Wigan Album

It does look like its a pub??? but I have my doubts.. I've never heard of a pub in that location The next pub down on that side is the FOX AND GOOSE Also there aren't any signs etc. hanging on the front???

When you zoom in, it does appear to have etched windows, as pubs did, (unless they're just grimy!), but, as Ron says, there would normally be a hanging sign over a pub or club.

First of all, thank you for sending this in to be uploaded, Rich.
Now, this is my thought: I think that it was a club and possibly it was The Bowling Green Club.
As I said, Rich., I remember it being low (doorway, roof etc.) and I remember that there was furniture inside, such as tables and chairs that were typical of what would be in a club or pub.
I don't know if you can remember or know, Rich., but us kids always called a particular piece of land the Bowling Green; this is where the flats now are down Coppull Lane on the right side. This piece of land was set at a lower level with three high sides and one sloping dirt road, which was on the Coppull Lane side. We heard, as kids, that this land had been a bowling green at some time. But, it was a just a piece of spare land that we played on and around. In November, we had our bonfire on the land, in the middle; it was absolutely ideal for a bonfire or bommy as we used to say.
If this land had once been a bowling green, then the club (photograph above) would have been close to the green and in an ideal position on Wigan Lane.

Rich., I had forgotten how ornate the building was and what an extremely nice looking building it was.
Looking at it now, it is sad to know that the building was renovated beyond recognition and not kept as it once looked.

I have zoomed in it says 'something' Hotel ,Magee

It could possibly have ceased trading Irene when this photo was taken in the 1950's?
I recall as a kid in the 1960's peeking through the window of this building and I seem to remember a long bench upholstered seat stretching the length of the wall similar to what most large clubs / pubs had at the time. Some still have them. The property was vacant at the time. I do recall it being a storage place for antiques, furniture etc in a later era prior to becoming Jimmy's Chinese takeaway, but I was too young to remember it as a pub or a club.

The hotel is the pub next door Winnie. The Millstone.

Ian.
We were never short of fuel on "bommy" night with the Cherrycroft garage overlooking and all the scrapped rubber car tyres at our disposal!

They used to let us take as many as we wanted as we were doing them a favour disposing of them!

Does anyone remember the petrol station on Wigan Lane where the site of the fish & chip restaurant now is? It was Blockbuster Video for many years, but I have vague recollections of a garage and forecourt being there. I’m sure the site was demolished around the same time as Central Park Way was built maybe late 80s or early 90s.

Does anyone know what stood between the Millstone and Swinley Labour Club prior to Central Park Way? I’m sure it was terraced housing, but a family member seems to think there was a further pub there?

CJ

"Does anyone know what stood between the Millstone and Swinley Labour Club prior to Central Park Way? I’m sure it was terraced housing, but a family member seems to think there was a further pub there?"

CJAlan, The Saracen's Head stood between The Millstone and Swinley Labour Club. In the 1960's, it was the last building in that row of buildings. But, there were shops further on (between The Saracen's Head and Coppull Lane) and these few shops were demolished in an earlier decade. On that land, a small park (with Cherry Blossom trees and two benches) was created.
Between The Millstone and The Saracen's Head, there were shops (see the other photo marked "Wigan Lane" for further details). In the 1960's, one house stood between the two pubs; this house became a betting shop and then later became part of The Millstone.
The Saracen's Head and five shops were demolished in the 1980's (circa 1986) to make land available for the new road "Central Park Way".

By the way, I remember the petrol station very well and probably could describe it in reasonable detail. The petrol station was Plumpton's, which was built in the early 1960's and it did have a large forecourt as the petrol pumps were in the middle allowing cars to be on both sides of the petrol pumps.

Griston Hotel Magees.

Griston Hotel?? It's The Millstone. Magee's Ales.

You need to get a stronger magnifier Malc because the sign does say Millstone Hotel, though you are right with the signage of Hotel and Magees. %¬)

The photo is tagged 'Conservative Club, Standishgate' on the Timepix website,

Apologies. I got it wrong.

Malc, I greatly respect your honesty and politeness.
Some of us are waiting for an apology from "The Dude" for the totally misleading information the person posted.
I don't normally say anything, but as it was inferred that I was totally wrong and didn't know what I was talking about, I was left lacking some of the interest I had previously had.

None of our experts, so far, offering to identify the road vehicles in the pic.

Ian, I shouldn't let it bother you. I've never heard say about a conservative club ever being along there, and with yourself being around there from being born there isn't a better person who could say and know what was what along there, I believe what you said about it belonging to the bowling green off Coppull Lane.

Cyril, firstly, thank you!
It wasn't regarding this photograph, but the photograph of The Saracen's Head and the shops. The person insisted that it was not the pub and inferred that I didn't know what I was talking about and that I was totally wrong.
The person also ignored my question about not using their real name.
I am certainly fine with people offering information which may or may not be correct as we all try to come up with answers about a building and its history. But,... Well, I am sure that you understand, Cyril.

Regarding the photograph of the buildings:
1. This photograph was certainly taken before I was born.
2. When I was a kid, there were two premises and not one.
3. The one where the man is walking was a pub and I think that it was The Millstone.
4. The one which is the closest and where the two children are standing seemed completely closed down. When we (kids at the time) looked through the windows, there was furniture inside (tables and chairs) and it was extremely dusty. To us, it looked like it had been a pub or a social club.
5. The ground floor levels of the two premises were different and the architecture of the two was different. Therefore, I would say that they were separate.
6. The bowling green and social club which was down Coppull Lane and at the top of a dirt road, which was on the left, was certainly of a later period than the building in the above photograph.

Now! A question would be: Why had this pub or club closed down?
There seemed to be no structural issues and it was, after all, renovated and not demolished.
At the time, pubs and social clubs were extremely popular. Don't forget, Swinley Labour Club was built at the time that the one in the above photograph stood closed down.

