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Photos of Wigan
Photos of Wigan



Photo-a-Day Archive
Photo-a-Day Archive

Photo-a-Day  (Saturday, 7th November, 2020)

Eagle and Child


Eagle and Child
The former Eagle and Child, Standish.

Photo: Dennis Seddon  (Sony DSC-WX200)
Views: 2,693

Comment by: Linma on 7th November 2020 at 06:42

I lived in Standish but can’t for the life of me work out where that is/was.

Comment by: Poet on 7th November 2020 at 08:33

Imagine the conversations that have echoed within these walls......
Are thee for James or Geordie ?.....I hear the Young Prince's fled Culloden....
Yon Hargreaves's made a Spinning Jenny......They say Bony' s landed in Wales.... We've getten a lass on the throne now....... The say they've lost the Light Brigade..... Kaiser who ? ..It will all be over by Christmas Tommy ....

Comment by: Irene Roberts on 7th November 2020 at 09:28

Poet, I often imagine the fashions that a place has seen over the years.....Victorian bustles, twenties flappers, fox furs and the fifties "New Look" right through to mini-skirts and beyond, but have never imagined the conversations over the years charting our history over a pint. That's very thought-provoking and quite moving. Thankyou. And thankyou, Dennis, for the lovely photo.

Comment by: Gary on 7th November 2020 at 09:42

Could not believe this picture!
The number of converted pubs is staggering - I'm surprised there are any pubs left in Aspull. Far fewer conversions where I live, in the North East.
Eagle & Child - traditionally the Stanley (Earls of Derby) coat of arms, but they may have filched it from the Lathoms. Getting behind the myths and legends is well nigh impossible. Yet when I was young the number of pubs bearing that name exceeded those of Crawford and Balcarres.

Comment by: Roy on 7th November 2020 at 09:49

Linma it is in the Market Place adjacent to the stocks, cross and well.

Comment by: Roy on 7th November 2020 at 10:40

GARY, this isn't a recently converted pub, i am 79 and was brought up a few doors away and don't remember it as a pub, it actually closed its doors as a pub in 1916. The present owner married the previous owners daughter when it was Worthington's butchers and he worked there until it closed in 1993 then converted it solely into a place to live.
Previously, it had been a coaching house, one of the stops on the route from London to the North and employed Ostlers to care for the coach horses overnight and before that it was the local court house and probably many a poor soul having been found guilty of a minor offence has been placed in the nearby stocks to have certain edible items thrown at them.

Comment by: Mick on 7th November 2020 at 11:19

Conversations I can imagine echoing around these walls are, two pork chops and half a pound of middle cut, from when it was a butchers shop.

Comment by: Dennis Seddon on 7th November 2020 at 11:54

Linma, look at Poet’s P.A.D on the 31st of August for a better idea of where this is.

Comment by: Veronica on 7th November 2020 at 11:59

Ho w I would love to study the deeds to that building. I say that about most old property. On reading the owners names and weaving their life stories within the times they lived and worked there. Very interesting.

Comment by: Gary on 7th November 2020 at 12:22

Roy - thanks for that info.
Must admit, it didn't look recent - it looks part of its environment.

Comment by: Helen of Troy on 7th November 2020 at 12:49

I too have often had the thought of conversations in old places....when visiting Bolton Castle where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned. We went in a room that she used to use in the daytime, it was very eerie & I wondered what had been talked about in that room so many years ago.

Comment by: Veronica on 7th November 2020 at 14:21

Each 'prison' became worse the further south she travelled Helen. Bolton Castle was one of the better ones with 50 servants and an embroiderer. I know in one of the castles it could have been Carlisle, she miscarried twins. Fotheringay Castle is where she spent a third of her life , and was executed, always hoping to meet her cousin Elizabeth. Very tragic especially not having any contact with her only son James (1st of Scotland and 6th of England.) Cruel times for the blood royals. And so interesting. I remember reading her body was moved to Westminster by her son. In Victorian times it was discovered surrounded by royal children's coffins. I know Queen Anne had 13 children who did not survive to adulthood. I wonder if it was them. They were the last of the Stuarts. I am looking for a book on Bonnie Prince Charlie and Culloden at the moment.

