Photo-a-Day  (Friday, 13th August, 2010)

may be deadly quiet but the roof theives are about

Good photo Mick .Great weather for fixing a roof,but i dont see ANYBODY AROUND,BUT YOU WOULDN'T IN A CEMETRY,WOULD YOU.lOOKS LIKE A TREE GROWING THROUGH THE THE CHURCH ROOF .nO WONDER WE GOT DAMAGE

The chapels are Grade 2 Listed, are by the same Architect as the Free Library in town - Alfred Waterhouse, and are in the same, Council, ownership. They may be Waterhouse's earliest large commission, being built in 1855/6, a year after he started his practice in Manchester. All the more reason to regret their neglect and disrepair.
The flat grave to the left of this end of the nearer chapel is that of the Revd, Samuel Bryson, Vicar of the nearby St Mary's church from 1915 - 1944.
The monument in the foreground is to the 75 men and boys killed in the Ince Moss Pit disaster in 1871. It is one of my ambitions to try to get their names inscribed upon the empty panels.

The neglect is probably another excuse to get in the bulldozer...seems there is no respect for the dead either. Think this is the chapel that I went to for a family funeral a few years ago, seemed well cared for then.

Horrible to see our heritage/history being un-cared far and forgotten about!! they aren't even huge buildings, so im sure the council could try to fix them up and get them back to the way they were. I'd love to see inside too!

It just reflects what Wigan Council is - a right shambles, they are both in a desperate need of a really good overhaul with all the weeds, rot, dead wood and detritus taken out.

Both of these chapels along with other buildings at risk are on the save Wigan campaign list. www.savewigan.co.uk

A good photo too, Mick.

Sad photo, but a very clear shot. Pity some of the money wasnt spent on restoring old buildings,but is still being spent on changing Wigan centre. Still they say it's modernisation. But don't forget the beautiful old buildings that can be restored. Very interesting local history of a coal mining disaster, should be noted for all to see. Their names should be displayed for future family or historians. Most of the past Fathers & Mothers came from mining families.

My friend Neil's aunt Sarah used to clean those two chapels in the cemetery and took pride in them. I'm glad she can't see them now. I would still hate to see them go, though...they have been part of the landscape for so long.

This is a true reflection of Wigan Council, a mirror image of themself in ruins.

Enthusiastic as I am to see the view from my house improved by the restoration of these chapels, and sad as I am to see them in this condition, I am realistic enough to recognise the difficulties the Council is in. Their isolated and confined position, in the middle of the graveyard, makes them very difficult to find alternative uses for, even if the money were there for their renovation. I do think, however, that they should be saved, even if they have to be dismantled and moved elsewhere, and wish that the Council would give some thought to their future.

Have you noticed on these restoration/building programmes on the telly...people who want to renovate these lovely old churches/houses despair that they arnt allowed to do this or that even in keeping as original, because it is grade 2 listed .the powers that be, prefer that it just goes to rack and ruin.

Whilst in Norway, my wife and I found an area in which old churches and other old municipal buildings had been moved to from their original sites and had been rebuilt and restored. Some of their original locations where a lot further from the site, than the local buildings around Wigan, which don't even have to be moved. That site in Norway was a museum to all of their arcitectural skills and past.

A lot of very good coments.No wonder ,to let a fine looking Chapel go to ruin.

My cousin recently did our family history. It turns out that I should have had a brother 2 yrs older than me but died at birth and because he drew breath he was buried in a communal grave up by the wall by the raiway line. We found the plot 6 months ago through my cousins exploits. This photo has brought a lump in my throat as I am typing this

Lump in the throat and tears to the eyes! My Gt.Grandfather James Shawcross and his father in law Adam Catterall were both killed in the Moss Pit disaster of 1871. Are there any living family connections out there who would like to get in touch for exchange of family history? Love this website.