

It's certainly an impressive building. As I have said before, I don't recall Station Road at all past The Ritz Cinema as that's as far as I ever went. I don't recall the church or Central Station, and have only just found out that The Powell Children's Library, where I was a regular borrower, was in Station Road, (the other end!), I DO remember Stairgate but only from the Millgate entrance. I can see two words under the circular windows at the top of the building.....the right-hand word says "HALL" but I can't make out the other word. Any ideas, anyone?

That is an excellent drawing, and a really good find Ron, it's better than some of the early photographs too, and yes it was Elim until they moved to Greenough Street. A great shame that this and other grand buildings on that side and the superb station buildings opposite were all demolished to make way for the Civic Centre stage 2 that never materialised.

Irene, it was the Central Hall, and yes I too agree an impressive building, I never went into there, so can't say if it was as grand inside as out.

Thankyou Cyril. The nearest I could get to it was "Central Hall" but it just didn't sound right for a church. I wonder if it had something to do with "Central Station"? What a lot we have lost in the name of "progress".

I remember this church it was on the other side of the road from the Children’s Library Irene. Just a wee bit further on. I remember when buses stopped over that side.

Central Hall is part of the Wigan Primitive Methodist Circuit, which was established in 1867. The circuit was divided into three in 1900, with Central Hall being part of the Wigan Circuit.
Wigan Central was also the name of a railway station in Wigan, England that was demolished and is now no longer in use:
Location
Wigan Central was located on Station Road, away from the town center's two main stations, North Western and Wallgate.
History
The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway built Wigan Central in 1892, replacing the temporary Wigan Darlington Street terminus. It was a terminal station on the branch line to Glazebrook and Manchester Central. The station closed to passengers in 1964.

Administrative / biographical background:
Primitive Methodism first came to Wigan in 1822. From 1836, Wigan was in the Bolton Circuit, and services held in Frog Lane, and later in Millgate. In 1850, it was transferred to Chorley Circuit and services held in Adelaide Street, Caroline Street, Crompton Street, Greenhough Street, Rodney Street and School Street, before Central Hall was opened in 1898. In 1864, it became a branch of the Chorley Circuit, and in 1867 it became an independent circuit, (Wigan, Station Road). The Wigan circuit was divided into three in 1900, the Wigan Circuit now comprising Central Hall, Crook and Douglas Bank ( and later Gidlow); Hindley Circuit comprised Hindley, Higher and Lower Ince, and Whelley; and Orrell Circuit contained Orrell, Lamberhead Green, Pemberton and Orrell Post. In 1934, Hindley, Circuit rejoined the Wigan circuit, but became separate again in 1955. For convenience, the Wigan Primitive Methodist Circuit is here referred to as the Wigan, Station Road, Circuit, the name by which it was known from 1898, after the road in which the main chapel in the circuit, Central Hall, was situat

I do remember the Elim Church but not being as impressive as this, perhaps I wasn’t observant enough.
As Veronica say the buses used to drop you off in Station Road just opposite The Children’s Library and the queue up to get past ‘The Emp’ to all the stops opposite Woolies.
Friday and Saturday nights in 1960’s they used to run a Bus up to Rivington Barn where the live band of the day used to play, The Beat Boys etc.

Just been looking at a photograph of the actual building, that I remember. There are no steps going to the entrance... So I'm thinking this could have been a proposed drawing of the building and that when it was actually built, they changed the design to remove the steps. If you look on the site under STATION ROAD you can see the building as it was prior to demolition.