Photo-a-Day  (Wednesday, 18th June, 2025)

Nature at its best I like the shades of the roses,light colours lilacs and off white

A lovely place to just sit and pass a quiet few minutes. I think Ian McKellen opened it if I remember rightly.

I beg your pardon i never promised you a rose garden!

Lovely garden and well tended. The sun- dial looks squeaky clean. I have a photo stood by it in the sixties.

I believe it was opened by Ian McKellen and his sjster.They lived across the road in Parsons Walk when their father Denis was Borough Engineer for Wigan

The Pagget Rose Garden . In remembrance Francis Paggett
The following is from Wigan Council Archive.

Born in June, 1882 son of John Pagett, wholesale grocer of Scholes, Wigan and Ellen Leyland.



Educated at St Patrick’s Day School he served an apprenticeship as an engineer at Walker Brothers Pagefield Ironworks. Later becoming a wholesale agent and representative with W. Morton & Sons, Ltd., for several years before going into his own business.



In 1902 Francis married Ellen Tonge and they had two children, John Norman born in 1902 and Ellen in 1910.



In 1910 he successfully won a seat on Wigan Council representing St Patrick’s Ward, which he would hold for almost 40 years.



He was elected Mayor of Wigan in 1921, during his term of office Wigan was granted the right to bear Arms and Supporters by the College of Arms, the County Borough’s Coat of Arms was created. He entertained 2000 deserving children form Wigan Schools and raised large sums for Wigan Infirmary and many other charities.



In 1925 he was made an Alderman and in 1936 the honour of Freeman of the Borough was bestowed in recognition of his outstanding public service.



On the Council he served as chairman of Markets and Parks Committee from 1915 until 1949, under his leadership the Market business flourished, part of the Market Square was laid out to form a bus station and the parks were transformed with large areas of land being laid out a open spaces for recreation.



In 1934 he became chairman of the Watch Committee and represented the Council as a member of the Police Committee of the Association of Municipal Corporations. He also served as a Traffic Commissioner for the North West.



Described as “a great public administrator, he devoted the greater part of his life to the service of his fellow men”. He was very well known and respected in Municipal life both regionally and nationally, his wise leadership having a profound influence on the public life of Wigan for over thirty years.



Despite ill health affecting his later years he still maintained a keen interest in local politics until his death in January 1949 at his home on Wigan Lane.



A prominent supporter of St Patrick’s Church he was a member of the Catholic Young Men’s Society and served as chairman of the Wigan Branch of the National Catholic Thrift and Benefit Society. Following a service at St Patrick’s Church he was interred in Wigan Cemetery.



In August 1949 a section of Mesnes Park was laid out as a formal rose garden in recognition of his long dedication and service to the people of Wigan.



Sources:

WE 21 & 28 January 1949 Biographical Cuttings book 6 pp221, 222

WO 12 Nov 1921 p19

WO 5 August 1947 Biographical Cuttings Book 6 pp230, 231

Wigan Almanac 1922 7 1923 (Chronologies 1921 & 1922)



1 item was found within 1921-1922, Francis James Pagett Mayor of Wigan

He sounds to have been a very caring man, Tom.

Bloody hell Tom, Cyril will have nothing to write about now, after all that.
This is taken from the back of my head. The Pagetts later had a painting and decorating business and lived in the posh houses on Appley Lane. One of the daughters married one of the Hesketh sons, who were also painters and decorators.
The daughter dropped me in it when she told the leader that I pinched a crisp from the Appley Bridge youth club. Tuck shop.

Those are the type of men needed on the Councils of today. You were somebody if you had a decorator from Pagett’s…I .remember the business at the bottom of Greenough St. I’m sure there was a house that belonged to the Pagett’sthat was lived in. Still there to this day…it was quite posh.

Along with the sunshine
There’s got to be a little rain sometime.
Where is our Colin,you cannot be serious.

John, (Howfen), I hope Colin will be back. He has to take the rough with the smooth, the criticism alongside the praise. That's Life. We all have differing opinions on Wigan World's photos-a-day and the comments are not always a criticism of the photo itself, but of things relating to it. We aren't computers....we are human beings with opinions and feelings. I think the smile on the priceless "Mona Lisa" painting looks as if she's just trodden in something! I personally wouldn't hang it in our shed, but I would give some of our Wigan World's photographs pride of place in my little house, and I don't think Leonardo Da Vinci would bat an eyelid. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Mick, Pagett's decorating business was where Veronica said, at Limes Bridge House Powell Street, I didn't know they lived at Appley Bridge, also the Hesketh decorating business was up a ginnel between the shops at top of Wigan Lane, it's been built over now with a craft ale bar more or less where it was.
Don't know if the Hesketh family who did refrigeration, and at Standish, were related to them.

Her at the youth club was a right one for reporting you, all for scoffing one crisp?

I don’t know how you could pinch one crisp Cyril - do you think he missed the ‘s’ off or was the bag of crisps already open ? It’s a mystery that…..

The house at Powell St at the bottom of Greenough St was very posh as was Wigan Lane in those days. I imagine Mr Pagett would rather live there so he could attend Mass at St Pat’s or St John’s around the corner. St John’s was were the money people went to I have to say.

Irene very true you have to take the rough with the smooth.

It was a bag of Bensons, with a little blue bag of salt that was usually damp.
Mine was damp, but after I had done the pinching, I got off with a farmer's daughter who took the little bag of salt and sprinkled it onto the palm of her hand, then rubbed her hands together and dried the salt.

Weird…

?, are you sure it was salt she was rubbing in her hands Mick, or was it tobacco for her pipe. :¬o