Requests
Palatine Mineral Waters and Bottling Co. Ltd.
Photograph still wanted.
I have managed to trace the following news article from the Wigan Observer, dated Wednesday, December 28, 1892.
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I have also found out that the company was situated on Station Road in the town, near to the cinema.
UPDATE February 2005
Thanks to Charles O'Leary who emailed the following:
Kath, under requests, asked for info re Palatine Mineral Works. She stated that they had premises in Station Road. They may have had an office of sorts there but the works were situated in The Folly off Wigan Lane. As a lad I lived with Mum and Dad in Douglas road and with playmates used to go into The Folly playing in the houses that were being demolished there. You entered the Folly through a small tunnel/archway where an antique shop was on the left of it. When you got through, the works were situated way over to the left. There was another entrance from Upper Dicconson St. Only a short street, the name of which I can't recall, except that Frank Riding of newsagents fame in The Galleries used to live in it. I vividly remember the steel bottles of pressurised air stacked outside the works doors. Being curious one of the lads opened the tap on one of them. The ensuing scream of pressurised air frightened the life out of us and we scarpered PDQ. I also remember searching the empty bottles for the remains of pop, beer etc, and actually found, and tasted, them.
Just another little bit of Wigan.
UPDATE April 2005
Thanks to Keith McCracken who emailed the following:
In 1957 I was living at H Ince with my parents and during school holidays etc.I used to ride in one of the delivery wagons with my uncle who worked for Palatine pop at the time. I had three uncles that worked there then, Leonard Whiteside, Cliff Bolton and Jimmy Grimes.
The first two were drivers the third was a checker and office worker he had to check the quantities of each item as they were loaded onto the vehicles and again all empties on return.
The works was in Millgate just lower down the road from the Horseshoe pub and exactly across the road from were Douglas House is now but then in its place was a slaughter house. There was two loading bays in Millgate and a third at the side of the building the entrance to this was through large double wooden gates that faced onto Millgate. There was an office upstairs in which uncle Jim worked . The business at this time was owned by a gentleman named Mr Robert Warburton who lived in Wigan lane on the left hand side going out of town, about two house before the first petrol station you come to also on the left. As far as i now he was the sole owner at the time. The delivery wagons where nearly 30 yrs old they flat fronted Austin,s with six cylinder petrol engines. There was another driver but i can only remember his first name as Terry.
Thats it im afraid any way hope this helps, (just another little bit of Wigan)