Comment by: Veronica on 7th November 2020 at 15:09

Oops - James v1 of Scotland , 1st of England! Memory is not as it was. One of the first things learned at school in History

Comment by: Linma on 7th November 2020 at 15:18

Thank you one and all I remember it as the butchers, I can see it now in my minds eye.

Comment by: Poet on 7th November 2020 at 16:30

Veronica , l learned more on a visit to the Culloden battle field than I ever did in a book . The guides and demonstrators are superb and their knowledge deep. The biggest misconception is that this was a conflict between England and Scotland . It absolutely wasn't . This was about dynasties , religion and the right to rule.
There were many English Jacobites who fought for the prince , notably the Manchester Regiment who fought at Culloden against the king . Most of Catholic Lancashire favoured him . Ralph Standish was an active Jacobite and I'm sure many were recruited in the Eagle and Child ...
After you've walked the field you can go into a chamber that simulates a battle charge . All is a bit quiet at first . You hear the wind howl . The four sides of the room slowly become moving pictures of clansmen on one side and the King's army on the other . Suddenly there's a roar and the Highlanders bare down on you . Musket shots . Very loud . You really feel you're in the thick of it . A volley comes from the Redcoat ranks to the left and a few of Charlie's men lie dead or dying in front of you . Some reach the line , a few soldiers fall . It's disturbingly realistic .
In the aftermath , you see the faces of the infantry , exhausted , hear them breathing loudly , whispering . They have repelled the charge but the ashen look on their faces is something you will have to see to believe . I can't explain it but it is profoundly moving .

Comment by: Veronica on 7th November 2020 at 17:14

Yes I imagine walking the Battlefield would be more interesting than reading about it. I would love to go there. I love Scottish history, so much tragedy with the Clearances. Many of the Highlanders had to fight for the Prince just to keep their bits of land as well. In the end they still lost crofts and thrown out and made to move on at a moments notice. Even old people lying in their beds were brought out and their homes burnt to the ground. Imagine the voyages to Canada and Australia it must have been horrendous. Thanks for the advice Poet, my next trip up to the Highlands will certainly include a visit to Culloden. I still want a decent book about Bonnie Prince Charlie though!

Comment by: Harry on 7th November 2020 at 17:21

Know exactly what you mean Poet . I went there years ago . My girlfriend stay near the display centre as I walked off on the field .
I still remember it to this day . You said it right , I can’t explain it . It was a deeply moving experience I wasn’t expecting .

Comment by: James Hanson on 7th November 2020 at 20:07

All an act. You'd may as well be watching Coronation Street !

Comment by: Edna on 7th November 2020 at 21:10

Thank you Dennis. I love some of the comments these photos provoke.Very interesting, thank you everyone.

Comment by: Mick LD on 8th November 2020 at 08:59

Veronica - John Prebble's book 'Culloden' is well worth reading, as regards the battle.
It's still in print, and there are quite a few copies for sale on Amazon.

Comment by: Jonno on 8th November 2020 at 10:09

Negative Hanson has popped up again !!

Comment by: Poet on 8th November 2020 at 10:41

I've read this one Mick LD . It's quite good but reads rather like a novel at times I think , and only the last few chapters deal with the actual battle .
But I think you're right , it's probably the best book in a field that is crying out for a really great book on the subject . Regards

Comment by: Veronica on 8th November 2020 at 10:55

Thankyou Mick LD.
I will look it up. Although I wanted to know more about Bonnie Prince Charlie the man really in biographical form, even though Culloden was the most important highlight of his life. I do find battles hard to follow really.

Comment by: Veronica on 8th November 2020 at 12:07

That book by John Prebble sounds more for my taste, I'll look on Amazon, although they seem to have stopped the second hand books on there. One book on the Bonnie Prince costs £200 ! Phew ! Cheap on kindle but I would rather have a book in my hands to leaf through.

Comment by: Veronica on 8th November 2020 at 13:20

Ordered Mick.. and one of his about the 'Clearances' thanks.

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