Therefore, we are left with two social clubs: Swinley Labour Club and The Bowling Green Social Club down Coppull Lane. Both built at a later date.

Thankyou, Ian, for the trouble you have gone to in informing us about the building; it is very interesting to read. What year would that have been when you and your friends looked through the windows and saw the furniture and the dusty interior? I wonder if lack of support brought the closure of the club, (though, as you point out, clubs and pubs used to be extremely popular, and it is in quite a central place). Or, if it was a club, ( eg: labour/working-men's/conservative/British Legion ), perhaps arguments between customers and committee about how it was run? We'll probably never know, but an interesting post.

Ian.
The building in question was one building. And still is to this day, 65 Wigan Lane. Now occupied by a Chinese takeaway. Next door number 63 is the Moonlight takeaway.
I dont think there was ever a Bowling Green Social Club down Coppull Lane. It was the old Swinley Labour club. Yes there was an adjacent bowling green, but it was Swinley Labour club.
The current Swinley club was completed circa 1970 /1971

Ian, thanks for your information and memories I agree with Irene, they are as always very interesting and informative.
I've been having a delve and come up with information about a discussion on Wigan pubs in 2008, the building in question was at one time 'The Admiral Napier' and 65 Wigan Lane, other folks could also remember seeing the long seats through the windows, the discussion can be found on this link: Pub info: https://www.wiganworld.co.uk/communicate/mb_message.php?opt=f2&msd=127227&offset=&subject=Pub%20Info

Charlie Street - why be so arrogant?
Ian said he can remember an actual bowling green being where Newton Close is, and others have said that too.

Also the Chinese chippy be it Jimmy's, Bob's or Chairman Mao's, it may have the same number 65, but it isn't the same building, as the frontage is totally different with having been rebuilt or quite possibly the whole building was having to be rebuilt, as others along there have had to be too.

I wasn't being arrogant Cyril. Please read my post thoroughly.
There WAS a bowling green adjacent to the old Swinley labour club as I stated.
The other bowly was where Newton Close is now. They were 2 different bowling greens!

Ian posted
"When I was a kid, there were two premises and not one."
As regards to the chinese chippy it is the same address as it is today number 65!

It may have had a full frontal makeover but it has never been two separate buildings knocked into one building!

Somewhere near to this point there was a Conservative Club.

I totally agree with Cyril.
By the way, why have you changed your name to Charlie Street?
Also, do you have a problem in reading and understanding?
When I typed "two premises", I was talking about "The Millstone" and the pub/club which stood empty, that is why I put "3" and "4". Therefore, those words you typed regarding number 65 have no reference at all to what I was talking about.
If you know so much about Wigan Lane, tell us something which is known by people who lived there and not something which can be Googled.
Additionally, type your real name instead of hiding behind names you seem to find amusing.

Thank you! Irene and Cyril. Your kind words mean a lot.
Irene, circa 1969.
Cyril, there were long seats against the wall. Also, the ceiling seemed to be low.
Additionally, I was a very young kid and a pub was a pub; where our dads went for a pint. The names of pubs and clubs weren't interesting for us. Although, some we knew because the name was in large letters or we heard the name many times.
The club down Coppull Lane was a social club (a place where locals went for a drink, entertainment and to socialise), which had a bowling green. Therefore, we named it the bowling green club.
Now, "The Dude" or "Charlie Street" or whatever, tell us all about this place and not the basic information.

Tom, there were a number of clubs in this area. I could describe them and place them, but I will leave it to Dude/Charlie/... or whatever name this person thinks is amusing to use.

Ive just been looking at this photo again.
If that lorry wasn't in the way we would have been able to see the house on the corner of Lord Street and Wigan Lane in the background which is now a takeaway.

Rich., I thought the same when I first looked at the photograph. It would be interesting to see the other side of Wigan Lane.
There is the reflection of a house, but that is all.
I can't remember the houses and shops which stood between Charles Street and Lord Street, but I remember the house on the corner of Lord Street where the Powell family lived, which Jennifer kindly mentioned.
I remember, members of my family talking about a "fruit and veg. shop" being there before the petrol station was built. But, my earliest memory is of the petrol station.

By the way,
Rich., you mentioned "scrapped rubber car tyres being at our disposal." Not only do I remember that,, I was there, on top of the pile. To clarify this, the tyres were stacked high, just behind the main mechanics garage (which was red brick) and the tyres were against the wooden fence. It was reasonably easy to get them to the bommy, because some of us would throw or roll them over the fence on to the car-wide path at the side and others would stand the tyres up and then roll them over the edge to the bottom where the bommy was.
Additionally, we would stack the centre piece (a thick wooden guttering or whatever we could get hold of) with tyres.
Our bommy was as big as we could make it, which was high and wide, and it burned for days.

Ian.
You are correct with the fruit and veg shop. It was on the corner directly opposite the Millstone pub. There is a fish and chip shop there now on the exact same spot. It was a grocers named Mortons selling cooked meats, tinned food, etc. A typical old grocers 1950's/1960's shop.
I remember it, but only vaguely.
I'll upload a photo of it on here later.

I remember a Morton's in Bryn. Were they a local chain? (This would have been in the fifties. I think it had ceased sometime early 1960's.)

Also there was a Coop store on that same side of Wigan Lane. I’m thinking just down from the Bowling Green pub.

Yes, Strangeloop. There was a Morton's in Hindley and I think there were two in Ince. I don't know if the chain of shops was just local or more widespread.

Irene, it was a local chain I think they had roughly 38 shops all in and around Wigan .The warehouse and head office was in Pickup Street Ince .
I glad to hear you are feeling much better.